BY MARINA DUNDJERSKI
UCLA Today Staff

UCLA has admitted approximately 10,366 prospective freshmen for fall 2002, a slight decrease from the total number admitted last year. However, this year's enrollment target of 4,200 undergraduates remains unchanged from fall 2001, admissions officials said.

Among those admitted, the number of underrepresented students increased slightly. Preliminary data show that underrepresented students -- Native Americans, African Americans and Chicanos/Latinos -- constitute 17% (1,724) of the admitted freshman class, up from 15.5% (1,630) last year.

In academics, students admitted for the fall 2002 freshman class had an overall GPA of 4.23, minimally higher than last fall's 4.22. The median SAT 1 score for the admitted class was 1321, dipping slightly from 1325 in fall 2001.

"We maintained a high academic character and progressed in terms of underrepresented groups," said Vu Tran, director of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. "Overall, we have a very healthy diversity of our student population; I don't think we can ask for more than that."

The decision to admit fewer students this year was based on several reasons, Tran said. There's been a steady annual increase in the number of students accepting admission to UCLA. Officials also felt that the events of Sept. 11 might influence more students to stay closer to home. And given the sluggish economy and stock devaluation, parents might not be able to afford to send their children to private or out-of-state schools.

Overall, admission to the University of California grew 4.9% for fall 2002, with 48,369 students offered admission to one or more campuses, according to preliminary data. Nine out of every 10 admitted freshmen are California residents.

This freshman class is the first admitted under the UC's new "comprehensive review" policy, which requires campuses to use a wide range of academic, personal and socioeconomic factors as admissions criteria.

All major racial and ethnic groups registered systemwide increases. The count for underrepresented students increased by almost 7.6% across UC, to 9,228 in fall 2002, up from 8,580 in fall 2001. Statistics on UC admissions are available at www.ucop.edu/news/studstaff.html.