Increase in the Number of Black Students Admitted to the University of California, But the Flagship Berkeley Campus Is a Poor Performer

This spring 2,305 African Americans were admitted to the nine undergraduate campuses of the University of California. This is an increase of 11.3 percent from a year ago. Blacks make up 3.8 percent of all students admitted to the University of California system. Blacks are about 7 percent of the college-age population in the state.

However, at the flagship campus at Berkeley, the number of blacks accepted for admission dropped slightly from 298 in 2007 to 294 this year. Blacks are currently 3.4 percent of all admitted students at Berkeley. In 1997, before the ban on race-sensitive admissions at Berkeley, 525 black students were admitted.

In 2006, 210 black students were admitted to UCLA and only 100 enrolled. That year, blacks made up only 2 percent of the entering class. In 2007 a new holistic admissions formula resulted in a major increase in admitted black students and a doubling of black first-year enrollments. This year, the number of black students accepted at UCLA is up again, although by a much smaller 5.3 percent. In 1997, before the ban on race-sensitive admissions at UCLA, 485 black students were admitted.

Therefore, at the two most prestigious campuses of the University of California, black opportunities for admission remain far below the level that existed when race-sensitive admissions prevailed.

At the San Diego campus, the number of black students accepted for admission dropped from 350 in 2007 to 307 this year, a decrease of more than 12 percent. Blacks make up only 1.8 percent of all students admitted to the San Diego campus.