I’m with you - trying to figure out where we should be planning to visit before May 1st is seriously straining the capabilities of my crystal ball. I look forward to having this process in the rear-view mirror for my oldest (and am not particularly looking forward to starting it again next year for my daughter).
5 Likes
I have just learned (belatedly) that Physics is a capped major at UCSD. Does anyone here have any insight into how that factors in to admissions? Should I be assuming that the odds of OOS admissions are lower than they might otherwise have been if applying to a non-capped major?
UCSD admits into the University first then into the major. Capped majors will be more competitive so hopefully your student listed a non-capped major as an alternative. Three possibilities with UCSD admits: direct admit into 1st choice major, direct admit into alternate major or admitted as Undeclared.
Changing majors into a capped major from a non-capped or Undeclared can also be a competitive process.
2021 Admission Rates for Out-of-State Applicants (Domestic):
UC San Diego: 59.3%
3 Likes
Thanks, as always, @Gumbymom! I had a momentary panic thinking that perhaps he did not list an alternate major for UCSD (I know he did not at UCI), but I just double checked and he did indeed (yay!). That is helpful to know that there are 3 options for admissions with respect to major and that the OOS acceptance rate is pretty high (from an OOS perspective; I am sensitive to in-state frustrations with this). Was 2021 an odd year though? I would imagine many kids may have been sticking closer to home due to the COVID restrictions in place then; is high-50s somewhat standard for OOS at UCSD?
2021 was not an odd year. The # of OOS applicants have continued to increase but the yield rate has remained steady at around 10% for 2018-2021.
Here are some acceptance rates since 2018 for OOS applicants at UCSD.
2018: 47%
2019: 52%
2020: 56%
Sort by Source school (Non-CA domestic) and Campus
1 Like
Thanks very much, @Gumbymom! That 10% yield has me shocked, but maybe that’s just how it goes. I would have expected much higher. Thanks for the additional details!
2 Likes
Here’s hoping! (Haha!) My son applied “undeclared social sciences…”
2 Likes
This is so interesting. Thank you for sharing. I have been following the OOS discussion on UCB and based that and other things I have read, I have held out little hope that my DD would get accepted to UCSD (while she applied to UCLA and UCB, she is realistic about her chances there). I too am trying to figure out the travel situation if accepted. We visited UCSD over the summer, but the campus was a ghost town and I want her to see it “in action” before committing to go there as we live on the East Coast.
Thanks @gumbymom for your work on this board and others I see you on.
2 Likes
Mine’s second choice was “undeclared physical science” - I was so relieved to see he had given himself a second option!
2 Likes
Actually when I look at the data Gumbymom provided, it looks like the yield for 2021 was 18.6% overall (7,543 enrollees out of 40,496 admits).
OH, I see you were looking at OOS yield. Yes, that is much lower as it is very expensive to attend the UCs as an OOS student.
Overall it is interesting the the UCSD yield is much lower than the UW yield which is about 29%. I think many more in-state kids who get into UW go there. The CA kids have more options.
I think yield is the amount of admitted students who enroll…yield is the number colleges look at for them to determine how many acceptances to give out for the amount of enrollments they want. (i think)
2 Likes
Chances certainly look better at UCSD than UCLA and UCB. 
3 Likes
I think you are right that the options in CA play a big role, and with the overlap in applications, it’s easy to cast a wide net within the UC or CalState systems (ie, no extra effort - “just” cash - to apply to as many all 9 UCs with a single set of forms; similar for the CalState system). Most other states have 1 major flagship that stands apart or maybe 2-3 tops that are notable. California is really leading the pack with having a wide variety of truly top-tier public options.
6 Likes
Hi Gumbymom, I was wondering where the “waitlisted” students are in these stats. Do the UCs waitlist a lot? Are there numbers that show how many students actually get off waitlists? Thank you!
If waitlisted students are admitted, they would be listed in the final admitted stats.
Yes, the UC have been waitlisting for several years.
Below are some stats although 2021 is not available. Normally the information can be found on the common dataset section C2. For most campuses, they took very few to none off the waitlist last year.
2020:
Number of qualified applicants offered a place on the wait list: 19714
Number accepting a place on the wait list: 14265
Number of wait-listed students admitted: 5282
2019:
Number of qualified applicants offered a place on waiting list: 19976
Number accepting a place on the waiting list: 12426
Number of wait-listed students admitted: 4313
3 Likes
Do UC San Diego release all decisions at one go or in batches?
Freshman decisions have varied over the years. Some years, all at once and some years in batches. I believe last year the decisions were posted all at once probably since the decisions were later than usual.
3 Likes
Thanks
Am I correct that decisions are expected 3/18 from UCSD, or am I starting to blend my schools?
3 Likes
No official word from UCSD about the date but based on past history, March 18 is the target date.
4 Likes