The University of California has released application statistics for the 2012-2013 school year, revealing that its campuses have received a soaring amount of undergraduate applications for the upcoming school year, especially from out-of-state students.

Figures released by the UC Office of the President show that the University of California has received a total of 126,300 freshman applications, up 19 percent from the previous year. This number consists of about 93,000 students from California, a 9.8 percent rise from last year, and 33,000 applicants from other states and countries, a tremendous 56 percent increase.

The number of applications from international students has rocketed this year in accordance with the UC’s attempt to enroll more out-of-state students who have to pay significantly higher tuition fees compared to in-state tuition. The effort to increase campus funds will require non-Californians to fork over an extra $23,000 on top of regular tuition cost and fees. Statistics show that nonresidents comprise 7 percent of all undergraduates at UC campuses. The UC Regents have discussed capping the amount at 10 percent.

In addition, newly minimized testing requisites have also contributed to the trend of increased applicants at the UC campuses. As announced last year, students seeking admission into the University of California system will no longer be required to submit SAT subject test scores.

For fall 2012, UC Riverside received 29,879 applications for freshman admittance compared to 26,037 last year. In an interview with the Highlander, UC Riverside Director of Admissions Merlyn Campos stated, “The demand for the UCR campus has continued to grow over the past few years and [UCR] has become a popular campus of first choice for undergraduate prospective students; as such, I expect that UCR will continue to receive increased applications.”

With the current pool of applicants expanding, students may find it more difficult to gain admittance into the University of California due to increased competition. In an article by the Los Angeles Times, UC’s Interim Director of Undergraduate Admissions Kate Jeffery explained that state budget cuts on education will continue to hinder enrollment rates. Consequentially, she argues that a record number of applicants will be denied admission into their first-choice campus. Statistics reveal that UC Los Angeles ranks as the most popular campus in the system, with 91,512 freshman and transfer applications.

UC Berkeley follows afterward with 77,378 applicants, while UC San Diego places third with 75,987 applicants. UC Riverside’s admissions have become stricter, with 37,606 students applying for transfer or admission into the campus. “With the increased demand for admission to our campus, we simply don’t have sufficient space or resources to admit all UC eligible applicants. Therefore, admission to our campus is much more competitive and many qualified applicants will not gain admission to UCR,” Campos said.

With the growing number of in-state and nonresident applicants, admissions officers face an increasingly difficult task. “This is a challenge we face each year; however, the undergraduate admissions office has a very dedicated team of admission counselors and staff who do whatever it takes to get admission offers out to our applicants in an expedited fashion.  UCR has historically been the first UC campus to begin posting admission decisions for both freshman and transfer students and we intend to continue this practice as long as it can be feasibly achieved,” said Campos.