30% of Cal Freshmen from Out of State

Approximately 30 percent of this year's incoming freshman class at UC Berkeley is from out of state, including international students, according to Cal's top enrollment official.

It marks the second year in a row that about 30 percent of the incoming first-year students are from outside of California, Anne De Luca, Associate Vice Chancellor for Admissions and Enrollment, said at a Monday news conference.

Out-of-state students pay a significantly higher tuition – $34,098 yearly for non-resident undergrads versus $11,220 for state residents. The percentage of non-resident students admitted has increased as the campus faced declining state funding.

Berkeley is not alone among colleges increasing out-of-state residents to offset declining revenue, but some critics say that deserving California students, including under-represented minorities, can be squeezed out of the state's top-ranked public university for the sake of the extra money that can be had from non-residents.

"Roughly 30 percent of our incoming freshman class comes from outside of California," De Luca said in response to a reporter's question on the percent of non-resident students. "...It's very much in line with the class from last year."

"We have been on a growth trajectory to reach the campus' vision for a total undergraduate student body that is 20 percent non-residents, or 20 percent students outside of California," she said.

She told Patch that the 20 percent goal was established at the initiative of former Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who stepped down at the end of the most recent school year, 2012-13.

De Luca said the percent of non-residents had been around 10 percent over a span of years, and when it began to grow, Birgeneau determined that a target should be established.

She said the 30-percent non-residents entering Cal this fall is expected to bring the total undergraduate percentage to about 20 percent from out of state this year and that the percent of non-residents admitted as freshmen next fall could decline.

Her comments came at a back-to-school news conference headed by new UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks. Several campus officials spoke about new or enhanced programs and financial aid for students.

For more news from the press conference, see "New Cal Chancellor Says No to 'P-Word' (Privatization)."

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