UC Riverside has received a record number applicants for the fall 2025 semester.
The number of first-year applicants – 70,578 – was a 23.2 percent increase year-over-year, and the most ever received by the school since it opened in 1954, according to a statement on the university’s website.
This increase follows previous records for applicants for the fall semesters of 2024 and 2023: 57,420 and 56,462, respectively.
UCR also received 12,326 transfer applications for the fall semester, most of them in-state community colleges. That was a 2.4 percent increase from 2024.
“The record-setting number of applications shows the appeal of a UCR degree,” said Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox in the statement. “The UCR model of combining academic excellence with broad student support is extremely attractive to those seeking an education with a longstanding impact.”
UCR tied with UC Merced for the highest percentage of in-state applicants among the University of California’s nine undergraduate campuses: 87 percent. Most UC campuses receive 57 percent to 69 percent in-state applications, according to the statement.