Indicator 8.2
Racial/ethnic distribution of new undergraduates, Universitywide and UC campuses, Fall 1999 to 2010
Each year UC enrolls a larger proportion of its undergraduates from underrepresented groups, with new freshmen being slightly more diverse than new transfer students.
A number of reasons may explain why freshman are more diverse than transfer students. Academic preparation may play a role in inflating the transfer pool with disproportionately white middle-income students who are well prepared academically for UC after graduating from high school, but pursue the transfer path with a view to reducing the expense of their degree program or to entering a more prestigious campus. Finally, some evidence suggests that African American CCC students transfer to out-of-state universities at a high rate, whether in search of larger more vibrant African American undergraduate communities, of larger student financial aid packages or of offers from universities that are not bound by legislation prohibiting affirmative action.
