(U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. – Colleges across the nation saw an increase in undergraduate applications this year, according to a report released Monday.

The number of applications for the fall 2006 school year rose at 73 percent of colleges and universities because of a growth in the overall student population, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s annual State of College Admission report.

The report also found that colleges on average accepted 7 out of 10 applicants, with women making up a 55 percent majority of the applicants.

Susan Wilbur, director of University of California undergraduate admissions, said the national statistics mirrored data from the UC system, which also experienced a 6.6 percent increase in applicants.

However, while the report said that nationwide college applicants decreased for the fall 2005 school year, Wilbur said the UC system has experienced a constant increase in recent years, with a record 106,784 applicants last year.

Wilbur attributed the increase to several factors, including recruitment efforts by the university and increased graduation rates from the California public high school system.

We have experienced a steady increase (in applications) over the last two years because more students have been graduating from California high schools and 90 percent of our students come from California, Wilbur said.

Reflecting nationwide trends, 54.5 percent of UC freshman applicants this year were women, Wilbur said. However, she said the large number of female applicants was unusual for the university.

The UC has historically been very balanced in the male and female ratio, Wilbur said. The difference is perhaps a level of interest or level of preparation, but our ratio (has been) much more balanced than other universities.

Meanwhile, black and Hispanic students accounted for nearly 24 percent of all UC applicants, while they make up just 18 percent of the student population nationally, according to the report.

The UC system also saw a slight increase in its admission rate to 78 percent of applicants, Wilbur said.

The national report stated that a record 15 million students are enrolled in two and four-year colleges and predicts increasing enrollments until at least 2014.

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