College decision season: Where California’s public high school graduates enrolled

It’s college decision season, when many high school seniors announce where they plan to enroll and the jobs or internships they will be starting. For many California students, that means choosing a public higher education institution such as the University of California, California State University or a community college.

More than 96,600 students from California public high schools enrolled in the University of California and California State University systems in the fall of 2025. And 128,681 California high school graduates — from both public and private high schools — enrolled in a California community college as general admission students. These numbers come directly from the higher education institutions.

The California Department of Education has a more complete picture of where students are going — 66% of high school completers* in 2022-23 enrolled in a college in California or elsewhere, while 56% enrolled in one of the three California public higher education systems.

Here are some key facts.

96.7k

The number of students from California public high schools enrolled in the University of California and California State University systems in the fall of 2025.

73%

The share of University of California‘s first-time freshmen in the fall of 2025 who were from California public high schools — 38,512 students.

87.5%

The share of California State University system’s first-time freshmen in the fall of 2025 who were from California public high schools — 58,157 students.

37%

The share of University of California first-time freshmen from California public high schools who were Asian in fall 2025 — 14,354 students, the highest of any ethnic group. Latino enrollment grew the fastest, up 495% since 1994. White enrollment dropped 1.1% over three decades. Black enrollment tripled, though from a very small base of 413 students in 1994.

51%

The share of Latino first-time freshmen across the California State University system from California public high schools, more than white, Asian and Black combined.

Note: High school completers: The number of students who graduated from a California public high school with a regular or traditional high school diploma or who otherwise successfully finished high school as a non-graduate completer.

Data Source: California Department of Education; California State University; University of California; California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office spokesperson.

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