More Latino than white students admitted to University of California system

The University of California has for the first time invited more Latino than white students to be freshmen at one of the public college system’s nine undergraduate campuses.

A preliminary count released Friday shows that 17,589 Latino students have been admitted to a UC school for the fall, or 29 percent of all 61,120 prospective freshmen who were offered a spot.

That compares to 16,378 white students, who made up 27 percent of the admitted applicants.

Asian Americans are still largest single ethnic group represented in the freshman class pool, making up 36 percent of all students admitted. Black received 4 percent of the admission offers.

The increase in Latinos reflects the population of California’s public schools, where Latino children are now the majority.