Apr 21, 2014 08:39 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The University of California system has achieved a new milestone by admitting more Latino students than whites for fall 2014. Nearly 40 percent of California's population is Latino.

According to admissions data, about 17,589 Latino students have been approved for freshmen at one of the UC nine undergraduate campuses compared to 16,378 whites. Asian Americans comprised of 36 percent of freshman admissions, making them the largest single ethnic group. And about 4 percent of black students received offer letters.

Campaign for College Opportunity Community Affairs Director Audrey Dow described the Latino student's qualification at the UC system "a positive trend."

"It is really encouraging and emphasizes that Latinos want to go to college," Dow said. "Latino families, Latino students understand the value of an education and are doing what they need to do to be competitive and eligible for the most rigorous system in the state," cbs local reports.

The 2014 fall admissions increased by 4,015  compared to last year. Out of 148, 688 applicants, 86,865 were invited as freshmen. About 25,745 of the accepted freshmen are out-of-state/international students and 61,120 are Californians (1,031 more than last year).

Out of the 61,120 applicants, African-Americans constitute 2,558 (4.2 percent); Asian-Americans: 22,125 (36.2 percent); Hispanic/Latinos: 17,589 (28.8 percent) and Whites: 16,378 (26.8 percent), Sacbee reports.

Except for Berkeley and UCLA, all undergraduate campuses including San Diego, Riverside and Santa Cruz have welcomed more international/out-of-state students for the fall. The two campuses accepted fewer students than last year.

 "I know there have been some concerns that campuses have increased the number of out-of-state and international students (and) are somehow displacing California students," said Stephen Handel, UC's associate vice president for undergraduate admissions. "And that's not true. We admit as many California applicants as we receive funding for from the state."

At UC Irvine, more Hispanic/Latino students are being seen in the past three years. Although Latinos have outpaced whites in college admissions, they continue to fall behind when it comes to receiving diplomas."Many students, I think, take more time in part because of the cost of higher education," Douglas Haynes, UCI associate vice provost for equity and diversity, said, abc local reports.

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