California State University says it saw a 5 percent increase in applications for the fall 2012 semester, but has held admissions to about the same level as fall 2011.
CSU said in a statement Monday that ongoing budget constraints have forced the 23-campus system to admit just 1,163 more students despite the increase in demand.
For fall 2012, CSU received a total of nearly 743,000 applications, and admitted nearly 350,000 students. Of that number, the university expects about 106,000 students to enroll, about 95 percent of them California residents.
CSU, which serves about 427,000 students, is poised to lose $250 million in state funding if voters do not approve tax increases in November.
The university has frozen enrollment for spring 2013 and is wait-listing students for fall 2013 admission.
