Nearly 21,000 hopeful candidates have applied to UC Davis for admission as undergraduates in the fall of 1993, marking a record number of applications to the campus. The applicant pool -- 3.4 percent larger than last year's -- also includes significant gains among four ethnic groups: African Americans (5.1%), Asian Americans (11%), Chicanos (18.4%) and Filipino Americans (7%). The pool also boasts the largest number of transfer-student applicants so far. According to Gary Tudor, director for undergraduate admissions at UC Davis, the increases likely reflect a combination of factors, including the size of the graduating high school class in California, the growing appeal of the Davis campus and the success of campus outreach and recruitment efforts. Within the UC system, compared to last year, UC Davis ranked the highest in increases in the number of applications for the fall of 1993.