SAN BERNARDINO - Hundreds more high school seniors applied to Cal State San Bernardino for fall admission compared to last year and elated university officials, for now, can only speculate why.

A dramatic increase of 1,200 freshmen applicants, or 24 percent more since fall 2002, could be explained by an explosive growth of high school graduates in the Inland Empire and the university's growing academic reputation, university President Albert Karnig said Thursday.

Karnig spoke about the jump in freshmen applicants at convocation Thursday in his annual message to staff and faculty. Classes at the 17,000 student campus begin on Monday.

About 6,309 students applied as freshmen to Cal State San Bernardino this fall in contrast to 5,084 last year. The university accepts two-thirds of its applicants. Of those accepted, 40 percent enroll.

Enrollment Director Bob McGowan predicts a freshmen class of 1,300 next week. The overwhelming majority are recent high school graduates, he said. About 1,600 new students will be transfers from community colleges, and about 1,100 will start graduate programs.

Over the previous five years, the number of freshmen applications grew 10 to 12 percent annually. UC Riverside freshmen applications are up 15 percent.

McGowan said the population of Inland high school graduates is growing twice as much as those in areas served by other Cal State campuses.

Of the 23 campuses in the Cal State system, only CSU Bakersfield saw a larger one-year jump in freshmen applicants -- 38 percent.

The rise in applicants comes at a troublesome time for the Cal State system. State budget cuts are forcing public universities to cut enrollment growth. San Bernardino campus officials fret that enrollment caps of 4 percent growth can't keep pace with the regional population explosion.

To stem enrollment, the San Bernardino campus closed fall admissions on Aug. 6 and closed spring admissions as well.

Karnig said the closing of spring admissions cannot explain the large jump of fall freshmen applicants. Relatively few June high school graduates begin college the following spring, he said.

Apartments for more than 1,000 students and about 500 new rooms that will open next fall make the campus more attractive to full-time freshmen, Karnig said.

The growth trend dovetails nicely with the university's goal to create more of a residential campus life.

"We want more students to have a full four-year program," Karnig said. "Students who can become part of a university campus community become involved in curricular activities, museums, ballgames, theater."

Karnig also speculated that parents may want their 18-year-olds to attend a university closer to home because of "the instability in the world."