LONG BEACH - Despite budget-driven measures to curb enrollment, Cal State Long Beach will likely continue to be the second-largest university in the state behind UCLA, CSULB President Bob Maxson said Friday.

In his annual convocation address at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, Maxson said CSULB received more than 43,000 applications from students interested in attending "The Beach.' But the school will add only about 9,000 newcomers, which will keep enrollment at about 35,000 roughly the same as last year.

"In past years, our enrollment was based on a space-driven formula that determined the number of students we would admit each fall,' Maxson told hundreds of professors, staff members, students and parents. "Now a new factor has been added to the mix, and that is the budget.

"Unfortunately, the budget picture is not bright, and there appears to be no improvement on the horizon.'

As the number of students threatened to eclipse the campus' resources, CSULB implemented a plan two years ago to keep enrollment in check by raising requirements for new students, transferring students and individuals seeking to enter impacted or crowded degree programs.

This year, that strategy meant turning away thousands of applicants. But Maxson said limiting enrollment is the best way to maintain academic quality for the students who have been accepted.

Turning to lighter topics, Maxson praised CSULB's athletic programs, telling the audience that five of the university's 18 NCAA teams were ranked in the nation's top 10 at some point last season.

And, as he has done in past years, Maxson recommended a few books he read over the summer, a list that included "The Long Walk' by Slavomir Rawicz, "Blue Latitudes' by Tony Harwitz, "The Punch' by John Feinstein and "Living History' by former first lady Hillary Clinton, who is now a New York senator.

He also offered a few words of sage advice for students new to the university.

"Don't get a tattoo any place that you can't cover up in a job interview,' he said, "and don't pay off your Visa with your Master Charge.'