Community college students who had hoped to transfer to the University of California this winter are about to hear some bad news: Budget cuts have forced UC to return 1,500 applications and refund the $40 application fee.

"This is a step we took with deep regret," said UC spokeswoman Lavonne Luquis. "It's something we were forced to do by the financial straits the university is facing due to budget cuts."

This is the first time in recent memory that the university has returned community college students' applications unopened. It comes at a turning point in the university's history. With the state's booming college-age population and shrinking budget, UC this winter will consider breaking a promise more than 40 years old to admit all UC-eligible students, all high school seniors who earned certain grades and took the required courses. At least 5,000 eligible students could be turned away next year.

The community college students who will be turned away had applied to the Riverside, Irvine, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara campuses. UC Berkeley did not accept winter applications.

UC Davis and UC San Diego accepted applications, but only from students with transfer guarantees, and UCLA accepted applications only from engineering students. Nor will the university consider applications from 100 students seeking winter admission as freshmen.

The university is encouraging the turned-away applicants to try again next fall.

UC did admit 14,665 community college transfer students this fall, 7.6 percent more than in the previous year. This was the fifth consecutive year of growth in the number of transfers.