Faced with severe cuts to its 2003-04 budget, the University of California was unable to consider the applications of about 1,500 transfer students and 100 freshmen seeking admission to the university for the winter term, officials said Tuesday.

The affected students will receive refunds of their application fees within four weeks. Applicants pay $40 for each winter application they submit to a UC campus.

UC President Richard C. Atkinson said that he regretted the action but that the university had little choice.

The state budget approved in July cut the university's funding for the current school year by $410 million; legislators also warned then that the university would not receive funding for enrollment growth in the 2004-05 school year.

"We have tried to find other ways of coping with the budget cuts, but we have reached a point where the educational experience at the University of California will be severely compromised if we continue to grow without funding to support new students," Atkinson said in a statement Tuesday.

Most of those affected by the decision are transfer students from the California community college system, with a small number from four-year institutions, officials said.

The university already has admitted about 14,600 community college transfer students for this year's fall term, but in the past, it often has taken a substantial number more for the winter.

Spokeswoman Lavonne Luquis said UC campuses still will consider some winter applications — those from about 500 community college students who participate in programs that guarantee transfers to UC schools if they meet specified requirements.