The number of freshman applicants to the University of California, Davis, fell for the first time in a decade, while students applying to transfer from community colleges and other schools reached an all-time high.

The slightly shrinking pool of would-be freshmen seeking fall admission to UC Davis was mirrored across the seven other UC undergraduate campuses, according to data released Tuesday by university officials. The rise in transfer applicants kept UC Davis' overall number of prospective students -- 39,046 -- virtually unchanged from last year.

At Davis, the number of freshman applicants dropped by 1,096 or 3.4 percent from last year's record of 32,260. Systemwide, the decline was slightly steeper at 3,137 students or 4.1 percent from last year's total of 76,931.

The drop-off came mostly in the pool of freshman applicants from foreign countries and other states, signaling that fee hikes and news of budget cuts for higher education could be steering students to other institutions.

"I think uncertainty and angst about the budget, enrollment limits and whether students will be able to get into their campus of choice has a lot to do with it," said Darlene S. Hunter, associate director of undergraduate admissions at UC Davis. "The private schools are offering unique packages of financial aid that may actually make the cost to students and families comparable to ours."

UC officials also said numbers probably declined because the high school graduating class of 2003 was one of the smallest in recent years. That's expected to be only a one-year occurrence as California continues to churn out exploding numbers of high school graduates who will be college-bound in the next decade.

As at UC Davis, transfer applicants rose at every other undergraduate campus, continuing a five-year trend that has boosted the numbers of community college students moving to a UC campus in their junior year.

The University of California, with roughly 200,000 undergraduate and graduate students, most likely will be forced to reduce enrollment this fall.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants as many as 3,200 incoming freshmen to be diverted to community colleges for their first two years with a guarantee of transferring to UC in their junior year. In exchange, their community college fees would be waived.

Overall, freshmen and transfer applications to UC this year stand at 98,658, down from last year's record of 99,991.