Aliso Niguel High School

How to Enroll at Aliso Niguel High School

Aliso Niguel High School enrolls students by Capistrano Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. Students new to the district start through the district's Online New Student Enrollment, which requires a valid address in a city served by Capistrano Unified.

District residents who want a school other than their assigned one can apply through the district's School of Choice program. For 2027-28 the window runs from January 5 to January 29, 2027, and decisions are emailed on March 5, 2027; students new to the district may also apply at enrollment, and each student may apply only once per school year. The district places students living in each attendance area first and fills remaining seats in priority order: children of district employees who work at the school, siblings of current students, and then a lottery, not first come, first served.

An approved School of Choice becomes the student's school of record for the rest of that school level, with no need to reapply each year, and it cannot be rescinded; denials cannot be appealed. School of Choice students are not eligible for district buses and may be returned to their home school for unsatisfactory attendance, grades or behavior.

Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, must first request an Interdistrict Transfer Agreement (IDTA) release from their home district and then mail or deliver the signed original and supporting documents to the Capistrano Unified district office; scanned or emailed copies are not accepted. Approved students are assigned by the district to a school with space, which may not be the school requested. Agreements must be renewed each year (except for students on an existing agreement entering grade 11 or 12), and a denial may be appealed to the Orange County Department of Education within 30 days.

Courses and Signature Programs at Aliso Niguel High School

In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Aliso Niguel High School has 221 approved courses, including 29 AP courses and 74 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.

AP Capstone Diploma

AP Capstone is the College Board's two-year research program, in which students take AP Seminar and AP Research and build skills in research, analysis, evidence-based writing and presentation.

Advanced Placement (AP)

AP is the College Board's program of college-level courses. The school's 2026-27 School Profile describes extensive AP offerings as a core part of its academic program, and AP and honors grades are weighted in the GPA.

College and Career Advantage (CCA)

CCA is Capistrano Unified's Career Technical Education program and is open to all students. In-bell courses at the school include Culinary Arts, Forensic Science, Automotive Technology, Digital Photography, Video Production, TV Broadcast Journalism, Biotechnology, Stagecraft, Architectural Design and Rapid Prototyping; some carry honors weighting, and some are articulated with local community colleges for college credit.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)

AVID is a four-year college readiness program that supports students with academic potential from groups underrepresented in college. The school website notes that AVID students typically have a GPA between 2.8 and 3.5 or took AVID in middle school.

Dual Enrollment

Students can take Saddleback College dual enrollment courses: they first apply to the college online and then complete the Dynamic Form on the college's dual enrollment website, which needs to be done only once during high school.

Wolverine+ Support Period

Wolverine+ is a 40-minute midday period Tuesday through Friday. Students use the 5-Star Students platform to book time each week with the teachers they need, and teachers can assign students for support, test makeups or enrichment.

Academic Results at Aliso Niguel High School: CAASPP and Graduation

In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 78% of Aliso Niguel High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 52.5% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 96.3% of the 651 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 65.2% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.

Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Aliso Niguel High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA

The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 502 of 709 applications from Aliso Niguel High School to the UC system were admitted (71%). Categories with fewer than five students are not published by UC and appear as "—", not zero.

Campuses are listed in order of the U.S. News national university rankings. UC leaves a category blank when it has fewer than five applicants or fewer than three admits or enrollees.

Student Body at Aliso Niguel High School

In 2025-26, 32.2% of Aliso Niguel High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 5.1% were English learners.

• White49.2%
• Hispanic or Latino21.8%
• Asian14.3%
• Two or more races7.1%
• Filipino3%
• African American1%

Other Public High Schools in Aliso Viejo

Aliso Niguel High School is the only public high school listed for Aliso Viejo.

Compare all public high schools in Aliso Viejo → · Orange County public high schools by city →