Dana Hills High School

How to Enroll at Dana Hills High School

Dana Hills High School enrolls students by Capistrano Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. The district's online enrollment for new students for 2027-28 opens on January 4, 2027, and eighth graders at district middle schools complete course requests with their middle school counselors in February and March.

District residents may apply through School of Choice to attend another district school. The 2027-28 window runs from January 4 to January 29, 2027, and the district emails decisions by March 5, 2027. An approved school becomes the student's school of record with no need to reapply each year; denials cannot be appealed, and School of Choice students are not eligible for district busing.

For students outside the district, including Irvine residents, the inter-district process starts with the district of residence, both districts must approve before the student attends, and transfers must be renewed annually. Capistrano Unified grants transfers based on space after placing all resident students and may deny them for reasons such as attendance, behavior or academic history; the district does not participate in the Allen Bill, so parental employment within the district does not qualify a student. A denial may be appealed to the district within 10 calendar days, and a district decision upholding the denial may be appealed to the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) within 30 calendar days.

SOCSA requires an application and audition, while the HMO Academy and AVID require an application and interview; applications open on the school website in mid-February, and only incoming freshmen may apply to HMO. Honors courses are assigned automatically by district criteria, and ninth graders must be placed in English 1 Honors to take AP World History or Honors World History, with the school recommending at least an A- in English 8.

Courses and Signature Programs at Dana Hills High School

In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Dana Hills High School has 237 approved courses, including 22 AP courses and 80 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.

South Orange County School of the Arts (SOCSA)

Housed at Dana Hills High School, SOCSA is a visual and performing arts academy for students with a strong interest in the arts, covering visual arts, dance, musical theatre, acting, directing, television production, graphic and commercial art, and vocal and instrumental music. Admission requires an application and audition, and students who only need to meet the UC arts requirement do not need to apply.

Health and Medical Occupations Academy (HMO)

HMO is a state-funded four-year academy for students interested in health careers, with English, science and math coursework tied to medical applications, required field studies and an internship class in grade 11. Only incoming freshmen may apply, and admission requires an application and interview.

Two-Way Immersion (TWI) Spanish

The TWI program places native Spanish and native English speakers in the same classes and builds Spanish toward professional proficiency over four years through culture, history, literature and current issues. Students continuing from middle school immersion are placed in TWI Honors World History and Spanish Speakers II.

College and Career Advantage (CCA)

CCA is Capistrano Unified's Career Technical Education (CTE) program, offered both during and after the school day. Dana Hills High School's 2026-27 pathways include design and media arts, performing arts, fashion design, robotics, cybersecurity, esports and business management; most courses are UC A-G approved and many are honors weighted.

AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)

AVID is a four-year elective in which students follow the UC A-G sequence and build skills in time management, Cornell notes, peer tutorial and test preparation; students commit to a 3.0 GPA, 30 hours of community service and taking college entrance exams. Admission requires an application and interview.

Saddleback College Concurrent Enrollment

Students may take college courses at Saddleback College by applying to Saddleback, submitting a Capistrano Unified external course request for each course, completing Saddleback's dynamic form and waiting for college and district approval. A Saddleback arts course of at least 3 units can meet the one-year UC and CSU visual and performing arts requirement.

Academic Results at Dana Hills High School: CAASPP and Graduation

In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 71% of Dana Hills High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 39.8% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 94.3% of the 436 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 57.9% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.

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

The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 254 of 404 applications from Dana Hills High School to the UC system were admitted (63%). 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 Dana Hills High School

In 2025-26, 41.5% of Dana Hills High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 6.8% were English learners.

• White53.6%
• Hispanic or Latino33.8%
• Two or more races5.9%
• Asian2.8%

Other Public High Schools in Dana Point

Dana Hills High School is the only public high school listed for Dana Point.

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