How to Enroll at Estancia High School
Estancia High School enrolls students by Newport-Mesa Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. The district's School Locator is the authority on which school an address is assigned to.
District residents who want a school other than their assigned one can file a Parent School Choice Transfer on SchoolMint and list up to three schools. For 2026-27 the window ran from January 15 to March 15, 2026; applications were then ranked by random lottery, with siblings of current students given priority. A late window opens in July, and students not offered a seat stay on that year's waiting list. Applications are not screened for grades, attendance or discipline, and waiting lists do not roll over to the next year.
Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, must first obtain an inter-district transfer form with a release from their home district and then submit it to Newport-Mesa Unified Student Services. The district states that it generally approves inter-district permits in only three limited cases: a student whose family moves out mid-year may finish that year; a student may stay with a class that is graduating or promoting that year; and a senior may return to the school attended as a junior after moving out of the district.
The Lyceum Academy requires a separate application. According to the school's Lyceum information sheet, students apply and interview in the spring of 8th grade, and about 20 are accepted each year based on reading level (at or above grade level), grades, application responses and the interview. The school website says the program was created to retain and attract gifted 9th graders in the Estancia High School attendance area.
Courses and Signature Programs at Estancia High School
In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Estancia High School has 124 approved courses, including 18 AP courses and 20 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.
- Lyceum Academy
- Founded in 2017, the Lyceum Academy keeps its students in at least one common class each year: AP Human Geography and Lyceum English in 9th grade, then AP Seminar and AP Research in 11th and 12th grade toward the AP Capstone Diploma or the AP Seminar and Research Certificate. It adds individualized college guidance and college visits; students apply and interview in the spring of 8th grade.
- Advanced Placement (AP)
- The school website lists AP courses in science, math, Spanish and French, social science and English, plus AP Seminar and AP Research. AP enrollment requires a teacher recommendation and an AP contract signed by the student, a parent and the teachers.
- Estancia Medical Academy
- A three-year Patient Care pathway for grades 10 to 12: Medical Careers & Health Systems, Emergency Medical Responder, and Body Systems & Disorders, all approved as UC A-G "D" or "G" courses. Students can earn CPR certification, and the school's HOSA chapter is open only to students in this pathway.
- Engineering Design Pathway
- A four-year sequence of Introduction to Engineering Design, Principles of Engineering, Computer Integrated Manufacturing, and Engineering Design & Development; the last three are UC A-G "D" lab science courses. Students can compete in the Energy Invitational vehicle design challenge.
- Building Industry Technology Academy (BITA)
- A four-year construction pathway covering residential and commercial design, building and energy efficiency. Students earn the OSHA 10-hour Construction certification, all courses meet the UC A-G "G" elective requirement, and students can join the school's Design/Build competition team.
- Dual Enrollment
- The school fact sheet lists dual enrollment courses through Coastline College, which let students earn high school and college credit at the same time.
Academic Results at Estancia High School: CAASPP and Graduation
In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 63% of Estancia High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 22.3% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 92.7% of the 246 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 43.4% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.
| Estancia High School | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 ELA met or exceeded | 63% | 57% |
| Grade 11 math met or exceeded | 22.3% | 30.5% |
Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Estancia High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA
The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 95 of 136 applications from Estancia High School to the UC system were admitted (70%). Categories with fewer than five students are not published by UC and appear as "—", not zero.
The ten lines are hard to tell apart where they overlap. Hover over any campus name below to highlight that campus’s trend; click to keep it highlighted, and click again to clear it.Tap any campus name below to highlight that campus’s trend; tap again to clear it.
| UC campus (fall 2025) | Applicants | Admits | Admit rate | Enrollees | Admit GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 15 | — | — | — | — |
| UC Los Angeles | 31 | — | — | — | — |
| UC San Diego | 25 | 12 | 48% | — | 4.20 |
| UC Davis | 11 | 3 | 27% | — | — |
| UC Irvine | 33 | 10 | 30% | 6 | 4.17 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 27 | 9 | 33% | — | 4.23 |
| UC Merced | 14 | 14 | 100% | — | 3.74 |
| UC Riverside | 13 | 8 | 62% | — | 3.69 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 16 | 10 | 63% | — | 4.05 |
Student Body at Estancia High School
In 2025-26, 81.3% of Estancia High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 22.4% were English learners.
Estancia High School: Frequently Asked Questions
Can Irvine families transfer to Estancia High School?
Estancia High School is part of Newport-Mesa Unified, so Irvine families must apply for an inter-district transfer. For 2026-27 the district closed Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor High School to new inter-district students, and Estancia High School is not on that list; however, the district generally approves inter-district permits in only three limited cases: finishing the year after moving out mid-year, staying with a class that is graduating or promoting that year, and returning as a senior after moving out during junior year. Irvine students who do not fit these cases have limited chances of approval.
How can a student from an Irvine family apply to the Lyceum Academy at Estancia High School?
Estancia High School accepts Lyceum Academy applications and holds interviews in the spring of 8th grade. According to the school's Lyceum information sheet, about 20 students are accepted each year based on reading level (at or above grade level), grades, application responses and the interview. Members take AP Human Geography together in 9th grade and AP Seminar and AP Research in 11th and 12th grade.
For Irvine families: which AP courses does Estancia High School offer, and how are they weighted?
Estancia High School's website lists AP courses including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, AP Spanish Literature, AP French Language and AP US History, along with AP Seminar and AP Research. The school's grading policy places AP grades on a five-point scale: A=5, B=4 and C=3. AP enrollment requires a teacher recommendation and a signed AP contract.
Which medical and engineering pathways can Irvine students interested in those fields find at Estancia High School?
Estancia High School offers two relevant pathways: the Estancia Medical Academy and the Engineering Design Pathway. The medical pathway starts in 10th grade and runs three years through medical careers, emergency medical responder and body systems courses, with CPR certification and HOSA state competition; the engineering pathway starts with Introduction to Engineering Design in 9th grade and runs four years through Engineering Design & Development.
Other Public High Schools in Costa Mesa
- Costa Mesa High SchoolNewport-Mesa Unified School District
Compare all public high schools in Costa Mesa → · Orange County public high schools by city →
Sources18 sources · checked 2026-11-14
Enrollment, student body, CAASPP and graduation data come from the California Department of Education. UC admissions data come from the University of California Information Center public data tables, downloaded Nov 2026.
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