How to Enroll at Pacifica High School
Pacifica High School enrolls students by Garden Grove Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. The district's Find Your 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 apply for a Parental Choice Transfer; the district sets the number of seats at each school and fills them by random lottery. For 2026-27 the application window ran from January 12 to February 13, 2026. The district also accepts Specified Reason transfers for childcare, siblings, completing the school year, a special program, or parent/guardian employment. Parents must provide transportation for approved transfers, and students must reapply when moving from 8th to 9th grade.
Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, must first obtain a release from their home district and then submit an inter-district transfer application on the Garden Grove Unified website with the release attached. The district accepts inter-district requests only for childcare, siblings, completing the school year, a special program, or parent/guardian employment, and decides based on space at the requested school; 2026-27 applications have been accepted on a rolling basis since January 12, 2026. New applicants placed on a waitlist must plan to attend their school of residence until they receive an approval email, and inter-district students are not eligible for district transportation.
Pacifica High School places students in academic courses using the GGUSD Placement Matrix (SBAC scores, district benchmarks and writing samples), teacher recommendation and department guidelines. Enrolling in an AP course requires an AP Agreement signed by the student and a parent/guardian, and some electives require an audition or application.
Courses and Signature Programs at Pacifica High School
In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Pacifica High School has 142 approved courses, including 25 AP courses and 27 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.
- Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC)
- Pacifica High School's NJROTC unit was launched in 1996 and is the only NJROTC program in Garden Grove Unified. The school states that it is not a military recruiting program and cadets are not required to join the military; cadets compete in academic Brain Brawls, CyberPatriot, SeaPerch, marksmanship, drone and drill events and take part in community service.
- German
- According to the district's 2026-27 course catalog, Pacifica High School is the only district high school offering German 1 through German 4 and AP German Language.
- Golden West College Dual Enrollment
- The school partners with Golden West College to offer free, UC- and CSU-transferable dual enrollment courses on campus that appear on both the high school and college transcripts. The 2026-27 course guide (The Mariner Scheduler) lists courses in 3D Computer Aided Design, Graphic Design, Sports Medicine and Kinesiology.
- Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathways
- According to the 2026-27 course guide, the school offers four pathways: Engineering Design, Digital Media Art, Computer Science and Sports Medicine. Students who complete one concentration course and one capstone course in the same pathway become pathway completers and earn a certificate.
- AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)
- The school offers an AVID elective at each grade from 9 to 12 to prepare students for college; for 9th grade course selection, the school advises students interested in AVID to list it as their first elective choice.
Academic Results at Pacifica High School: CAASPP and Graduation
In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 77.4% of Pacifica High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 54.4% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 94.1% of the 408 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 69.8% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.
| Pacifica High School | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 ELA met or exceeded | 77.4% | 57% |
| Grade 11 math met or exceeded | 54.4% | 30.5% |
Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Pacifica High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA
The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 294 of 398 applications from Pacifica High School to the UC system were admitted (74%). 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 | 45 | — | — | — | — |
| UC Los Angeles | 71 | 6 | 8% | 6 | 4.29 |
| UC San Diego | 79 | 15 | 19% | 3 | 4.28 |
| UC Davis | 36 | 13 | 36% | — | 4.17 |
| UC Irvine | 98 | 26 | 27% | 17 | 4.19 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 55 | 14 | 25% | 3 | 4.15 |
| UC Merced | 38 | 35 | 92% | — | 3.80 |
| UC Riverside | 77 | 71 | 92% | 8 | 3.83 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 24 | 11 | 46% | — | 3.85 |
Student Body at Pacifica High School
In 2025-26, 51.7% of Pacifica High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 5.8% were English learners.
Pacifica High School: Frequently Asked Questions
Can Irvine families transfer to Pacifica High School?
Pacifica High School belongs to Garden Grove Unified, so a family living in Irvine is out of district: the student must first obtain a release from the home district, such as Irvine Unified, and then submit an inter-district transfer application to Garden Grove Unified. The district accepts such requests only for childcare, siblings, completing the school year, a special program, or parent/guardian employment, and decides based on space at the school; Irvine students who do not fit one of these reasons have limited chances of approval. Approved students are not eligible for district transportation.
How are students placed in honors and AP courses at Pacifica High School, a question Irvine families often ask?
Pacifica High School places students in academic courses using the district placement matrix (SBAC scores, district benchmarks and writing samples), teacher recommendation and department guidelines, and the 9th grade course form has no academic choices. AP enrollment requires an AP Agreement signed by the student and a parent; honors and AP grades of C or higher earn weighted GPA credit.
Do students from Irvine families have to join the military if they take NJROTC at Pacifica High School?
Pacifica High School's NJROTC does not require cadets to join the military, and the school states that it is not a recruiting program. The program focuses on confidence, self-discipline and patriotism, and cadets also take part in sports, band, ASB, drama, choir and AVID.
Can Irvine families' students earn college credit at Pacifica High School?
Pacifica High School students can take Golden West College dual enrollment courses on campus that count on both the high school and college transcripts, at no cost, with UC- and CSU-transferable credit. The 2026-27 course guide lists courses in 3D Computer Aided Design, Graphic Design, Sports Medicine and Kinesiology. According to the district course catalog, dual enrollment requires a college application and a special admit form with parental consent.
Other Public High Schools in Garden Grove
- Bolsa Grande High SchoolGarden Grove Unified School District
- Garden Grove High SchoolGarden Grove Unified School District
- Rancho Alamitos High SchoolGarden Grove Unified School District
- Santiago High SchoolGarden Grove Unified School District
Compare all public high schools in Garden Grove → · Orange County public high schools by city →
Sources17 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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