How to Enroll at Saddleback High School
Saddleback High School enrolls grades 9 to 12 by Santa Ana Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam. The district's Residency Locator is the authority on which school an address is assigned to.
Grades 7 and 8 enroll only IB Middle Years Programme students, and seats are limited. Families submit an interest form online or on paper, and students are selected on a combination of their interest form answers, student record, teacher recommendation and an interview; no student is guaranteed a spot. For 2027-28 the interest form is due December 4, 2026; after a records review and teacher recommendations, students are invited to interview in early January 2027 and notified in mid-January. MYP students' progress is reviewed every six weeks, and excessive tardies or absences, failing grades from lack of effort or behavior problems may result in a return to the home school. The school website does not say whether out-of-district students may apply to the MYP.
District residents who want a school other than their assigned one, and students from outside the district who want to attend Saddleback High School, apply through Santa Ana Unified's School of Choice transfer request in the Aeries Parent Portal. Families may list up to two schools (a preferred school and an optional school), and only one request per student per year is allowed; it cannot be changed or withdrawn after submission. The 2026-27 window ran from 8 a.m. on January 8 to 4 p.m. on January 23, 2026; the district emailed decisions between January 26 and February 6, and families offered a seat had 10 calendar days to accept, with no late responses. The district has not yet posted the 2027-28 window. The district's 2026-27 availability list shows grades 7 and 8 at Saddleback High School as approaching capacity with limited seats.
When requests exceed space, the district first places priority groups such as victims of violent crime on campus, children of active-duty military parents, siblings of continuing students and children of staff assigned to the school; remaining requests are decided by random lottery, not by order of submission, and academic and athletic performance are not considered. Out-of-district students must first obtain a release from their district of residence before applying, and they must reapply every year. Approved transfer students may not move to another district school during that year, and the district does not provide transportation for transfer students.
Courses and Signature Programs at Saddleback High School
In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Saddleback High School has 173 approved courses, including 18 AP courses, 18 IB courses and 44 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.
- IB Diploma Programme
- Saddleback High School was authorized for the IB Diploma Programme in spring 2017. The DP is a two-year program in grades 11 and 12 in which students study at least two languages and take Theory of Knowledge.
- IB Middle Years Programme (in candidacy)
- The MYP is a four-year preparatory program for grades 7 to 10 that leads into the DP in grade 11. The school became an MYP candidate in July 2023 and its website still lists the program as in candidacy; seventh graders take all classes apart from PE, lunch and possibly Spanish separately from high school students.
- Advanced Placement (AP)
- AP is the College Board's program of college-level courses, and passing an AP exam can earn credit at many colleges. The school website lists AP alongside IB as an advanced course option.
- PLTW Biomedical Science
- Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Biomedical Science is a three-year pathway in which students learn through hands-on activities such as practicing suturing and building body structures from clay.
- Career Technical Education: Arts, Media and Entertainment
- The school's career technical courses include graphic design through Spyder Lab and television and media production in the on-campus Roadrunner Studios.
- AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination)
- AVID serves college-bound students, many of them the first in their families to attend college, helping them complete college-preparatory coursework and become college eligible.
Academic Results at Saddleback High School: CAASPP and Graduation
In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 30.1% of Saddleback High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 9.9% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 97.6% of the 330 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 45.3% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.
| Saddleback High School | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 ELA met or exceeded | 30.1% | 57% |
| Grade 11 math met or exceeded | 9.9% | 30.5% |
Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Saddleback High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA
The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 136 of 211 applications from Saddleback High School to the UC system were admitted (64%). 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 | 20 | — | — | — | — |
| UC Los Angeles | 45 | 6 | 13% | 5 | 4.18 |
| UC San Diego | 36 | 16 | 44% | — | 4.04 |
| UC Davis | 20 | 8 | 40% | 3 | 4.08 |
| UC Irvine | 52 | 9 | 17% | 3 | 4.13 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 31 | 12 | 39% | — | 4.06 |
| UC Merced | 19 | 16 | 84% | — | 3.58 |
| UC Riverside | 35 | 24 | 69% | 3 | 3.75 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 13 | 4 | 31% | — | — |
Student Body at Saddleback High School
In 2025-26, 95.2% of Saddleback High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 27.6% were English learners.
Saddleback High School: Frequently Asked Questions
Can Irvine families apply to Saddleback High School?
Saddleback High School belongs to Santa Ana Unified, so Irvine families are out of district: they must obtain a release from Irvine Unified and then file a School of Choice request in the Aeries Parent Portal during the January window, reapplying every year; when seats run short, priority groups and a random lottery decide placement, and the district does not provide transportation for transfer students. The grade 7 and 8 IB Middle Years Programme has its own interest form and interview, and the school website does not say whether out-of-district students may apply, so families should ask the school.
How does Saddleback High School select students for the IB Middle Years Programme, for Irvine families considering it?
Saddleback High School has limited seventh-grade seats in the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and selects students on their interest form answers, student record, teacher recommendation and an interview. For 2027-28 the interest form is due December 4, 2026, interviews take place in early January 2027 and families are notified in mid-January; the form can be submitted online through the school website or on paper.
Why does Saddleback High School have seventh and eighth graders, a question Irvine families ask?
Saddleback High School is not an intermediate school; it admits a small number of seventh and eighth graders only for the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP). The MYP covers grades 7 to 10, after which students enter the IB Diploma Programme (DP) in grade 11. Seventh graders interact with high school students during PE, lunch, passing periods and possibly Spanish, and all other classes are exclusive to them.
What career and college pathways does Saddleback High School offer, for Irvine families comparing options?
Saddleback High School offers, in addition to IB and AP, a three-year PLTW Biomedical Science pathway, graphic design through Spyder Lab, television and media production in Roadrunner Studios, and the AVID college-readiness program. The school website presents these as pathways that run alongside IB.
Other Public High Schools in Santa Ana
- Advanced Learning AcademySanta Ana Unified School District
- Century High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Ednovate - Legacy College Prep.Orange County Department of Education
- Foothill High SchoolTustin Unified School District · in-depth guide
- Hector G. GodinezSanta Ana Unified School District
- Magnolia Science Academy Santa AnaSBE - Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana · in-depth guide
- Nova Academy Early College High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- OCSAOrange County Department of Education · in-depth guide
- Samueli AcademyOrange County Department of Education
- Santa Ana High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Segerstrom High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Valley High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Vista Meridian Global AcademyOrange County Department of Education
Compare all public high schools in Santa Ana → · 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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