How to Enroll at Valley High School
Valley High School enrolls students by Santa Ana Unified attendance area: students who live inside the boundary register by address, with no entrance exam.
Students who live in another Santa Ana Unified attendance area and students who live outside the district both apply through the district's School of Choice Transfer process. Each student may submit only one application per school year, and it cannot be changed or withdrawn once submitted. The 2026-27 window ran from 8 a.m. on January 8 to 4 p.m. on January 23, 2026; the 2027-28 window had not been announced as of November 2026.
When requests exceed capacity, the district first places students in priority categories set by law and policy, including victims of violence or bullying at school, children of active-duty military parents, students with a sibling who will still attend the school, and children of employees who work there; remaining applicants are chosen by random lottery, without regard to academic or athletic performance, and no resident of the attendance area is displaced by a transfer student. Approved families must confirm within 10 school days of notification, and the 2026-27 waiting list expired on May 28, 2026. The district does not provide transportation for transfer students. The district's 2026-27 availability list placed Valley High School among schools near capacity, with limited seats in grade 9 only.
Students who live outside the district, including Irvine residents, must first obtain a release from their home district, which forwards the approved inter-district permit to Santa Ana Unified for a decision; they must also file a School of Choice application during the window. Inter-district students must reapply every year to remain at Valley High School.
According to the 2025-26 School Profile, every Valley High School student takes core graduation courses in a small learning community within one of the six High School Inc. academies; the counseling website has an Academy Interest Survey and an Academy Drop Request. Engineering and computer science courses are also open to students outside that academy. AP and dual enrollment courses have open enrollment.
Courses and Signature Programs at Valley High School
In the 2026-27 University of California A-G course list, Valley High School has 182 approved courses, including 23 AP courses and 35 UC-approved honors courses (courses that receive extra weight in the UC GPA). See the full A-G list.
- C.H.A.N.G.E. Academies (High School Inc. Academies)
- The six academies are run through a partnership of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, the High School Inc. Foundation and the district, which signed its agreement with the Chamber in 2006. Students take core courses within their academy along with mentoring, internships, job shadowing and competitions, and can earn industry certifications such as Microsoft Office Specialist, SOLIDWORKS CSWA and CSWP, Snap-on, CPR and food service credentials.
- Engineering & Computer Science Academy
- The four-year sequence runs from Computer Science Essentials in grade 9 to Introduction to Engineering Design in grade 10 and Principles of Engineering in grade 11; in grade 12 students choose 3D Computer Design, which is articulated with Santa Ana College MNFG 103 or ENGR 103 and prepares students for the SOLIDWORKS CSWA certification, or AP Computer Science Principles. The school plans to add Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Cybersecurity in 2027-28.
- Anteater Academy
- According to the 2025-26 School Profile, the Anteater Academy is a small learning community that prepares students to compete for admission to highly competitive colleges, and its graduates complete eight or more AP courses.
- Health & Dental Academy
- The academy has a medical pathway covering patient care, medical terminology, clinical procedures and vital signs, and healthcare scheduling, coding and billing, and a dental pathway covering dental anatomy and charting, infection control and instruments, patient education and chairside assisting.
- Coordinated Dual Enrollment
- Through the district's CTE department and Santa Ana College, the school offers college courses during the school day that are taught or monitored by its own teachers. The 2025-26 School Profile lists courses in business (Business 106 and 125), history (History 120 and 121), law (Law 100, 105, 110 and 121), political science (Political Science 101) and entrepreneurship (Entrepreneurship 100), weighted the same as AP and honors courses.
Academic Results at Valley High School: CAASPP and Graduation
In the 2024-25 California state tests (CAASPP), 38.5% of Valley High School 11th graders met or exceeded the English language arts standard and 20% met or exceeded the math standard; the statewide figures for 11th graders were 57% and 30.5%. For the class of 2025, 91.2% of the 456 students in the four-year cohort graduated, and 36.1% of graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU admission.
| Valley High School | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 ELA met or exceeded | 38.5% | 57% |
| Grade 11 math met or exceeded | 20% | 30.5% |
Twelve Years of UC Application Data at Valley High School: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA
The University of California publishes applicants, admits and enrollees for every California high school. Combined 2023–2025, 213 of 285 applications from Valley High School to the UC system were admitted (75%). 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 | 35 | 5 | 14% | 3 | 4.11 |
| UC Los Angeles | 49 | 4 | 8% | — | — |
| UC San Diego | 40 | 18 | 45% | 5 | 4.09 |
| UC Davis | 23 | 9 | 39% | — | 4.21 |
| UC Irvine | 63 | 16 | 25% | 6 | 4.13 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 30 | 15 | 50% | — | 4.09 |
| UC Merced | 18 | 17 | 94% | — | 3.59 |
| UC Riverside | 31 | 26 | 84% | — | 3.71 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 22 | 18 | 82% | — | 4.01 |
Student Body at Valley High School
In 2025-26, 95.3% of Valley High School students were socioeconomically disadvantaged and 38.4% were English learners.
Valley High School: Frequently Asked Questions
Can Irvine families transfer to Valley High School?
Valley High School belongs to Santa Ana Unified, so an Irvine family is out of district: it must first obtain a release from its home district, such as Irvine Unified, and then apply to Santa Ana Unified during the January School of Choice window, which ran from January 8 to January 23, 2026 for 2026-27. Seats are allocated by priority category and random lottery, and the district's 2026-27 availability list showed limited seats at the school in grade 9 only. Inter-district students must reapply every year, and the district does not provide transportation.
How do Irvine families' students choose a C.H.A.N.G.E. academy at Valley High School?
Valley High School places every student in one of six C.H.A.N.G.E. academies for core courses: Culinary Arts and Hospitality; Health and Dental; Automotive, Transportation and Logistics; New Media and Entertainment; Global Business; and Engineering and Computer Science. The school encourages undecided students to talk with the counseling team, whose website has an Academy Interest Survey and an Academy Drop Request. Engineering and computer science courses are also open to students in other academies.
Which AP courses does Valley High School offer, a question Irvine families often ask?
Valley High School has open enrollment in AP, and its website lists courses including AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Statistics, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1 and 2, AP French Language and Culture and AP Spanish Language and Culture. Santa Ana Unified subsidizes the exam fee, and according to the School Profile, since fall 2023 every student enrolled in an AP course is expected to take the exam.
How does Valley High School weight GPA and rank students, a question Irvine families often ask?
Valley High School weights honors, AP and dual enrollment courses: according to the 2025-26 School Profile, they earn A=5, B=4 and C=3, while college prep courses earn A=4. The school ranks students by weighted academic GPA for grades 9-12 and by weighted academic GPA for grades 10-12 (UC Rank).
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
- Saddleback High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Samueli AcademyOrange County Department of Education
- Santa Ana High SchoolSanta Ana Unified School District
- Segerstrom 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 →
Sources15 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.
- services3.arcgis.com/fdvHcZVgB2QSRNkL/arcgis/rest/services/SchoolSites2425/FeatureServer/0
- valley.sausd.us
- valley.sausd.us/programs/change-academies
- valley.sausd.us/programs/change-academies/engineeringandcomputerscience/courses-pathway
- valley.sausd.us/programs/change-academies/health-and-dental-academy
- drive.google.com/file/d/1CbV2DGe-gt3gPtr3b9OpHan-fLJ62KBd/view
- sites.google.com/sausdlearns.net/valleysvirtualcounselingcenter
- sausd.us/departments/educational-services/support-services/school-of-choice-transfers
- sausd.us/departments/educational-services/support-services/school-of-choice-transfers/school-of-choice-procedures-and-information
- dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/EnrGrdLevels.aspx?cds=30666703036456&agglevel=school&year=2025-26
- dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/EnrEthLevels.aspx?cds=30666703036456&agglevel=school&year=2025-26
- caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/DashViewReportSB?ps=true&lstTestYear=2025&lstTestType=B&lstGroup=1&lstSubGroup=1&lstGrade=11&lstSchoolType=A&lstCounty=30&lstDistrict=66670-000&lstSchool=3036456
- dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/CohRate.aspx?cds=30666703036456&agglevel=school&year=2024-25
- hs-articulation.ucop.edu/agcourselist/institution/1527
- universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admissions-source-school
