An EDUBUS College Planning exclusive · 12 Orange County private high schools

Private high schools with similar tuition
can lead to entirely different four-year paths

Orange County’s private high schools include Catholic, Lutheran, Christian, and nonreligious independent schools, and they differ widely in entrance exams, religion course requirements, and whether the University of California recognizes their honors courses. The EDUBUS College Planning Department starts from the official University of California A-G course lists and year-by-year admissions data for each school, adds each school’s School Profile, course catalog, and admission pages, and compiles the result into a five-page guide for every school. Families can first learn how to apply and how to choose courses once enrolled, and then make a decision. For public high schools, see the Irvine High School Guides and Orange County Top Public High Schools.

Request the printed white paperThe Orange County Private School White Paper profiles 8 of these schools in detail; printed copies are available at the EDUBUS Irvine office

All data for these schools is compiled, verified, and updated every year by the EDUBUS College Planning Department

pages of in-depth guides
60
UC-approved courses documented
1,819
honors courses with UC weighting
664
official UC data points
6,067

Start with this table

How to apply, and what a year of tuition costs

Every private high school requires an application. Most Catholic high schools use the HSPT (High School Placement Test), the common entrance exam for Catholic high schools; independent schools mostly use the ISEE or their own tests, and some schools require no test at all. Tuition reflects the most recent school year published on each school’s website and excludes registration, technology, and other fees. Details are on each school’s overview page.

SchoolCityTypeEntrance examTuition2025 UC
applied / admitted		Three-year UC
admit rate
Sage Hill SchoolNewport CoastPrivate high schoolISEE or SSAT$49,500 to $58,100 per year132 / 11680%
Pacific Academy IrvineIrvinePrivate high schoolInterview and writing; iTEP for non-native English speakers—28 / 2789%
Fairmont Preparatory AcademyAnaheimPrivate high schoolNot required$34,435/year118 / 10481%
Crean Lutheran High SchoolIrvinePrivate high schoolNo entrance exam$23,575/year159 / 13982%
Mater Dei High SchoolSanta AnaPrivate high schoolHSPT$21,150 to $22,800 per year261 / 17160%
JSerra Catholic High SchoolSan Juan CapistranoPrivate high schoolHSPT$26,200/year132 / 7760%
Rosary AcademyFullertonPrivate high schoolHSPT$21,990 to $23,290/year39 / 2968%
Pacifica Christian High School, Orange CountyNewport BeachPrivate high schoolISEE$25,490/year16 / 1379%
Servite High SchoolAnaheimPrivate high schoolHSPT$20,710 to $21,710 per year80 / 5561%
Orange Lutheran High SchoolOrangePrivate high schoolNot required$20,800 to $22,525 per year108 / 7363%
Santa Margarita Catholic High SchoolRancho Santa MargaritaPrivate high schoolHSPT$22,000 to $23,600 per year186 / 12566%
Whittier Christian High SchoolLa HabraPrivate high schoolSchool placement test$19,585/year18 / 963%

Official UC data · One metric at a time, side by side

UC application outcomes for 12 private high schools, side by side

Every figure below comes from official University of California UC Infocenter data by source high school, with the school type set to California private high schools. Admit rates combine three years so that figures for small schools do not swing from one year to the next. Admit rates also reflect the makeup of each applicant pool and do not indicate the quality of a school’s instruction; twelve years of data for each school and comparisons with peer schools are on each school’s UC admissions page.

  1. Sage Hill School80%281 admitted / 353 applied
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine89%59 admitted / 66 applied
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy81%245 admitted / 304 applied
  4. Crean Lutheran High School82%361 admitted / 439 applied
  5. Mater Dei High School60%434 admitted / 729 applied
  6. JSerra Catholic High School60%226 admitted / 378 applied
  7. Rosary Academy68%97 admitted / 142 applied
  8. Pacifica Christian High School, Orange County79%46 admitted / 58 applied*
  9. Servite High School61%139 admitted / 228 applied
  10. Orange Lutheran High School63%221 admitted / 352 applied
  11. Santa Margarita Catholic High School66%385 admitted / 586 applied
  12. Whittier Christian High School63%48 admitted / 76 applied

Combined total for 2023 through 2025: admits divided by applicants. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants over the three years, or whose admit counts were not published, are not listed. Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

  1. Sage Hill School19%56 admitted / 297 applied*
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine18%9 admitted / 50 applied*
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy16%37 admitted / 226 applied*
  4. Crean Lutheran High School18%54 admitted / 304 applied
  5. Mater Dei High School10%36 admitted / 357 applied
  6. JSerra Catholic High School14%26 admitted / 186 applied
  7. Pacifica Christian High School, Orange County16%4 admitted / 25 applied*
  8. Servite High School7%7 admitted / 105 applied*
  9. Orange Lutheran High School14%20 admitted / 141 applied*
  10. Santa Margarita Catholic High School18%57 admitted / 325 applied

Combined total for 2023 through 2025: admits divided by applicants. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants over the three years, or whose admit counts were not published, are not listed. Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

  1. Sage Hill School13%44 admitted / 327 applied
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine10%6 admitted / 58 applied*
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy9%25 admitted / 266 applied
  4. Crean Lutheran High School11%39 admitted / 370 applied
  5. Mater Dei High School9%52 admitted / 572 applied
  6. JSerra Catholic High School13%38 admitted / 283 applied
  7. Rosary Academy6%6 admitted / 103 applied*
  8. Servite High School9%15 admitted / 164 applied*
  9. Orange Lutheran High School9%25 admitted / 267 applied
  10. Santa Margarita Catholic High School13%57 admitted / 455 applied
  11. Whittier Christian High School6%3 admitted / 52 applied*

Combined total for 2023 through 2025: admits divided by applicants. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants over the three years, or whose admit counts were not published, are not listed. Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

  1. Sage Hill School20%64 admitted / 322 applied*
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine24%14 admitted / 59 applied*
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy22%60 admitted / 274 applied*
  4. Crean Lutheran High School31%122 admitted / 391 applied
  5. Mater Dei High School21%105 admitted / 511 applied
  6. JSerra Catholic High School24%64 admitted / 267 applied
  7. Rosary Academy23%21 admitted / 91 applied*
  8. Pacifica Christian High School, Orange County16%6 admitted / 38 applied*
  9. Servite High School18%29 admitted / 164 applied*
  10. Orange Lutheran High School19%47 admitted / 245 applied*
  11. Santa Margarita Catholic High School24%104 admitted / 440 applied
  12. Whittier Christian High School19%10 admitted / 54 applied*

Combined total for 2023 through 2025: admits divided by applicants. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants over the three years, or whose admit counts were not published, are not listed. Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

  1. Sage Hill School53%142 admitted / 268 applied*
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine39%24 admitted / 62 applied*
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy29%78 admitted / 273 applied
  4. Crean Lutheran High School50%190 admitted / 377 applied
  5. Mater Dei High School28%125 admitted / 454 applied
  6. JSerra Catholic High School37%67 admitted / 183 applied*
  7. Rosary Academy33%29 admitted / 89 applied*
  8. Pacifica Christian High School, Orange County30%11 admitted / 37 applied*
  9. Servite High School20%32 admitted / 163 applied*
  10. Orange Lutheran High School26%61 admitted / 231 applied
  11. Santa Margarita Catholic High School36%128 admitted / 356 applied
  12. Whittier Christian High School15%10 admitted / 67 applied*

Combined total for 2023 through 2025: admits divided by applicants. Schools with fewer than 10 applicants over the three years, or whose admit counts were not published, are not listed. Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

  1. Sage Hill School4.15116 admitted
  2. Pacific Academy Irvine3.9827 admitted
  3. Fairmont Preparatory Academy3.93104 admitted
  4. Crean Lutheran High School4.04139 admitted
  5. Mater Dei High School3.97171 admitted
  6. JSerra Catholic High School3.9877 admitted
  7. Rosary Academy3.9229 admitted
  8. Pacifica Christian High School, Orange County4.0513 admitted
  9. Servite High School3.8355 admitted
  10. Orange Lutheran High School3.9773 admitted
  11. Santa Margarita Catholic High School3.92125 admitted
  12. Whittier Christian High School3.859 admitted

Average weighted, capped GPA of students admitted systemwide by the University of California for fall 2025 (UC calculation, grades 10 and 11 only). Schools marked * have one or more years that UC left blank because the counts were too small.

EDUBUS College Planning Team

Five pages that settle the key decisions in advance

The most overlooked issue at private high schools is the gap between the school transcript and the UC application. Courses the school designates as honors are not necessarily recognized by the University of California; required theology courses appear under A-G category g (elective) at some schools and are absent from the list entirely at others; and the weighted GPA the school reports is not the GPA that UC calculates. This guide documents these differences school by school and then offers advice on course selection and AP combinations. Every school follows the same five-page structure, so families can begin with the student’s own school.

Overview

How to apply to this school, and where its graduates end up

  • Entrance exams, application timeline, interviews and materials, tuition and financial aid, and religion course requirements
  • Year-by-year University of California data by source high school: applicants, admits, enrollees, and admit GPA
  • College admission and enrollment lists published by the school, with the classes covered and how each list is defined
  • How the school’s weighting rules differ from UC’s, and which honors courses receive no UC weighting
  • A four-year timeline, academic clubs and competitions, and how to make use of college counseling

UC Admissions

How this school’s students fare when applying to each UC campus

  • Twelve years of official data from 2014 to 2025: applicants, admits, enrollees, and admit GPA
  • Combined admit and enrollment rates for the most recent five years, and how much higher admits’ GPAs are than applicants’
  • For each UC campus, this school’s admit rate side by side with other private high schools and with leading Irvine and Orange County public high schools
  • How private school honors courses, international student status, and the UC GPA calculation interact

Courses and Course Selection

How to plan a four-year schedule, and which courses UC does and does not recognize

  • Every course on the official UC A-G course list, with level, grades offered, and prerequisites
  • Graduation credit requirements compared with UC A-G requirements, and how theology and religion courses count
  • The number of courses per semester and the rules for adding and dropping courses
  • Four-year paths in English, science, social science, and world languages

Math Pathways

How placement is decided at entry, and the highest course a student can reach

  • How entrance and placement exams determine the grade 9 math course
  • Where the honors and AP tracks branch, and the requirements for each
  • School policies on summer acceleration and outside math courses
  • What students can take after calculus

AP Courses and Pass Rates

Which AP courses at this school are worth taking, and which to complete elsewhere

  • All AP courses, with grades offered and selection criteria
  • AP exam results published by the school
  • AP courses the school does not offer that commonly appear in UC applications
  • Course combinations recommended by intended major

Browse by school

How much each guide contains

The bars below reflect the number of courses on the official UC list and the number of 2025 UC admits. Schools differ in size, so a higher count does not mean a better school.

Year-by-year UC admissions data comes from official University of California UC Infocenter data by source high school (school type: California private high schools). Each school’s overview page also includes the college destination lists the school publishes, which are defined in different ways.

For students applying to or attending Orange County private high schools, the first step is a four-year plan

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