St. Margaret's Episcopal School:
Upper School Planning Guide

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School is in San Juan Capistrano in southern Orange County. Founded in 1979, it is a coeducational Episcopal day school that runs from Early School through grade 12. According to the School Profile (Class of 2027 edition), the school enrolls 1,234 students, including 469 in the Upper School and 112 in the Class of 2027. This page covers only the Upper School, grades 9 through 12; admission and tuition by division from Early School to grade 8 are on this guide’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 page. The Upper School has three distinctive features: mathematics, computer science, world languages and the arts all extend to Post-AP courses; students attend weekly Chapel and take three semesters of Religion and Philosophy; and the school adds only 0.5 for honors courses, which differs sharply from UC’s weighting rules. This page does not rank the school. It answers two questions: how to gain admission to the Upper School, and how to plan once enrolled.

UC A-G refers to the seven categories of high school courses (a through g) required by the University of California and California State University; only courses on a school’s A-G list count for UC. AP is the College Board’s Advanced Placement program, honors courses are advanced courses designed by the school, and Post-AP means courses one level beyond AP.

How the St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Upper School Is Structured

Based on figures St. Margaret’s Episcopal School publishes, the Upper School has four defining features.

First, it is mid-sized with a fixed advisory system. The Upper School has 469 students, with classes of just over 100: 101 in the Class of 2025 and 115 in the Class of 2026. Each student is assigned an advisor in grade 9, and the advisory group of about 10 students stays together for four years. The school website gives a Middle and Upper School student/advisor ratio of 10:1, and the School Profile gives an Upper School student/faculty ratio of 14:1. The school does not rank students.

Second, the course ceiling is high, with Post-AP courses across several subjects. The school website lists 26 AP courses, and the School Profile also lists Post-AP courses such as Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence Systems and Advanced Chinese Studies. In the Class of 2027, 101 students took 523 AP exams; the school states that 82% scored 4 or 5 and 93% scored 3 or above, phrased in terms of students, without explaining how the percentages were calculated.

Third, standardized test scores are concentrated at the high end. According to the School Profile, the middle 50% SAT range for the Classes of 2024 through 2026, through June 2026, was 1290 to 1520 (134 test takers, mean 1386), and the middle 50% ACT composite range was 31 to 34 (130 test takers, mean 32.2).

Fourth, religion and experiential learning are required. The Upper School attends Chapel weekly, and graduation requires three semesters of Religion and Philosophy. SEA Term, an experiential learning program launched in 2026-27, is a graduation requirement in grades 6 through 11; it is graded and recorded on a separate transcript.

How to Apply to the Upper School at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School

The admission FAQ of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School states that the most sought-after entry years are Early School, Kindergarten, grade 6 and grade 9. The Upper School accepts applications for grades 9 through 11, and space in grades 10 and 11 may be limited. The steps below follow the school’s published schedule for 2027-28 entry.

The school’s public pages do not state the application fee or the dates and requirements of the math and language placement exams. One financial aid deadline deserves attention: the deadline table gives February 15, 2027 for new families, while the questions on the same page give February 1 for Standard Review applicants, so families should plan for the earlier February 1 date.

Below are the application dates compiled in the school library from the school website, followed by EDUBUS advisor commentary on applying to this school.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Year-by-Year UC Data: Applicants, Admit Rates and GPA

The data below on St. Margaret’s Episcopal School come from the UC Infocenter of the University of California Office of the President, reported by source high school with the school type set to California private high school, and updated annually. They answer two questions: how many St. Margaret’s Episcopal School students apply to and are admitted by UC each year, and what GPAs admitted students hold. GPA is the UC weighted, capped GPA, which counts only courses taken in grades 10 and 11. UC does not publish categories with fewer than 5 applicants or fewer than 3 admits or enrollees; these appear as a dash (—).

Applicants and Admits by Campus, Most Recent Year

Campuses are listed in order of the U.S. News national university rankings. UC leaves a category blank when it has fewer than five applicants or fewer than three admits or enrollees.

College Matriculation Lists Published by St. Margaret’s Episcopal School

Everything in this section comes from matriculation lists that St. Margaret’s Episcopal School compiles and publishes itself. The lists show only where graduates enrolled, and a number in parentheses means more than one student enrolled, so the figures below are enrollment counts, not admission counts. UC campuses are not listed in the tables; use the official UC data on this page.

Two patterns stand out. First, outcomes are spread widely: the 115 graduates in the Class of 2026 went to 59 colleges, and the school states that 23 colleges enrolled two or more of them, with the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego each enrolling 6, the most of any college. Second, out-of-state colleges account for a large share: in the Class of 2026, 75 students left California for college and only 40 stayed, and the list includes Midwestern universities such as the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, Purdue University and Indiana University, as well as liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. These are enrollment outcomes and cannot be used to estimate admission counts or admit rates at any college.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School GPA Weighting: The School Scale and the UC Scale

This section on St. Margaret’s Episcopal School answers the question parents most often get wrong: how the school and UC each weight the same transcript. Start with the school’s rules.

Checked course by course against the official UC A-G list, the following courses are weighted as honors at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School but are not on the UC-approved honors list, so UC counts them as standard courses.

The two scales differ in two directions. The first is the size of the bonus: the school adds 0.5 for honors and 1 for AP and Post-AP courses, while UC adds a full point for every approved honors course. Arts honors courses such as choir, band, orchestra, theater and film, and the Chinese, Latin and Spanish honors courses, earn only 0.5 at the school but a full point, like AP, in the UC GPA. The second is which courses qualify: Geometry Honors, Algebra II Honors and English II Honors are weighted at the school but not by UC. EDUBUS recommends putting UC-approved honors courses into the grade 10 schedule first, such as Chemistry Honors, Precalculus BC Honors or AP United States History; UC counts at most four honors points in grade 10, which equals two yearlong honors courses. Algebra II Honors and English II Honors remain worth taking because they are the steps into advanced grade 11 courses, but they will not raise the UC GPA.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School: Timeline from the Grade 8 Application to Grade 12

Three decision points matter most. The first is placement before entry: both the Mathematics and World Languages departments state that new students may take placement exams, and the math starting point determines whether a student can reach AP Calculus BC or Post-AP courses by grade 12. The second is course selection in the spring of grade 10: English III Honors, AP sciences and most AP history courses in grade 11 require department approval. The third is grade 11: the college counseling program expands that year, and it is the last year counted in the UC GPA.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School: Academic Competitions and Student Organizations

The At a Glance page of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School lists more than 55 student clubs and leadership organizations, but the school does not publish a club list online. The Upper School academic competitions and honors that can be verified in school news are listed below.

• United States National Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO): in 2026 the school's chemistry team placed first overall in the Orange County local competition, and two students advanced to the national round and earned national Honors (top 10% of national participants)
• Washington University Chemistry Tournament: Director's Award in 2026
• Berkeley Chemistry Tournament: competed in 2026
• Orange County First Year Chemistry Competition: competed in 2026
• NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing (National Council of Teachers of English, open to sophomores and juniors): five Upper School students honored in 2026, three of them at the top First Class level

The Upper School has eight major student leadership groups: Associated Student Body (ASB), Honor Committee, Admission Ambassadors, IMPACT Fellows, Peer Counselors, Tartan Inclusivity and Diversity Education (TIDE), Tartan Tutors and Yearbook; students are selected through self-nomination and peer election. The School Profile states that the Upper School day has seven class periods; students in major leadership roles typically devote one of them to that group.

Note that the school does not publish a complete list of its academic competition teams online; the items above are only those that can be verified in school news. Students who want to demonstrate ability through individual competitions such as the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) usually need systematic training outside school.

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School: Signature Programs

• SEA Term (St. Margaret's Exploration Academy): A new experiential learning program launched in 2026-27 and required in grades 6-11. Each course meets nine times during the year in 90-minute sessions and ends with a five-day immersive experience in late May; courses are graded, with a separate SEA Term transcript. Students choose three priority and three alternate courses, and at least one priority choice must be a local or regional course. Local and regional courses carry no additional cost, while extended travel courses include an additional family cost, with financial aid available. Seniors complete an Independent Study Project instead
• Chapel and Religion and Philosophy: The Upper School gathers for Chapel once a week, led by the chaplains, who select readings, prayers and homilies to reflect the multiple faiths in the school community; students may serve as acolytes or readers or offer a homily. Religion and Philosophy courses study scripture through literature and philosophy, and the School Profile describes them as academic, non-doctrinal and approved by UC
• Advisory: Each Upper School student is assigned an advisor in grade 9 and keeps the same advisor for four years. Advisory groups of about 10 students meet weekly to discuss academic progress, social issues and service learning projects, and the advisor serves as the liaison among parents, teachers, coaches and administrators
• Service Learning: Upper School advisory groups build yearlong partnerships with local nonprofit organizations, and students complete their service during the school day; with the launch of SEA Term, service learning is embedded in SEA Term courses. The endowed Moseley Venture to Serve fund has, according to the school, supported more than 100 projects led by students and staff with more than $100,000 since 2023
• Post-AP Courses: Mathematics offers Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra; computer science offers Artificial Intelligence Systems, Introduction to Software Engineering, Software Engineering and Solving STEM Problems with Computer Science; world languages offer Advanced Chinese Studies and Advanced Study: Spanish Culture and Conversation; visual arts offers Advanced Study in 2D and 3D Design. Post-AP courses carry the same one-point weight as AP courses at the school
• Arts: The Performing Arts Center has a 450-seat proscenium-style theater and a 150-seat black box theater, and the school is designated an All-Steinway School. The school website lists 13 theater, music and dance productions a year, 21 music groups, 31 visual arts courses and 8 visual arts exhibits. Choir, band, orchestra, jazz, dance, film and theater all have honors levels, which UC also recognizes as honors courses
• Athletics: The At a Glance page lists 26 varsity sports, with 83% of Middle and Upper School students on athletic teams, and 47 CIF championships and 8 state championships. Upper School fall, winter and spring sports include football, cross country, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, volleyball, baseball, equestrian and surf

Choosing St. Margaret’s Episcopal School: Total Tuition, Commute and Visits

This section on St. Margaret’s Episcopal School answers five questions parents often ask when choosing a school: which families the Upper School suits, what the total tuition is, how students get to school from Irvine, what to ask on a visit, and which nearby schools to compare.

Which families this school suits

Total tuition through graduation

At 2026-27 rates, four years of Upper School tuition from grade 9 total $211,800; adding the school’s estimated $750 annual Inclusive Activity Fee and the $750 grade 12 graduation fee brings the total to $215,550. Seven years from grade 6, a popular entry year, including three years of Middle School at $47,800 per year, total $355,200 in tuition. Tuition usually rises each year, so the actual total may exceed figures based on current rates. These amounts exclude the bus, books and a laptop, uniforms and team costs, and family costs for SEA Term extended travel courses; the deposit is applied to tuition and is not counted separately. For families who receive financial aid, the school sets the actual amount based on family resources.

Commuting from Irvine

The school is on La Novia Avenue in San Juan Capistrano, off Interstate 5 at the Ortega Highway exit. The table below shows straight-line distances from several Irvine neighborhoods with many Chinese American families to the school, measured by EDUBUS from each neighborhood’s center point to the school address; actual drive times depend on navigation.

Four of the six 2026-27 bus routes serve Irvine, with morning pickup in Irvine between 7:30 and 7:45 and arrival at school at 8:10 to 8:15. The Upper School also has an evening bus for students in arts and athletics returning to Irvine. EDUBUS recommends driving the route once during the morning arrival window on the day of a school visit.

Questions to confirm on a visit

The following questions are not clearly answered on the school’s public pages, or two official documents give different answers, so families should confirm them during a visit or meeting.

• Application fee: not stated on the Apply or FAQ pages.
• New-family financial aid deadline: the same page gives both February 15 and February 1.
• Dates, content and score requirements for the new-student math and language placement exams.
• The grade 9 science sequence: the 2024-25 academic progression places physics in grade 9, while the 2026-27 science course page describes the traditional sequence as biology in grade 9 and physics in grade 10.
• Average class size and student-to-counselor ratio: not published by the school.
• Dates and fees for the Upper School summer session: the departments list only the subjects offered.

Comparable schools

The main private schools in southern Orange County serving the same or similar grades are listed below; the key differences are religious affiliation and admission testing.

• JSerra Catholic High School: also in San Juan Capistrano, a Catholic school for grades 9-12, admission by the HSPT.
• Santa Margarita Catholic High School: in Rancho Santa Margarita, a Catholic school for grades 9-12, admission by the HSPT.
• Sage Hill School: in Newport Coast, no religious affiliation, grades 7-12, admission by the ISEE or SSAT.
• Fairmont Preparatory Academy: in Anaheim, no religious affiliation, grades 9-12, no admission test required.

Click each school name for its tuition, application schedule and courses.

How to Use College Counseling at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School

This section on St. Margaret’s Episcopal School explains what the school’s College Counseling Office provides and when to use each service.

For grade levels and prerequisites of each course, see Courses and Course Selection; for math pathways, see Math Pathways; for AP courses and prerequisites, see AP Course List and Strategy.

Data verified on 2026-10-01. Course catalogs are updated each spring; prerequisites follow the school's current Course of Study.