Aliso Viejo Christian School

Overview

Aliso Viejo Christian School is a Christian K-8 private school in Aliso Viejo, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1999, with about 353 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $12,296 to $15,370, which puts it in the middle range among Orange County private schools at this level. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying. Average class size is about 22. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa.

Admissions

No standardized entrance exam; admission uses an on-campus assessment or visit day.

The school publishes the following application details. Applications for the 2026-27 school year are open; the school website gives no single deadline and admits on a rolling basis as space allows. The process has four steps: (1) apply online and pay the $125 application fee; (2) student assessment - JK applicants are not assessed, but must turn 4 before spring 2026; K applicants take a 15-20 minute readiness assessment; and applicants in grades 1-8 take a roughly 45-minute assessment in math, reading and writing; (3) a 15-20 minute family interview with the school; (4) submit the enrollment packet, with a birth certificate and immunization records, and the $600 registration fee. Applicants in grades 2-8 must also provide transcripts, standardized test results and a recommendation from their current teacher (school website, Apply Now page).

The main entry points at a K-8 school are kindergarten and grade 6. Younger applicants are usually evaluated through an on-campus visit, while most applicants above grade 5 need an ISEE score. Start in the fall of the year before entry: visit first to confirm the school is a fit, then decide whether to register for testing.

Tuition and fees

For the 2026-27 school year, tuition for the first child is $15,370 per year for full-day JK through grade 8, and $12,296 per year for half-day JK plus Lunch Bunch. Sibling rates step down: $13,833 for the second child, $13,065 for the third and $12,296 for the fourth, at the full-day rate. Tuition already includes textbooks, technology, lab and library resources, campus security and PSEO parent organization dues. The same rate applies across JK-8, with no variation by grade (school website, Tuition and Fees page).

Application fee $125 per student, one-time and nonrefundable; registration fee $600 per student for JK-8, nonrefundable. The school website gives only the monthly amounts for the 11-month plan (July through the following May) and the annual total; it lists no pay-in-full discount. The ARK after-school care annual contract is $325 per student, or $275 for siblings; drop-in care without a contract is $15 per hour; and pickup after 6:00 costs $5 per five minutes. International tuition is covered in a separate document; the school website’s International Students page offers only a download link and does not list amounts in the page text.

Financial aid: In-house financial aid is applied for through FACTS; applications for the 2026-27 school year open January 1, 2026 and require uploading the 2025 federal tax return, W-2s and recent bank statements, with a $45 processing fee. Families must have toured the campus and submitted an admission application before applying, and students must maintain a GPA above 2.0 with no outstanding balance on the account. The school website states that funds are limited, that applications are processed in the order received and that current families have priority; it does not publish the share of awards or the average amount (school website, Financial Aid page).

Academics and programs

• Middle school (grades 6-8) electives include computing options such as Digital Animation, Introduction to Coding, Podcasting and Robotics, as well as Lego Robotics and STEM (school website, Middle School page)
• The middle school world language elective is Spanish, taught with TPRS materials; the course list on the school website includes no Chinese or Mandarin (school website, Middle School page)
• Arts offerings include Band, Orchestra, Choir, Musical Theatre and Art/Home Economics (school website, Middle School page)
• ARK before- and after-school care: 7:00-8:30 am and 3:00-6:00 pm, with minimum days and full-day care days both included in the annual contract (school website, Tuition and Fees page)
• The school has enrolled international students since 2007 and has a dedicated Director of International Students; it can process SEVIS/I-20 enrollment documents (school website, International Students page, Staff Directory page)
• A daily classroom Bible course plus a schoolwide chapel every Friday, with Bible curricula tiered by level (Purposeful Design, Deep Roots Bible and others, per the curriculum section of the 2025-26 parent handbook)

How this school compares

These are the nearest schools at the same level and a comparable price. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	City	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Class size	Distance
Aliso Viejo Christian School	Aliso Viejo	K-8	$12,296	On-campus assessment	22	—
VanDamme Academy	Aliso Viejo	K-8	$18,000	—	—	0.2 mi
Stoneybrooke Christian School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,167	On-campus assessment	—	3.4 mi
Anneliese Schools – Willowbrook Campus	Laguna Beach	K-6	$18,350	On-campus assessment	—	2.5 mi
The Camino School	Laguna Woods	K-8	$13,900	On-campus assessment	19	3.7 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $12,296, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $110,664 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $130,000. Neither number includes registration fees, deposits, uniforms or activity fees. A California 529 plan can cover up to $10,000 per child per year of K-12 tuition.

Getting there from Irvine

These are straight-line distances from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer, and a morning rush-hour trip typically takes 1.5 to 2 times as long as an off-peak one:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	9.8 miles
Northwood	11.7 miles
Turtle Rock	7.3 miles
Portola Springs	10.8 miles

The website does not describe bus service; confirm this during your visit.

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Enrollment — the only figure on the school website is the vague “close to 400 students” in the FAQ, with no precise number, so enrollment uses the CDE filing of 353, with the source noted
• Transportation — the school website’s sitemap has no Transportation or Bus page, and a full-text search of the home page, FAQ, Contact Us, Tuition and Fees and the 2026-2027 Parent Handbook PDF turns up the word bus …
• International tuition — the school website’s International Students page offers only a download link for the 2026-27 Tuition Information and lists no amounts in the page text, so no specific figure was obtained
• Share and average amount of financial aid — the school website’s Financial Aid page explains only the application process and priorities, publishing no amounts or coverage rates
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Aliso Viejo Christian School’s admissions calendar, prepare students for the campus visit and interview, and review application materials before they are submitted. Book a school-selection consultation or read the Chinese version of this page.