Mariners Christian School

Overview

Mariners Christian School is a Christian K-8 private school in Costa Mesa, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1987, with about 720 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $12,441 to $16,340, 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.

Admissions

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

Applications typically open in the fall and close in January or February; check the school website for the current year’s dates.

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

$12,441-$16,340 per year (2026-27, by grade: TK $12,441, grades K-5 $15,067, grades 6-8 $16,340; school website, Admissions page; includes student activity fees covering the yearbook, technology, textbooks, and grade-level field trips)

Academics and programs

• Bible is a required core subject for TK-8, with all-school chapel each week and a week of spiritual emphasis before both Christmas and Easter (school website, Spiritual Formation page)
• Elementary specialist classes: physical education, MakerSpace (two maker classrooms), technology, Spanish, music, and art (school website, Elementary and Tour pages)
• Middle school: tiered from honors courses to tutorial support, with the Mariners Institute of the Arts for visual and performing arts, interscholastic athletics, and student leadership programs such as ASB (school website, Middle School page)
• Grade-level experience weeks: outdoor science camp in grade 6, the Heart to Serve service day in grade 7, and the Washington, D.C. trip in grade 8 (school website, Middle School page)
• Math in K-8 uses Envision Math, science follows NGSS, and English language arts follows Common Core (school website, Elementary page)

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
Mariners Christian School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$12,441	On-campus assessment	—	—
St. John the Baptist Catholic School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$9,742	On-campus assessment	—	1.3 mi
Bethel Classical Academy	Irvine	K-9	$10,900	On-campus assessment	—	2.4 mi
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School	Newport Beach	K-8	$12,380	On-campus assessment	25	3.0 mi
Frontiers Academy	Costa Mesa	K-8	Not published	—	—	0.3 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $12,441, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $111,969 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $132,000. 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	7.9 miles
Northwood	5.8 miles
Turtle Rock	4.6 miles
Portola Springs	10.5 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Whether religion classes and chapel are required, and how many families are not members of the faith
• Whether the ISEE is required above grade 5, and roughly where the score bar sits
• How many mid-year openings come up in a typical year, and how the waitlist works
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Mariners 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.