Mission Basilica School

Overview

Mission Basilica School is a Catholic K-8 private school in San Juan Capistrano, California, serving grades K-8, with about 211 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $12,700 to $13,285, 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.

The school publishes the following application details. The TK through grade 8 application process has three steps: first, tour the campus, including classroom visits; then submit the application along with the past two years of report cards and standardized test scores for the principal’s review, while the student completes an assessment - kindergarten applicants take the Chancy & Bruce assessment, and applicants for grades 1 through 8 are assessed on campus; finally, the principal makes the decision and mails the formal acceptance letter. The school also has a Shadow Program, which can pair a child with a current student with similar interests for a day of classes. For the early childhood division, the first step is to email preschool@mbssjc.org to schedule a visit. The inquiry form on the school website offers 2026-2027, 2027-2028 and 2028-2029 as entry years but does not list specific application deadlines (school website, Admissions Information 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

2026-2027 school year (from the K-8 fee PDF posted on the school website’s Tuition page): kindergarten through grade 5 is $12,700 for Contributing Parishioners and $13,285 for non-contributing families; grades 6 through 8 are $12,970 for Contributing Parishioners and $13,555 for non-contributing families. To receive the parishioner rate, new families must submit a Parish Verification form. The PDF also lists the “Full Cost of Education” - $14,895 for K-5 and $15,215 for grades 6-8 - and a family that chooses to pay the full amount may treat the difference as a tax-deductible donation. The TK full-week program (age 4.9) is $12,700 for parishioners and $13,285 for non-parishioners; Pre-K and the 2-year-old program are priced in more than a dozen tiers by days per week and full or half day - for example, Pre-K full week, full day is $12,700 for parishioners and $13,285 for non-parishioners, and the 2-year-old program full week, full day is $14,330 for parishioners and $14,915 for non-parishioners. A third child and a fourth child each receive a $500 reduction.

Payments are made through FACTS, with options of a single payment in August (a $250 reduction), two payments in August and January, 11 payments from July through May, or 12 payments from July through June. Non-refundable fees: a registration fee of $375 for the first child and $250 for each additional child; an Education & Material Fee of $525 for the first child (covering the family’s technology and art fees) and $200 for each additional child; and a one-time $475 Chromebook fee for grades 6-8. There is also a service obligation of 15 points or a $450 buyout, and a $50 per semester charge for not meeting lunch duty requirements. Field trip fees for grades 4 through 8 are billed separately (school website, the two 2026-2027 fee PDFs posted on the Tuition page, for K-8 and for Preschool/TK). The school website does not publish an international student rate.

Financial aid: The school website states that need-based financial assistance is available, that families may apply only after a child has been admitted, and that all applications are reviewed confidentially. The school website does not publish the name of the aid provider, the share of families receiving aid, or award amounts (school website, Tuition page).

Academics and programs

• The campus shares a site with Mission San Juan Capistrano, and students attend Mass in the Mission Basilica each week (school website, History & Philosophy page and Faith page)
• Spanish is offered from kindergarten on, alongside physical education, art, music and technology as enrichment classes (school website, TK-8 Information page)
• Faith Families: one student from each grade level forms a “family” led by an eighth grader, and they attend Mass together and do activities on the first Friday of each month (school website, Faith page)
• Service projects by grade: each grade from the early childhood division through grade 8 is responsible for one project, such as grade 1 collecting pull tabs for Ronald McDonald House and grade 4 bagging groceries for Serra’s Pantry every Monday (school website, Faith page)
• The grade 4 California history course includes two field activities: a visit to the local Mission San Juan Capistrano and an overnight stay aboard the tall ship Brig Pilgrim in Dana Point harbor (school website, TK-8 Information page)
• Grade 6 students do geology fieldwork at the Orange County Outdoor Science School; grade 8 students perform the Living Stations of the Cross in the Basilica (school website, TK-8 Information page and Faith 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
Mission Basilica School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,700	On-campus assessment	—	—
Stoneybrooke Christian School	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$12,167	On-campus assessment	—	2.6 mi
St. Edward the Confessor Parish School	Dana Point	K-8	$11,570	On-campus assessment	—	2.7 mi
St. Anne Catholic School	Laguna Niguel	K-8	$19,400	On-campus assessment	—	2.2 mi
Fairmont San Juan Capistrano (Fairmont Schools Inc. – San Juan Capistrano Campus)	San Juan Capistrano	K-8	$26,093	On-campus assessment	—	1.0 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $12,700, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $114,300 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $134,000. 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	14.3 miles
Northwood	16.5 miles
Turtle Rock	12.6 miles
Portola Springs	14.6 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Founding year — the school website’s About Us page says only that the school will mark its 100th anniversary in 2028, without stating a founding year outright; the History & Philosophy page traces the Mission back t…
• Head of school — the CDE filing’s Mrs. Alycia Beresford is used; the body of the school website’s Administration page is empty, and the Staff Directory lists only names and email addresses without titles, so this cou…
• Enrollment — the CDE 2025-26 filing of 211 is used; the body of the school website’s MBS At-A-Glance page is blank, and no other page publishes an enrollment figure
• Average class size — the school website does not publish class sizes or a student-teacher ratio
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

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