St. Columban Catholic School

Overview

St. Columban Catholic School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Garden Grove, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1956, with about 254 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $7,100, which puts it in the lower 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 home page of the school website states that applications are being accepted for the 2026-2027 school year. Once a K through 8 application is submitted, the school schedules an assessment appointment. Age requirements: preschool children must be 2 years and 6 months old by the first day of school and toilet trained; TK children must be 4 by September 1; kindergarten children must be 5 by September 1 (school website, Admissions Information page). The school website does not publish open house dates or an application deadline.

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

Annual fees for TK through grade 8 in 2026-27: $7,100 for one child, $12,900 for two children, $17,200 for three and $21,500 for four; the Montessori early childhood program is likewise $7,100 per child. This page on the school website does not distinguish between a parishioner rate and a non-parishioner rate; there is only one rate (school website, Admissions Information page).

An enrollment fee of $350 per student is also due at registration (school website, Admissions Information page). The school website does not publish an application fee, a technology fee, the price difference for installment plans, or rates for international students.

Financial aid: Financial aid is available only to families who have completed enrollment and will be attending TK-8 the following school year, and it is funded by the Orange Catholic Foundation. The process is to complete enrollment first, then submit a FACTS Grant and Aid application from the FACTS Family Online account, for which FACTS charges a $40 processing fee; submitting before March 6 is recommended in order to be considered for the largest award. The school website states that award amounts depend on that year’s fundraising and on the number of families applying, and it does not publish the share of families receiving aid or the average amount (school website, Tuition Assistance page).

Academics and programs

• Maker Space: a hands-on space that encourages students to solve problems through trial and error (school website, Maker Space / Engineering Program page)
• Junior High Engineering Program in grade 8: students design and calculate first, then machine the parts, and the finished product must be tested, analyzed and presented (school website, Engineering Program page)
• Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: Montessori-style religious formation for preschool through grade 2, with two atria on campus (school website, Religion page)
• Montessori early childhood and TK: the Montessori preschool opened in 2010, and TK was added in 2012 (school website, Mission and Philosophy page)
• Teams and clubs: flag football and girls volleyball in the fall; basketball, boys volleyball, i3 roller hockey and track and field in the spring; plus a grade 3-8 choir, Art Club, Student Council, Social Justice Committee, Soccer Shots and Lego Brain Builders (school website, Student Life 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
St. Columban Catholic School	Garden Grove	K-8	$7,100	On-campus assessment	—	—
St. Barbara Catholic School	Santa Ana	K-8	$6,850	On-campus assessment	—	2.8 mi
Prince of Peace Lutheran School	Anaheim	K-8	$7,650	—	15	2.8 mi
Ari Guiragos Minassian Armenian School	Santa Ana	K-6	$8,500	—	—	2.8 mi
Christ Cathedral Academy	Garden Grove	K-8	$9,900	On-campus assessment	—	2.5 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $7,100, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $63,900 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $75,000. 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	12.7 miles
Northwood	9.7 miles
Turtle Rock	12.4 miles
Portola Springs	14.7 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• accreditation = null — the home page, Mission and Philosophy, Standards and Admissions Information pages on the school website do not mention accreditation; St. Columban cannot be found in the ACS WASC 2022-23 national sch…
• enrollment uses the CDE 2025-26 filing figure of 254 — neither the home page nor any other page of the school website publishes an enrollment count
• avgClassSize = null — the school website does not publish class sizes or a student-teacher ratio
• acceptsF1 = null — the school website has no page or information about international students or I-20s
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track St. Columban Catholic 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.