St. Columban Catholic School

St. Columban Catholic School does not use a 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.

This school does not use a standardized entrance test. It assesses applicants on campus, so preparation centers on the visit day and the parent interview rather than test registration. Application dates are set by the school each year; ask the admissions office for the current calendar and plan backward from it.

St. Columban Catholic School tuition for 2026-27 is $7,100.

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 described on the St. Columban Catholic School website include:

• 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)

These are the schools nearest to St. Columban Catholic School at the same level, with the basic facts each school publishes. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Distance
St. Columban Catholic School	K-8	$7,100	On-campus assessment	—
Christ Cathedral Academy	K-8	$9,900	On-campus assessment	2.5 mi
Prince of Peace Lutheran School	K-8	$7,650	—	2.8 mi
Ari Guiragos Minassian Armenian School	K-6	$8,500	—	2.8 mi
St. Barbara Catholic School	K-8	$6,850	On-campus assessment	2.8 mi

These are straight-line distances to St. Columban Catholic School from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer; time the drive once during school hours:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	12.7 miles
Northwood	11.3 miles
Turtle Rock	12.4 miles
Portola Springs	14.2 miles

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

When you visit St. Columban Catholic School, confirm these points with the admissions office:

• 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

EDUBUS counselors in Irvine work in both Chinese and English with families applying to St. Columban Catholic School. 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.