Reach by Test Prep Gurus

What are my odds? →

Blog

Stories from the data

Shorter reads than our research briefs — the questions parents and counselors actually ask us, answered with the numbers.

January 9, 2027 — twenty-five California private high schools give their entrance exam on the same Saturday.

California · October 2, 2026

Twenty-five California high schools give their entrance exam on the same Saturday

January 9, 2027. Fifty-eight schools test somewhere in January, and good prep takes six to twelve weeks.

Thirty-nine California private schools with application deadlines between October 1 and November 30, 2026.

California · October 2, 2026

Thirty-nine California private schools have a deadline before December

Most of them are not the real deadline. They are the date that guarantees your child an interview.

January 5 and January 15, 2027 — the two biggest private school application deadlines in California, split between the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

California · October 2, 2026

The Bay Area applies January 5. Los Angeles applies January 15.

Two application deadlines, ten days apart, split the state almost in half.

March 12, 2027 — 66 California private schools release admission decisions the same day, and 40 set March 19 as the reply deadline.

California · October 2, 2026

66 schools answer on March 12. Forty want your answer by the 19th.

The biggest day on California's private school calendar, and the one week that follows it.

The high school that sends the most students to New York University is Jericho Senior High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to New York University is Jericho Senior High School

Jericho Senior High School printed 34 graduates per class year enrolling at New York University, first of 249 schools whose published lists name the university.

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Texas at Austin is Westwood H S — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Texas at Austin is Westwood H S

Westwood H S in Austin sends 90 graduates per class year to UT Austin, first of 130 schools whose published lists name the university. All 10 schools at the top of the list are in Texas.

Mira Costa High School sends the most students to UC Berkeley — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

Mira Costa High School sends the most students to UC Berkeley

Across 162 high schools whose own published lists name UC Berkeley, Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach is first, at 21 graduates per class year. All 10 schools in the top 10 are in California.

The high school that sends the most students to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is Mira Costa High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is Mira Costa High School

Mira Costa High School sends 18 students per class year to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, first of 95 schools whose published lists name the college.

The high school that sends the most students to Cornell is Syosset Senior High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Cornell is Syosset Senior High School

Syosset sends 25 students per class year to Cornell University, first of 228 schools whose published lists name the college. Seven of the top 10 are in New York.

The high school that sends the most students to USC is Orange County School of the Arts — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to USC is Orange County School of the Arts

Orange County School of the Arts prints 23 graduates per class year at the University of Southern California, first of 201 schools whose published lists name the college.

The high school that sends the most students to UCLA is Mira Costa High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to UCLA is Mira Costa High School

Mira Costa High School shows 25 graduates per class year enrolling at UCLA, first of 165 schools whose published lists name the campus. All 10 schools in the top 10 are in California.

The high school that sends the most students to Stanford is Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Stanford is Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto

Gunn's own published list prints 22 graduates enrolling at Stanford University for the class of 2025. It is first of 162 schools whose published lists name Stanford, and nine of the top 10 schools are in California.

The 10 high schools that send the most students to the University of Florida — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The 10 high schools that send the most students to the University of Florida

Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa names the University of Florida 28 times for the Class of 2026 — first of 81 schools whose published lists name it. Seven of the top 10 are in Florida.

The high school that sends the most students to Southern Methodist University is Prestonwood Christian Academy — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Southern Methodist University is Prestonwood Christian Academy

Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas shows 15.0 students per class year enrolling at Southern Methodist University, first of 155 schools whose published lists name the university. Four of the top 10 schools are in Texas.

The 10 high schools that send the most students to Rice — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The 10 high schools that send the most students to Rice

Debakey H S for Health Prof in Houston is first at 23 students per class year, and eight of the top 10 schools are in Texas.

The high school that sends the most students to Princeton University is Princeton High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Princeton University is Princeton High School

Princeton High School reports 17 graduates per class year enrolling at Princeton University. That is first of 176 schools whose published lists name the college.

The high school that sends the most students to Yale is Hopkins School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Yale is Hopkins School

Hopkins School in New Haven names Yale University 14 times on its Class of 2026 list — first of 175 schools whose published lists name Yale.

The high school that sends the most students to Harvard is Milton Academy — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Harvard is Milton Academy

Milton Academy printed 32 graduates enrolling at Harvard University over 2024-2026 — 10.7 per class year, first of 157 schools whose published lists name the college.

The high school that sends the most students to Columbia University is Regis High School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Columbia University is Regis High School

Regis High School in New York sends 9.0 students per class year to Columbia University, first of 157 schools whose published lists name the college. Here are the top 10, with each school's own printed count and class years.

The high school that sends the most students to Northwestern is New Trier Township H S Winnetka — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to Northwestern is New Trier Township H S Winnetka

New Trier sends 12 graduates per class year to Northwestern, first of 184 schools whose published lists name the university. Four of the top 10 are in Illinois.

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Chicago is Horace Mann School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Chicago is Horace Mann School

Horace Mann School in the Bronx sends 21.3 students per class year to the University of Chicago, first of 183 schools whose published lists name the university.

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Miami is Pine Crest School — from the high schools' own published lists

Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to the University of Miami is Pine Crest School

Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale sends 10.0 graduates per class year to the University of Miami, first of 175 schools whose published lists name the college.

Jericho vs. Syosset: NYU tops one college list, Stony Brook the other — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Jericho vs. Syosset: NYU tops one college list, Stony Brook the other

Two Long Island public high schools publish where their graduates enrolled. Both lists side by side, with the 60 colleges they share.

Palo Alto Senior High School vs. Henry M. Gunn High School: the same college is first on both lists — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Palo Alto Senior High School vs. Henry M. Gunn High School: the same college is first on both lists

Two public high schools in one city publish their own college matriculation lists. Foothill College is the largest name on each. Stanford University is the largest shared university on both: 22 graduates per class year at Gunn, 16 at Palo Alto.

Harvard-Westlake vs. Loyola High School: NYU tops one college list, Loyola Marymount the other — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Harvard-Westlake vs. Loyola High School: NYU tops one college list, Loyola Marymount the other

Two private Los Angeles-area schools publish where their graduates enrolled. Read side by side, per class year.

The Harker School vs. Menlo School: two college lists side by side, Stanford at the top of each — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

The Harker School vs. Menlo School: two college lists side by side, Stanford at the top of each

Two private high schools in the Bay Area publish where their graduates enrolled. Read per class year, Stanford sits first on both lists: 11.3 a year at Harker, 10.0 at Menlo.

Dalton School vs. Collegiate School: Harvard tops one college list, Chicago the other — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Dalton School vs. Collegiate School: Harvard tops one college list, Chicago the other

Two New York private schools publish where their graduates enrolled. Read per class year, Dalton's biggest college is Harvard University and Collegiate's is University of Chicago.

Horace Mann vs. Riverdale Country: Chicago on one list, Cornell on the other — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Horace Mann vs. Riverdale Country: Chicago on one list, Cornell on the other

Two Bronx private schools publish matriculation lists. Read side by side, per class year, here is what each one names most.

Greenwich High School vs. Greenwich Academy: two college lists side by side — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Greenwich High School vs. Greenwich Academy: two college lists side by side

One town, two published matriculation lists. Greenwich High School's Class of 2026 list names the University of Connecticut-Stamford most often. Greenwich Academy's 2022-2026 list names the University of Virginia most often. 73 colleges appear on both.

Stanford and the University of Washington: Lakeside School and University Prep, two college lists side by side — from the high schools' own published lists

Two lists, side by side · October 2, 2026

Stanford and the University of Washington: Lakeside School and University Prep, two college lists side by side

Two Seattle private schools publish five class years of enrollments each. Lakeside School's largest college is Stanford University, at 7.0 graduates per class year. University Prep's largest is the University of Washington (Seattle), at 10.2 per class year.

Horace Mann School Is First on the Ivy+ Feeder Board — from the high schools' own published lists

Rankings · October 2, 2026

Horace Mann School Is First on the Ivy+ Feeder Board

Horace Mann School prints 69.3 graduates per class year at the 12 Ivy+ colleges. Harvard-Westlake School is second at 69.0. The admissions lists are ranked on their own page.

The high school that sends the most students to NYU is in Jericho, New York — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to NYU is in Jericho, New York

Jericho Senior High School is first of 251 schools on our NYU board, with 34 students in the Class of 2026. Syosset Senior High School, also in New York, is first for Cornell.

The UC score puts Harvard-Westlake 61st. The school's own list points to New York. — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

The UC score puts Harvard-Westlake 61st. The school's own list points to New York.

Harvard-Westlake scores 62 on the UC Reach Score, 61st of 1,107 California high schools. Its own published list says the college its graduates enrolled at most is New York University, 26 of them.

Fifty-one Orange County high schools publish a college list. Eight print the counts. — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

Fifty-one Orange County high schools publish a college list. Eight print the counts.

A name on the list means at least one student. A number tells you whether that was one student or many. Here is what two of Orange County's eight counted lists show.

Dallas's engineering magnet sent 34 graduates to Texas A&M and 3 to UT Austin — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

Dallas's engineering magnet sent 34 graduates to Texas A&M and 3 to UT Austin

The School of Science and Engineering printed its own Class of 2025 numbers: Texas A&M University 34, The University of Texas at Dallas 12, The University of Texas at Arlington 8, The University of Texas at Austin 3. Statewide, the two flagships hold 15.2 percent of every student counted.

400 acceptances is not 400 students — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

400 acceptances is not 400 students

Bronx Science's own list prints 400 acceptances to Binghamton University in 2025. Those are yes letters, not seats. At the four schools that publish both kinds of list for the same years, offers run from 1.16 to 4.08 for every seat taken.

Harvard-Westlake is 61st of 1,107 on UC admits and 2nd of 284 for Ivy-plus enrollment. Both numbers are right. — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

Harvard-Westlake is 61st of 1,107 on UC admits and 2nd of 284 for Ivy-plus enrollment. Both numbers are right.

The UC Reach Score counts University of California admits and nothing else, so it cannot see the graduates a school's own list shows enrolling out of state.

Cornell draws the most New York graduates on these lists, and two Long Island public schools lead the boards — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

Cornell draws the most New York graduates on these lists, and two Long Island public schools lead the boards

Across the 41 New York lists that print counts, Cornell totals 503 enrollments and NYU 413, and Syosset and Jericho sit first on those two boards.

Texas lists point mostly at Texas — from the high schools' own published lists

From the data · October 2, 2026

Texas lists point mostly at Texas

Across the 18 Texas lists that print counts, UT Austin and Texas A&M together hold 15.2% of the students.

A lower UC San Diego admit rate is not a cap — Reach by Test Prep Gurus, Fall 2025 University of California data.

Behind the data · September 28, 2026

Your kid is not competing with their classmates for UC San Diego seats

A chart going around says students at high-applying high schools compete with each other for a fixed number of UC San Diego seats. The pattern in it is real. The explanation is not, and the University of California's own data says so twice.

October testing and application dates for parents of high school students — Test Prep Gurus.

Behind the data · September 26, 2026

A mom texted me at nine at night. The PSAT was in the morning.

Nothing had gone wrong. The school announced it properly. It just never made it from a junior's backpack to the family calendar.

USC and UC Berkeley ten-year median earnings side by side against their published cost of attendance — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

Behind the data · September 26, 2026

USC and Berkeley graduates earn the same. The price is $178,724 apart.

Ten years out, the median USC graduate and the median Berkeley graduate earn within fifty-two dollars of each other. Four years of the two schools differ by $178,724.

California's top high schools by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 25, 2026

California's 50 strongest UC pipelines sit in ten of its 58 counties

We ranked every California high school with 100 or more seniors by UC admits per senior across the six most selective campuses. The top of the list was not the surprise. The map was.

Riverside and San Bernardino County high schools ranked by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

Inland Empire · League table · September 24, 2026

The Inland Empire's strongest UC pipeline runs through a public school in Victorville

We ranked all 117 Riverside and San Bernardino high schools with 100 or more seniors by UC admits per senior. The name at the top was not one I expected.

Test-blind, test-optional and test-required colleges explained — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

College admissions · September 23, 2026

Test-optional is not test-blind, and the difference decides whether your kid should prep

A mom told me her daughter was done with the SAT because colleges do not need it anymore. Part of that is true. Which part depends entirely on her daughter's list.

TCU merit scholarship criteria and award amounts against tuition — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

Behind the data · September 22, 2026

Two friends applied to TCU with the same GPA. One sent a score.

Both were admitted. One came away with a large scholarship and the other paid full price, and the four-year difference ran past a hundred thousand dollars.

The California high schools sending the most students to UC Irvine, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 18, 2026

UC Irvine is Orange County's local school. Its top two feeders are in San Diego.

Four Irvine schools make the top 25 and none of them cracks the top five. All 25 are public.

Orange County high schools ranked by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

Orange County · League table · September 17, 2026

Seven of Orange County's 25 highest UC Reach Scores are in one city

Public and private both, and every one of them in Irvine. Here is the Fall 2025 board, read two ways so it stays honest.

The California high schools sending the most students to UC San Diego, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 16, 2026

UC San Diego's top feeder school is in Los Angeles County

Orange County puts seven schools on this board. San Diego County puts three. A family in San Marcos and a family in Pleasanton are looking at the same campus with the same odds.

San Francisco high schools ranked by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

San Francisco · League table · September 15, 2026

San Francisco's UC board is the only one where geography drops out

Every school on this board sits inside one city. On every other county board, comparing two schools also means comparing two housing markets.

The copyable prompt that builds a reach, match and likely nursing list from Reach data.

Behind the data · September 15, 2026

I told Claude to build a nursing college list and only read our site

About a minute later it had every California nursing program's admit rate into the program, net price with aid, and what graduates earn. The reason that matters is what it found.

The California high schools sending the most students to UCLA, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 14, 2026

The high school that sends the most students to UCLA is not in Los Angeles

I expected an LA list. Ten of the 25 are Bay Area schools and seven are from Los Angeles County.

Nonresident share of the entering class at Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego across the funded years and after — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 10, 2026

California paid the UC to swap out-of-state students for Californians. Then the money paused.

Every year the money flowed, the nonresident share fell at all three campuses. The year it paused, the share went back to roughly where it started.

The California high schools sending the most students to UC Berkeley, Fall 2025 — Reach by Test Prep Gurus.

UC admissions · September 8, 2026

Which California high schools send the most students to Berkeley

The University of California publishes admits by high school every year. Almost nobody reads it, so we turned it into a board.

Eleven Dallas private schools with applications due January 8, 2027, over the Reach Dallas tracker branding.

Dallas · August 26, 2026

Eleven Dallas private schools share one application deadline — January 8

Ten applications due January 8, thirteen decisions on March 12, and the DISD window underneath it all — the Dallas admissions calendar, verified school by school.

UCSD report figures — 1 in 12 below middle-school math standards, 1 in 8 below high-school, thirtyfold growth since 2020.

UC testing review · August 25, 2026

The data Newsom asked for already exists — school by school

1 in 12 of UCSD's incoming class placed below middle-school math standards. The governor asked for data — and for 1,121 California high schools, both halves of the question are already public.

Out of every 10 offers from the top-six UCs, about 7 are turned down across California and more than 9 at Sage Hill School.

Behind the data · August 24, 2026

How to spot an elite high school in the data

A high UC Reach Score tells you a class collected UC offers. How many they turned down tells you something else entirely.

NYU nursing under 5% admit rate beside Brown's 5.2% overall and NYU's campus rate of 7.7%.

College admissions · August 21, 2026

Nursing at NYU is harder to get into than Brown

NYU's own announcement puts its nursing college under a 5% admit rate — stricter than Brown — and the national numbers explain why.

Bay Area high schools ranked 11 to 20 by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Ruth Asawa 70.2 down to The King's Academy 65.

Bay Area · League table · August 19, 2026

The Bay Area's next ten — and why rank is the wrong way to read them

Ranks 11 through 20 sit inside five points of each other. At that spacing rank is noise — direction is the story.

Top 10 Orange County high schools by UC Reach Score, Fall 2025 — Sage Hill 151, Fairmont Prep 101, Orange County School of the Arts 96.

Orange County · League table · August 18, 2026

Orange County's top 25 high schools for UC admits

Sage Hill leads California at 151. But the result worth studying is third place — a public arts school holding 96 across a class of 393.

Admission offers at the six most selective UC campuses, 2024 vs 2026 — offers to Californians flat, offers to everyone else up 43%

UC admissions · August 14, 2026

A Record Number of UC Offers for Californians — and a Shrinking Share at the Top

UC admitted a record 102,031 California residents, and California's share of offers fell at all six of the most selective campuses. Both are true — because almost none of the growth at the top went to Californians.

The corrected Bay Area top 10 high schools for UC admits, ranked by UC Reach Score — Fall 2025

Behind the data · August 12, 2026

The Bay Area's Top 10 High Schools for UC Admissions

Ranked by UC Reach Score — admissions to the six most selective UC campuses per 100 graduating seniors, Fall 2025. Harker leads at 126; the top ten runs from San Jose to San Francisco and splits almost evenly between public and private.

Cal Poly admitted 30%. Mechanical engineering admitted 13.3%.

CSU admissions · August 11, 2026

The Admit Rate You Looked Up Isn't the One Your Student Is Facing

Cal Poly's overall admit rate is 30%. Mechanical engineering admitted 13.3%. At San Diego State, nursing admitted 3.

San Diego's top 10 high schools for UC admits, ranked by UC Reach Score — Fall 2025

San Diego · League table · August 9, 2026

The Second-Best UC Results in San Diego County Come From a School Built for First-Gen Kids

We ranked every San Diego County high school by admissions to the six most selective UC campuses. The top ten holds several very different paths — standout privates, high-powered publics, and a tuition-free charter with a first-generation mission in second place.

At UC San Diego, a 4.1 from out of state beats a 4.1 from California

UC admissions · August 7, 2026

Same GPA, Different Odds: What Residency Really Does to UC Admissions

At five of the six selective UC campuses, an out-of-state applicant with the same weighted GPA is admitted at a higher rate than a Californian. Berkeley is the lone exception — and the systemwide number hides all of it.

UC just admitted a record 102,031 Californians — the headline is true, and it's only half the story

UC admissions · Fall 2026 · August 7, 2026

A Record 102,031 California Students Just Got UC Offers. Here's What the Record Hides.

The most California admits in UC history — and a nine-fold spread in the odds between campuses. Why 'I got into a UC' and 'I got into the UC I wanted' are two very different sentences.

Behind the data · August 7, 2026

A Counselor Asked Our Tool a Question It Couldn't Answer

Engineering at UC San Diego has a very different acceptance rate than sociology — so why did our site show one number for the whole campus? A counselor's fair question, and what we built because of it.