Private high schools
Entrance exams at private high schools in Orange County
18 of the 35 private high schools in Orange County name an entrance exam, or say they require none, on their own admissions pages. By exam: HSPT 6; ISEE 2; ISEE or SSAT 1; School's own test 4; None required 1; None posted 4. Each school's wording, test dates and source page are below.
Which private high schools in Orange County require the HSPT?
6 of the 18 private high schools in Orange County with an entrance-exam entry use the HSPT: Capistrano Valley Christian School, JSerra Catholic High School, Mater Dei High School, Rosary Academy, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, and Servite High School.
Which private high schools in Orange County take the ISEE or SSAT?
3 of the 18 private high schools in Orange County with an entrance-exam entry take the ISEE or the SSAT: Pacifica Christian High School, St. Margaret's Episcopal School, and Sage Hill School.
Which private high schools in Orange County require no entrance exam?
1 of the 18 private high schools in Orange County require no entrance exam: Orange Lutheran High School. 4 give its own placement test: Fairmont Preparatory Academy, Pacific Academy Irvine, Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School, and Whittier Christian High School.
When are the entrance exams and application deadlines at private high schools in Orange County?
7 of the 18 schools post their test dates, printed beside each school below. 3 have an upcoming application deadline on file; the earliest is Servite High School on Dec 4, 2026.
Preparing for one of these? Reach has a guide to the HSPT and a guide to the ISEE, each with the test's structure, dates and the schools that use it.
HSPT (6 schools)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capistrano Valley Christian School | San Juan Capistrano | TK–12 | HSPT required for 9th-grade applicants (for course placement and academic readiness)… | — | Jan 30, 2027 | — |
| JSerra Catholic High School | San Juan Capistrano | 9–12 | HSPT | Test dates are not published on the page — applicants sign up for a date through the Admissions Portal after submitting an application, and the school notes… | — | Admissions page |
| Mater Dei High School | Santa Ana | 9–12 | HSPT | Saturday, January 16, 2027 at 7:45 am; Thursday, January 21, 2027 at 3:00 pm; Saturday, January 30, 2027 at 7:45 am. | — | Admissions page |
| Rosary Academy | Fullerton | 9–12 | HSPT | Saturday, January 16, 2027, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; make-up Saturday, January 23, 2027. HSPT prep course Saturday, January 9, 2027. | — | Admissions page |
| Santa Margarita Catholic High School | Rancho Santa Margarita | 9–12 | HSPT | January 16, 2027; January 20, 2027; January 30, 2027 (8:00 AM - 12:30 PM); registration opens September 1, 2026 | — | Admissions page |
| Servite High School | Anaheim | 9–12 | HSPT | Servite administers the HSPT on Saturday, January 23, 2027 and Saturday, February 6, 2027 (dates sourced from servitehs.org admissions pages; the checklist… | Dec 4, 2026 | Admissions page |
ISEE (2 schools)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacifica Christian High School | Newport Beach | 9–12 | ISEE (required of all applicants; on-campus sittings offered) | — | — | — |
| St. Margaret's Episcopal School | San Juan Capistrano | 9–12 | ISEE required for applicants to grades 2-11, taken as an 'At-Home' assessment; complete… | — | Dec 15, 2026 | — |
ISEE or SSAT (1 school)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Hill School | Newport Coast | 7–12 | ISEE or SSAT | No fixed school-hosted date given; official score reports must be received by the January 31 application deadline. School codes: 054282 (ISEE), 7039 (SSAT). | — | Admissions page |
School's own test (4 schools)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairmont Preparatory Academy | Anaheim | 9–12 | Own admissions assessment/interview; 'recent standardized test scores' requested with… | — | — | — |
| Pacific Academy Irvine | Irvine | 7–12 | No HSPT/ISEE/SSAT; school-administered English and math placement exams; iTEP SLATE Plus… | — | — | — |
| Tarbut V'Torah Community Day School | Irvine | TK–12 | School's own student visit and assessment (scheduled after the application is complete)… | — | — | — |
| Whittier Christian High School | La Habra | 9–12 | Own placement test (Saturday-morning test at WCHS; date assigned after applying) | — | — | — |
None required (1 school)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange Lutheran High School | Orange | 9–12 | No entrance exam | "Testing will begin in late January." (OLu Placement Test, not an entrance exam) | — | Admissions page |
None posted (4 schools)
| School | City | Grades | What the school says | Test dates as posted | Application deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquinas International Academy | Garden Grove | 6–12 | No entrance exam posted | — | — | — |
| Calvary Chapel High School | Santa Ana | 9–12 | No entrance exam posted | — | — | — |
| Crean Lutheran High School | Irvine | 9–12 | No entrance exam posted | — | — | — |
| Orangewood Academy | Garden Grove | K–12 | No entrance exam posted | — | — | — |
The same schools ranked by college outcomes, with tuition and deadlines, are on the Orange County private high schools page; tuition for every California private school is ranked on the tuition page.
Each exam entry is read from the school's own admissions page and shown only where the school posts one; the wording in "What the school says" is the school's, lightly shortened, and the source link is that page. Test dates and deadlines are as posted for the season the school's page describes and may change; a deadline already past is omitted. A school with no entry here did not state an exam on the pages we read. The list excludes nonclassroom-based online schools and schools the California Department of Education records with no 12th grade.