San Francisco County
Private vs public high schools in San Francisco County
13 private and 13 public high schools in San Francisco County have a 2025 UC Reach Score: top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counted at each campus. The tables below put the two groups side by side on that one measure.
Do private or public high schools in San Francisco County get more students into the UC system?
In San Francisco County the 13 private high schools with a 2025 UC Reach Score have a median of 53 and a top score of 66 (Immaculate Conception Academy), and the 13 public high schools have a median of 41 and a top score of 71 (Lowell High School); pooled, private schools show 51.0 UC admits per 100 seniors and public schools 52.4.
| Group | Schools with a score | Median UC Reach Score | Top UC Reach Score | UC admits per 100 seniors (pooled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | 13 | 53 | 66 | 51.0 |
| Public | 13 | 41 | 71 | 52.4 |
Which private high schools in San Francisco County have the best UC outcomes?
The highest-scoring private high school in San Francisco County is Immaculate Conception Academy at 66, and 7 of the 10 private schools in the table publish a tuition figure.
| # | School | City | Tuition | UC Reach Score | UC admits 2025 | Seniors | Publishes a counted college list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Immaculate Conception Academy | San Francisco | — | 66 | 41 | 62 | No |
| 2 | San Francisco University High School | San Francisco | $68,090 | 60 | 67 | 111 | Yes |
| 3 | Archbishop Riordan High School | San Francisco | $29,000 | 59 | 164 | 280 | No |
| 4 | Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep | San Francisco | $29,550 | 57 | 186 | 326 | No |
| 5 | Lycee Francais De San Fran | San Francisco | — | 56 | 24 | 43 | No |
| 6 | Lick Wilmerding High School | San Francisco | $64,900 | 55 | 77 | 139 | Yes |
| 7 | Bay School of San Francisco | San Francisco | $69,899 | 53 | 73 | 138 | No |
| 8 | St. Ignatius College Preparatory | San Francisco | $35,700 | 51 | 186 | 363 | No |
| 9 | Rise University Preparatory | San Francisco | — | 45 | 9 | 20 | No |
| 10 | Urban School of San Francisco | San Francisco | $68,241 | 37 | 37 | 99 | Yes |
Which public high schools match them?
The highest-scoring public high school in San Francisco County is Lowell High School at 71, and 10 of the top 10 public schools score at or above 37, the score of the 10th private school in the table above.
| # | School | City | UC Reach Score | UC admits 2025 | Seniors | Publishes a counted college list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lowell High School | San Francisco | 71 | 453 | 642 | No |
| 2 | Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts | San Francisco | 70 | 127 | 181 | No |
| 3 | Galileo Academy of Science & Tech | San Francisco | 61 | 249 | 408 | No |
| 4 | Mission Senior High School | San Francisco | 57 | 150 | 262 | No |
| 5 | George Washington High School | San Francisco | 56 | 287 | 510 | No |
| 6 | Abraham Lincoln High School | San Francisco | 52 | 265 | 505 | No |
| 7 | Phillip & Sala Burton Academy High School | San Francisco | 41 | 104 | 252 | No |
| 8 | Gateway High School | San Francisco | 39 | 47 | 120 | No |
| 9 | San Francisco International High School | San Francisco | 38 | 41 | 108 | No |
| 10 | Balboa High School | San Francisco | 38 | 126 | 332 | No |
Does the gap hold at the same GPA?
Among 14 private high schools in San Francisco County with enough Fall 2024 UC applicants to measure (applicants averaging a 3.98 GPA), 19.9% of applicants were admitted where their GPAs predict 21.9%; among 9 public high schools (applicants averaging a 3.96 GPA), 21.9% were admitted where their GPAs predict 21.8%.
| Group | Schools measured | UC applicants 2024 | Average applicant GPA | Admitted | Expected at that GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | 14 | 4,933 | 3.98 | 19.9% | 21.9% |
| Public | 9 | 6,959 | 3.96 | 21.9% | 21.8% |
UC publishes applicant GPA a year behind its admit counts, and 2024 is the latest year it covers private schools. "Expected" is the admit rate the statewide curve for each of the six campuses predicts from a school's applicant GPA, summed over its applicants; the same method as the GPA-performance table on the rankings. Only schools with at least 30 applications across at least three campuses are measured.
What families are also buying at a private school
Parents are not only shopping for college outcomes. The tables above count UC admits, and a high school is also four years of a teenager's days: who they spend them with, what the school asks them to value, and whether the adults know them.
Families who choose a private school in San Francisco County are usually weighing some of these:
- Community and values fit. A private school sets its own mission and expectations, and the application, the entrance exam and the interview work as a fit signal in both directions. Of the 11 private schools here with an affiliation on file, 5 are religiously affiliated and 6 are nonsectarian.
- Class size. The National Center for Education Statistics' Private School Survey (2022) lists 8 of these private schools at 4.8 to 14.9 students per teacher.
- Size of the school. The 13 private schools here with an enrollment count on file enrolled 72 to 1,555 students, with a median of 410.
- Advising. Each private school builds its own college-advising model, so the useful question is how many students each counselor carries and how early the work starts.
- Arts and athletics access. A smaller school can mean more students on each team and in each production; ask each school what participation looks like.
Public schools are a great choice when a family cannot afford a private school, and the public table above shows how each of them does with UC admissions.
Every school in San Francisco County is on the San Francisco County school list; the county rankings rank them against each other. Other counties are on the private vs public index, and a single private school can be set beside its nearest strong public school on the worth-the-tuition pages.
UC Reach Score is top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in 2025, counted at each campus, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. "Public" means district and charter schools with at least 100 seniors, as in the rankings (online, independent-study and alternative programs are left out); private schools of any size are included. Pooled admits per 100 seniors adds each group's admits and divides by its seniors; a "~" marks a senior count the data estimates. Schools with no UC admit counts for 2025 are not in either group. Tuition comes from each school's own admissions pages and is shown only where the school publishes it. A school "publishes a counted college list" when its own published list carries a count beside each college. The list excludes nonclassroom-based online schools and schools the California Department of Education records with no 12th grade.