Where Contra Costa County's high school grads get into the UC system

This table, in plain English

What it measures: for each Contra Costa County high school, how many admissions its graduating class earned to the six most selective UC campuses (Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis), per 100 seniors. Higher score = the class graduated with more UC options on the table. It comes straight from the University of California's own school-by-school admissions counts.

How to read one row: Bentley School's 76 means its seniors earned 76 selective-UC admissions for every 100 students in the class. For scale, the median California high school scores about 18; the median Contra Costa County school scores 26.

The story in one sentence: Contra Costa's headline is Dougherty Valley — one school filing 3,451 UC applications, more than Lowell, Canyon Crest or Arcadia file in their own counties — alongside a Lamorinda cluster whose three high schools post nearly identical numbers.

One honest caution: the Reach Score is not an admit rate. A student admitted to three UC campuses counts three times — it measures the breadth of options a class earned, which is why an exceptional school can score above 100. The full definition is below the table.

5 takeaways

1. One school files more UC applications than any other in this series. Dougherty Valley in San Ramon sends 3,451 — more than San Francisco's Lowell (2,058), San Diego's Canyon Crest (2,196) or Los Angeles's Arcadia (2,362) — from 837 seniors, and converts 15% of them for a score of 63.
2. One small district holds four of the county's top thirteen. Campolindo in Moraga (57), Miramonte in Orinda (57), Acalanes in Lafayette (46) and Las Lomas in Walnut Creek (44) all belong to Acalanes Union High — four public schools within a few miles of each other, all roughly doubling the statewide median.
3. A tuition-free middle college is the county's top public school. Middle College High scores 71 from 72 seniors — second countywide, behind only Bentley (76) and ahead of every other private in the county.
4. Richmond's schools convert unusually well. Aspire Richmond California College Prep converts 31% of its applications and Making Waves Academy 26%, against 15% at Dougherty Valley and 17% at Monte Vista. Berean Christian in Walnut Creek leads the county at 39%.
5. Seven schools clear 50, and none reaches 100. Contra Costa has no school in the range Santa Clara's or Los Angeles's leaders occupy, but its median school (26) sits well above the statewide 18 — a county that is strong broadly rather than spectacular narrowly.

How to read the Reach Score: admissions to the six most selective UC campuses (Berkeley, UCLA, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis) per 100 graduating seniors. A student admitted to several campuses counts at each — which is why an exceptional school can score above 100. It measures the breadth of a class's UC options, not an admit rate.

Coverage: the top 40 Contra Costa County schools with published 2025 UC outcomes and at least 50 seniors. Schools whose data failed integrity checks are excluded, as are schools that filed UC applications but recorded no admissions. School-level admit counts include all admits (UC publishes no breakout of recruited athletes or other categories). Source: University of California Office of the President, freshman application/admission counts by school, Fall 2025; enrollment from CDE / Private School Affidavit. See the full methodology.