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

This table, in plain English

What it measures: for each Fresno 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: University High School's 95 means its seniors earned 95 selective-UC admissions for every 100 students in the class. For scale, the median California high school scores about 18; the median Fresno County school scores 12.

The story in one sentence: Fresno County's top three schools are small public academies, and its schools convert UC applications into admissions at the highest rates anywhere in this series — one of them at 50%.

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. The county's best result comes from a charter on a university campus. University High School, which sits on the California State University, Fresno campus, scores 95 from 122 seniors and converts 40% of its UC applications — roughly double the rate of the strongest Bay Area publics.
2. Conversion rates here are the highest in the series. Reedley Middle College converts 50% of its applications, San Joaquin Memorial 48%, Sanger 42% and Kingsburg 41%. Santa Clara's public powerhouses convert 18–22%. Fresno students apply to fewer campuses and are admitted to more of them.
3. Small public academies take the top two slots. University High (95) and Design Science Middle College (87) both enroll fewer than 125 seniors. The county's only private school in the top ten, San Joaquin Memorial, is third at 59.
4. Clovis North is the strongest school at scale. It posts 46 from 613 seniors and files the county's largest application load (801), converting 35%. Clovis High graduates the county's biggest class at 751 and scores 9.
5. The median Fresno school scores 12, against about 18 statewide. Three schools clear 50 and none reaches 100 — a county whose strength is concentrated in a handful of selective-entry programs rather than spread across its comprehensives.

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 37 Fresno 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.