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

This table, in plain English

What it measures: for each Orange 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: Northwood High's 71 means its seniors earned 71 selective-UC admissions for every 100 students in the class. For scale, the median California high school scores about 18 — the median school on this list scores about 40.

The story in one sentence: Orange County's strongest UC pipelines are mostly tuition-free public schools — six of the top ten — with Irvine Unified placing four schools in the county's top thirteen, while the county's big-name private schools cluster in the middle of the table.

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.

Five takeaways

1. Six of the county's top ten are tuition-free. Legacy Magnet, Oxford Academy, Middle College, Troy, and Northwood are public; OCSA is a public charter. In Orange County, the strongest UC pipelines are mostly schools any family can attend.
2. The Irvine effect is real. Irvine Unified places four schools in the county's top 13 — Northwood (71), Portola (67), University (67), and Beckman (66) — with Woodbridge and Irvine High close behind. No other district comes close to that depth.
3. Orange County towers over the state. The statewide median Reach Score is about 18. The median school on this list posts 40, and fifteen OC schools clear 50 — a level only the top tenth of California high schools reach. Even #40 here would beat roughly three-quarters of the state.
4. The big Catholic schools cluster tightly — in the middle. Santa Margarita (37), Mater Dei (36), and JSerra (33) post nearly identical numbers: roughly double the statewide median, but well below the small elite privates. Scale is part of the story — Mater Dei graduates 514 seniors to Sage Hill's 148.
5. Application volume isn't conversion. Troy files the county's most UC applications (1,912) and converts 24% of them; Sage Hill and OCSA convert about a third. High volume signals ambition — the admit-per-application rate signals fit.

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 of Orange County schools with published 2025 UC outcomes and at least 50 seniors. Schools whose data failed integrity checks are excluded. 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.