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

This table, in plain English

What it measures: for each San Mateo 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: Woodside Priory School's 70 means its seniors earned 70 selective-UC admissions for every 100 students in the class. For scale, the median California high school scores about 18; the median San Mateo County school scores 32.

The story in one sentence: In a county famous for its private schools, the two highest-scoring public schools are a design-and-technology high school on a corporate campus and a charter in Daly City — and they beat Menlo, Nueva and Crystal Springs.

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. A public school ties for first. Design Tech High School in Redwood City scores 70, level with Woodside Priory and ahead of every other private in the county. Summit Public Schools Shasta in Daly City takes third at 67.
2. The famous privates cluster just below them. The Nueva School (65), Crystal Springs Uplands (64) and Menlo School (62) post strong numbers — and all three finish behind two tuition-free public schools.
3. The county's public comprehensives are unusually even. Mills (59), Aragon (54), Carlmont (54), Oceana (51) and Burlingame (45) form a tight band, and ten of the county's thirty-three reporting schools clear 50.
4. Carlmont carries the volume. It files 1,811 UC applications from the county's largest senior class of 595, converting 18% for a score of 54 — the strongest showing of any large comprehensive in the county.
5. The median San Mateo school scores 32, nearly double the state's. That places the county behind only San Francisco (52) and Santa Clara (34) among California counties with at least fifteen reporting schools.

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 33 San Mateo 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.