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

This table, in plain English

What it measures: for each Tulare 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 Preparatory High School's 31 means its seniors earned 31 selective-UC admissions for every 100 students in the class. For scale, the median California high school scores about 18; the median Tulare County school scores 14.

The story in one sentence: Tulare is the only county in this series whose entire top ten is public — no private school places at all — and its schools convert UC applications at rates that rival Fresno's, the highest we have published.

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. Not one private school places in the top ten. Tulare is alone in this series in that. Every school on the county's table is public, from University Preparatory (31) down.
2. Conversion rates are among the highest anywhere. Farmersville converts 48% of its UC applications, Tulare Union 46% and Woodlake 42%. Santa Clara's public powerhouses convert 18–22%. Tulare students apply to very few campuses and are admitted to a large share of them.
3. The two strongest schools are small and selective-entry. University Preparatory in Visalia (31, 68 seniors) and Harmony Magnet Academy in Porterville (27, 115 seniors) lead. No Tulare school clears 50.
4. Redwood carries the volume. It graduates 519 seniors, the county's largest class, files the most UC applications (314) and converts 25% for a score of 15.
5. The county median is 14, against about 18 statewide. Read that beside the conversion column. A Tulare senior who applies is admitted at a high rate; comparatively few apply, and few apply broadly, which is what the Reach Score measures.

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 18 Tulare 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.