Polytechnic School
Pasadena · Los Angeles County · Private independent
Compare with peers
Most similar nearby schools
Westridge School for Girls → Buckley School → Sequoyah School → Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian → La Salle High School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go, as the school itself publishes it. Polytechnic School's own list (Class of 2022-2026), enrolled: UC Berkeley (29), Stanford (19), USC (19), NYU (16), Columbia (14).
- The UC pipeline here is real. 71 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 93 seniors puts this school in the top handful of schools in California.
- Kids here turn down top UCs. Students admitted to Berkeley and UCLA from this school often enroll somewhere even more selective — a pattern seen only at schools whose graduates have elite options beyond the UC system.
- A deeply UC-focused culture. Seniors here file about 3.5 UC applications each — among the most UC-oriented schools in California. The counseling office lives and breathes this system.
- One question for any counselor: who should still test? Plenty of strong students skip the SAT/ACT now — but merit scholarships at dozens of colleges still key off scores. Ask how the school decides who should still sit for one.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
Where graduates go — as published by the school
Polytechnic School publishes where its graduates enrolled (Class of 2022-2026): 132 colleges with per-college counts — the largest counts enrolled at University of California - Berkeley (29), Stanford University (19), University of Southern California (19). See the full list ↓
At a glance
- 17 AP courses offered (school profile)
Composed from the school's own published profile (2026), and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
Admissions at a glance
Is Polytechnic School a good school for college admissions?
Polytechnic School's UC Reach Score is 76 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 98% of California high schools), from 71 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 93 seniors in 2025, and it publishes a college list with per-college counts.
How hard is it to get into Polytechnic School?
Polytechnic School does not post an acceptance rate on its admissions pages; the school uses its own entrance assessment, applications are due Jan 4, 2027, and tuition is $51,700 for 2026-27.
From the school's own admissions pages and public filings. Dates verified Oct 1, 2026; exams verified September 2026. Full calendar: California private-school admissions tracker · entrance exams. More private high schools in Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge · Entrance exams in Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge · Is Polytechnic School worth the tuition?
Private high schools near Polytechnic School
Five private high schools within 3 miles of Polytechnic School, with tuition and the exam each requires where the school publishes them.
| School | City | Miles | Grades | Tuition | Entrance exam | UC Reach Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequoyah School | Pasadena | 1.5 | K–12 | No entrance exam posted | 48 | |
| Maranatha High School | Pasadena | 1.7 | 9–12 | $29,200 | ISEE — required only for merit-scholarship… | 56 |
| Westridge School for Girls | Pasadena | 1.7 | 4–12 | No entrance exam posted | 104 | |
| Mayfield Senior School | Pasadena | 1.9 | 9–12 | $39,300 | No entrance exam posted | 61 |
| San Gabriel Mission High School | San Gabriel | 2.8 | 9–12 | 23 |
Distances are straight-line miles between school locations. Tuition and exams are from each school's own admissions pages; see the entrance-exam guide.
Their published matriculation list
Where the Class of 2022-2026 enrolled
Polytechnic School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 132 colleges, ordered by the number of students enrolled.
The ten largest counts, enrolled · Class of 2022-2026
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: Westridge School
| College | Polytechnic School | Westridge School |
|---|---|---|
| University of California - Berkeley | 29 | 14 |
| University of Southern California | 19 | 9 |
| Stanford University | 19 | 5 |
| New York University | 16 | 5 |
| University of Chicago | 8 | 10 |
| Cornell University | 7 | 7 |
| Tulane University | 7 | 6 |
| Princeton University | 11 | 1 |
Each school's own printed counts (matriculation, Class of 2022-2026 vs matriculation, 2021-2023); spans may differ.
All 132 colleges, as the document prints them
College · Students
and 102 more
These graduates went on to the colleges above.
Check your kid's odds at these colleges →We'll load the 10 colleges the class chose most often — add your name, email and your child's numbers and we'll see where your child lands at each.
Independently verified As published by Polytechnic School — College Matriculation List 2022-2026 (Polytechnic School) ↗. Found at: 1-page PDF, linked as 'College Matriculation List 2022-2026' from Polytechnic School's own official College Counseling page (https://www.polytechnic.org/page/ac.
What does Polytechnic School publish about its class profile?
These figures come from the school's own published profile (as of 2026); each links to that document.
- AP courses offered: 17 (as of 2026) Source: drive.google.com ↗
Keep this page current
Work at Polytechnic School? If this page is missing your newest school profile, matriculation list, or college acceptances, send us the links. We read the document, copy the figures exactly as published, and cite it on this page.
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Where grads go — and what it costs & pays
UC admits by campus · Class of 2025
Getting in is step one. The cost above is the average aid-receiving family's net price — yours depends on whether you qualify for aid — and your child's odds depend on their GPA + scores. See your family's real numbers at these campuses:
Get my child's odds + our real costs →Sources: UC Office of the President (admits); IPEDS net price + College Scorecard 10-yr earnings (cost & payoff). Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.
How Polytechnic School compares for families
One of California's strongest schools for college outcomes.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 76 — 57 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 98% of California high schools.
- ▸ Locally🎓 Top 5% in California on UC Reach — plus 1 more top-rank.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (UC Reach Score 76 vs a 52 median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
No SBAC data for private schools — and that's not the metric you want anyway
California's Smarter Balanced (CAASPP) assessment is administered by the state, by statute, to public & charter schools only. Private schools don't sit for it. That's why the SBAC card is missing on this profile — not a data gap on our side, a deliberate scope of the state's testing program.
For private schools, UC Reach is the stronger academic signal anyway. SBAC measures grade-11 inputs (proficiency on a state standard); UC Reach measures outputs (who actually got into the most selective UCs). For private-school families weighing tuition against college outcomes, the outputs are the relevant signal.
Scroll up to the UC Reach card for Polytechnic School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (+0.3%/yr, Total enrollment)
At tuition of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Tuition impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2026) | ~884 | +3 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2028) | ~889 | +8 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2030) | ~894 | +13 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = derived from this school's IRS Form 990 (FY2023) — program-service revenue ÷ enrollment. Edit the figure to match your school.
How does Polytechnic School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #3 of 11 most similar nearby schools on UC Reach. Unlock the full snapshot to see the head-to-head — who's ahead, by how much, and where it's heading.
Your similar-school group includes
Westridge School for Girls · Buckley School · Sequoyah School · Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian · LA Salle High School · Bishop Amat Memorial High School · +4 more
Financial profile — IRS Form 990, FY2023
From 13 years of Form 990 filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (free public IRS data). The school's tax filings show financial scale, fundraising health, and endowment trajectory — signals that drive board-level conversations about tuition pricing, financial-aid capacity, and capital projects.
Source: IRS Form 990 via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 951641456). View latest 990 PDF → Tuition-per-student is total program-service revenue divided by latest enrollment — a rough average that includes auxiliary revenue (athletics, food service, etc.); the actual published tuition can differ. Form 990 is filed annually under penalty of perjury, so the financial scale figures are authoritative.
Polytechnic School sent 325 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 21.8% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 76 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 57 points above the California median of 19, higher than 98% of California high schools. The school produces 26.9 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
Polytechnic School earns admission to the six most selective UC campuses at a high rate (76 UC Reach Score), yet only about 40% of its Berkeley and UCLA admits go on to enroll there — well below the roughly 60% statewide. High admit rates paired with low enrollment at the very top UCs is the data signature of a class with options even more selective than the UCs — the kind of student who turns down Berkeley or UCLA only for a college even harder to get into.
An honest read of what the data holds: admissions and enrollment counts, not destinations. We don't track where any student enrolled, so this is a signature consistent with more-selective choices — not a claim about specific colleges. We measure Berkeley and UCLA together and against the statewide rate, so it isn't just a student picking a different UC (which would lower one campus's yield without leaving the system). Class of 2025, University of California Office of the President.
19
52
53
76
Higher than 98% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Polytechnic School's UC Reach Score of 76 clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53) — meaning roughly 76 top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, well above what most California schools achieve.
In Los Angeles County — a competitive market where the median is already 25 — this still clears the county top-10% bar (56).
Against similar schools, Polytechnic School stands out clearly — the peer-group median is 52.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 19 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Polytechnic School's UC Reach is higher than 98% of California high schools (1105 ranked).
Private-school figures come from the California Private School Affidavit. Per CDE, inclusion in private-school data is not an evaluation, approval, or endorsement of a school.
GPA figures reflect 2024 — UC has not yet released applicant/admit GPA for 2025.
UC funnel — which kids are getting in at what GPA
Combining the school's applicant pool GPA, admit pool GPA, actual admit rate, and statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, we can read which GPA tiers tend to get in — and which don't.
| Campus | 4.00+ GPA | 3.70–3.99 GPA | 3.30–3.69 GPA | < 3.30 GPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out | Filtered out |
| UCLA | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out | Filtered out |
| UC San Diego | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Santa Barbara | Strong shot | Moderate | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Irvine | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Davis | Strong shot | Real shot | Moderate | Filtered out |
The numbers behind it
| Campus | Applicant GPA | Admit GPA | Lift ⓘ | Admit rate | vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 4.13 | 4.21 | +0.09 | 20.7% | Peers +0.16 · wider |
| UCLA (2023) | 4.10 | 4.30 | +0.20 | 11.3% | Peers +0.20 · matches |
| UC San Diego | 4.10 | 4.25 | +0.15 | 15.6% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.09 | 4.27 | +0.18 | 29.2% | Peers +0.20 · matches |
| UC Irvine (2023) | 4.14 | 4.30 | +0.16 | 17.9% | Peers +0.13 · matches |
| UC Davis | 4.13 | 4.22 | +0.09 | 24.0% | Peers +0.14 · wider |
Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2024 (for reference)
| GPA band | UCB | UCLA | UCSD | UCSB | UCI | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00+ | 17.1% | 14.4% | 43.5% | 57.3% | 46.0% | 64.1% |
| 3.70–3.99 | 2.8% | 1.5% | 11.2% | 9.2% | 16.5% | 27.5% |
| 3.30–3.69 | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 2.3% | 3.4% | 9.1% |
| 3.00–3.29 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 2.1% |
| < 3.00 | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
Where Polytechnic School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (17.6% actual vs. 21.5% expected), based on 2024 data.
UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025
Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data: applicant and admit totals count a student once at EACH campus. A senior admitted to UCLA and UC San Diego adds 2 to the admit total, so the total can exceed the senior class — that is the metric working as defined, not an error. The admit RATE is unaffected: both its numerator and denominator are campus-level.
Campus Breakdown — 2025
| Campus | Applicants | Admits | Enrollees | Admit Rate | UC Reach Score | Yield | Avg GPA (App) '24 | Avg GPA (Adm) '24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley → Elite | 59 | 16 | 7 | 27.1% | 17 | 43.8% | 4.13 | 4.21 |
| UCLA → Elite | 62 | 9 | 3 | 14.5% | 10 | 33.3% | 4.10 | —† |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 60 | 10 | —† | 16.7% | 11 | — | 4.10 | 4.25 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 61 | 15 | —† | 24.6% | 16 | — | 4.09 | 4.27 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 44 | 8 | —† | 18.2% | 9 | — | 4.11 | —† |
| UC Davis → | 39 | 13 | —† | 33.3% | 14 | — | 4.13 | 4.22 |
What This Means
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantPolytechnic School is a private high school in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California with 93 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 76 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 71 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 93, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 98% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 325 UC applications and received 71 offers, a UC admit rate of 21.8% (counted at each campus); 10 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (7 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 25.
Enrollment was 881 students in 2025, up 2% since 2020.
Polytechnic School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2022-2026: 132 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are University of California - Berkeley (29), Stanford University (19), University of Southern California (19), New York University (16), Columbia University (14). Source: College Matriculation List 2022-2026 (Polytechnic School).
Sources: University of California Office of the President (admissions), California Department of Education (enrollment, A-G, college-going), and the school's own published documents where named.
Questions families ask
What is Polytechnic School's UC Reach Score? Polytechnic School's UC Reach Score is 76 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 71 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 93, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 98% of California high schools.
How many students from Polytechnic School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 325 UC applications and received 71 offers, a UC admit rate of 21.8% (counted at each campus); 10 enrolled.
Which UC campus do Polytechnic School graduates attend most? More of Polytechnic School's graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (7 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 25.
Where do Polytechnic School graduates go to college? Polytechnic School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2022-2026: 132 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are University of California - Berkeley (29), Stanford University (19), University of Southern California (19), New York University (16), Columbia University (14). Source: College Matriculation List 2022-2026 (Polytechnic School).
How many students attend Polytechnic School? Enrollment was 881 students in 2025, up 2% since 2020.
What is the tuition at Polytechnic School? At Polytechnic School, tuition is $51,700 for 2026-27.
Does Polytechnic School require an entrance exam? At Polytechnic School, the school uses its own entrance assessment.
When is the application deadline for Polytechnic School? At Polytechnic School, applications are due Jan 4, 2027.
Is Polytechnic School a good school for college admissions? Polytechnic School's UC Reach Score is 76 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 98% of California high schools), from 71 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 93 seniors in 2025, and it publishes a college list with per-college counts.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
What does AI tell parents about Polytechnic School?
When a parent asks an AI assistant about Polytechnic School, the answer is built from a handful of sources, and Reach is often one of them. We will send the admissions office a short report on what AI says about Polytechnic School and where it comes from. The first report is free.
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