The Head-Royce School
Oakland · Alameda County · Private independent
Compare with peers
Most similar nearby schools
The Nueva School → Saint Mary's College High School → Quarry Lane School → Bishop O'Dowd High School → Carondelet High School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go, as the school itself publishes it. The Head-Royce School's own list ((2021–25)), enrolled: UC Berkeley (22), UCLA (18), UChicago (17), USC (16), Washington (15).
- The UC pipeline here is real. 60 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 100 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 6% of California high schools.
- 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 4.5 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
The Head-Royce School publishes where its graduates enrolled ((2021–25)): 108 colleges with per-college counts — the largest counts enrolled at University of California, Berkeley (22), University of California, Los Angeles (18), University of Chicago (17). See the full list ↓
Admissions at a glance
Is The Head-Royce School a good school for college admissions?
The Head-Royce School's UC Reach Score is 60 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 94% of California high schools), from 60 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 100 seniors in 2025, and it publishes a college list with per-college counts.
How hard is it to get into The Head-Royce School?
The Head-Royce School does not post an acceptance rate on its admissions pages; the ISEE is required, applications are due Dec 4, 2026, and tuition is $62,900 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 East Bay · Entrance exams in East Bay · Is The Head-Royce School worth the tuition?
Private high schools near The Head-Royce School
Five private high schools within 5 miles of The Head-Royce School, with tuition and the exam each requires.
| School | City | Miles | Grades | Tuition | Entrance exam | UC Reach Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Names High School | Oakland | 2.6 | 9–12 | $26,015 | HSPT — required of all applicants; free, taken… | 10 |
| College Preparatory School | Oakland | 3.4 | 9–12 | $62,760 | ISEE or SSAT | 77 |
| Saint Joseph-Notre Dame High School | Alameda | 4.0 | 9–12 | $26,130 | HSPT required of all prospective students by the… | 49 |
| Maybeck High School | Berkeley | 4.5 | 9–12 | $51,150 | No entrance exam posted | 30 |
| Bishop O'Dowd High School | Oakland | 4.6 | 9–12 | $28,380 | HSPT | 81 |
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 their graduates enrolled
The Head-Royce School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 108 colleges, ordered by the number of students enrolled.
Years, as the document states them
(2021–25)
The ten largest counts, enrolled
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: The Nueva School
| College | The Head-Royce School | The Nueva School |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford University | 9 | 45 |
| University of Chicago | 17 | 28 |
| University of California, Berkeley | 22 | 16 |
| University of Southern California | 16 | 12 |
| Northeastern University | 13 | 14 |
| University of California, Los Angeles | 18 | 4 |
| Tufts University | 10 | 12 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 13 | 8 |
Each school's own printed counts (matriculation, (2021–25) vs college_list, Classes of 2017 to 2021); spans may differ.
All 108 colleges, as the document prints them
College · Students
and 78 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 The Head-Royce School — Head-Royce College Admissions (2021-25) ↗. Found at: PDF, single page, linked as 'View our College List' from /academics/college-counseling.
Keep this page current
Work at The Head-Royce 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 The Head-Royce School compares for families
Top-tier college outcomes for California families.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 60 — 41 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 94% of California high schools.
- ▸ Locally🎓 Top 9 in Alameda County on UC Reach — plus 1 more top-rank.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsRight at the peer median (UC Reach Score 59) 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 The Head-Royce School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (+0.2%/yr, Total enrollment)
At tuition of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Tuition impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2026) | ~904 | +2 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2028) | ~907 | +5 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2030) | ~910 | +8 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = typical CA independent day schools ($25k–55k). Edit the figure to match your school.
How does The Head-Royce School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #6 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
The Nueva School · Saint Mary's College High Scho · Quarry Lane School · Bishop Odowd High School · Carondelet High School · Menlo School · +4 more
The Head-Royce School sent 454 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 13.2% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 60 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 41 points above the California median of 19, higher than 94% of California high schools. The school produces 18.0 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
The Head-Royce School earns admission to the six most selective UC campuses at a high rate (60 UC Reach Score), yet only about 33% 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
59
53
60
Higher than 94% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
The Head-Royce School's UC Reach Score of 60 clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53) — meaning roughly 60 top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, well above what most California schools achieve.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 35 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, The Head-Royce School's UC Reach is higher than 94% 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 | 4.10 | 4.20 | +0.10 | 22.7% | Peers +0.18 · wider |
| UCLA | 4.11 | 4.28 | +0.17 | 8.8% | Peers +0.21 · wider |
| UC San Diego | 4.10 | 4.24 | +0.14 | 22.4% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.09 | 4.27 | +0.18 | 24.1% | Peers +0.20 · matches |
| UC Irvine | 4.08 | 4.13 | +0.05 | 21.7% | Peers +0.16 · wider |
| UC Davis | 4.09 | 4.20 | +0.11 | 25.4% | Peers +0.16 · 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 The Head-Royce School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (20.6% actual vs. 22.7% expected), based on 2024 data.
UC Outcomes Trend — 2024–2025
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 | 74 | 10 | 3 | 13.5% | 10 | 30.0% | 4.10 | 4.20 |
| UCLA → Elite | 84 | 8 | 3 | 9.5% | 8 | 37.5% | 4.11 | 4.28 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 82 | 9 | —† | 11.0% | 9 | — | 4.10 | 4.24 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 79 | 8 | —† | 10.1% | 8 | — | 4.09 | 4.27 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 68 | 10 | —† | 14.7% | 10 | — | 4.08 | 4.13 |
| UC Davis → | 67 | 15 | —† | 22.4% | 15 | — | 4.09 | 4.20 |
What This Means
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantThe Head-Royce School is a private high school in Oakland, Alameda County, California with 100 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 60 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 60 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 100, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 94% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 454 UC applications and received 60 offers, a UC admit rate of 13.2% (counted at each campus); 6 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (3 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 18.
Enrollment was 902 students in 2025, up 1% since 2020.
The Head-Royce School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the (2021–25): 108 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are University of California, Berkeley (22), University of California, Los Angeles (18), University of Chicago (17), University of Southern California (16), University of Washington, Seattle (15). Source: Head-Royce College Admissions (2021-25).
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 The Head-Royce School's UC Reach Score? The Head-Royce School's UC Reach Score is 60 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 60 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 100, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 94% of California high schools.
How many students from The Head-Royce School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 454 UC applications and received 60 offers, a UC admit rate of 13.2% (counted at each campus); 6 enrolled.
Which UC campus do The Head-Royce School graduates attend most? More of The Head-Royce School's graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (3 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 18.
Where do The Head-Royce School graduates go to college? The Head-Royce School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the (2021–25): 108 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are University of California, Berkeley (22), University of California, Los Angeles (18), University of Chicago (17), University of Southern California (16), University of Washington, Seattle (15). Source: Head-Royce College Admissions (2021-25).
How many students attend The Head-Royce School? Enrollment was 902 students in 2025, up 1% since 2020.
What is the tuition at The Head-Royce School? At The Head-Royce School, tuition is $62,900 for 2026-27.
Does The Head-Royce School require an entrance exam? At The Head-Royce School, the ISEE is required.
When is the application deadline for The Head-Royce School? At The Head-Royce School, applications are due Dec 4, 2026.
Is The Head-Royce School a good school for college admissions? The Head-Royce School's UC Reach Score is 60 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 94% of California high schools), from 60 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 100 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 The Head-Royce School?
When a parent asks an AI assistant about The Head-Royce 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 The Head-Royce School and where it comes from. The first report is free.
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