High Tech High Mesa

San Diego · San Diego County · Public

Public San Diego County ~103 seniors CDS 3710371…

Data Year

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John Muir Language Academy → Kearny Digital Media & Design → High Tech High School → Kearny College Connections → High Tech High International → Compare all similar →

🎓39 UC Reach Score · Above average

🧭 A parent's read

The UC pipeline here is real. 40 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 103 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 17% of California high schools.
Elite admits are rare — here and everywhere. Berkeley and UCLA admitted 3 of this class's 172 UC applications. The strong middle campuses — San Diego, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Davis — are where most real UC outcomes happen.
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 grads go — and what it costs & pays

UC Reach Score

Above average top 25% in California

Top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in the Class of 2025 — counts each campus admit, so a student admitted to several UCs counts more than once (which is why a strong school can score over 100).

UC admits by campus · Class of 2025

UCLA

3 admitted

Net $12,548/yr avg

Grads earn $82,511 @10yr

UCSD

11 admitted

Net $12,470/yr avg

Grads earn $84,943 @10yr

UCSB

8 admitted

3 enrolled

Net $16,109/yr avg

Grads earn $74,915 @10yr

UCI

5 admitted

Net $14,251/yr avg

Grads earn $80,735 @10yr

UCD

13 admitted

Net $14,741/yr avg

Grads earn $80,838 @10yr

Getting in is step one. The cost above is the average family's net price — yours depends on your income — 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 net price →

Sources: UC Office of the President (admits); IPEDS net price + College Scorecard 10-yr earnings (cost & payoff). Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.

You've seen High Tech High Mesa. What are your child's real college odds? Check any college in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price for every college on their list. Check odds →

💡

How High Tech High Mesa compares for families

Above-average college outcomes statewide.

▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 39 — 21 points above the California median of 18. Ahead of 83% of California high schools.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (UC Reach Score 39 vs a 17 median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

For Parents

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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 39%

White 33%

Asian 13%

Black / African Am. 5%

Filipino 5%

Two or more 4%

Pacific Islander 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 44%

Socioeconomically disadv. 19%

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2025-26. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

102 (2019) → 432 (2026)

+323.5%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

93 (2022) → 96 (2026)

+3.2%

If this trend holds (+18.5%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027)	~512	+80	$0
3 yr (2029)	~719	+287	$0
5 yr (2031)	~1,009	+577	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

How does High Tech High Mesa really compare on getting kids to college?

We've ranked it #2 of 9 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.

The full head-to-head table — every peer school's UC Reach, side by side.

Enrollment trend + 3-year projection — is this school growing or quietly shrinking?

The plain-English read on what it all means for your family.

Your similar-school group includes

John Muir Language Academy · Kearny Digital Media & Design · High Tech High School · Kearny College Connections · High Tech High International · Kearny Eng Innov & Design · +4 more

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

High Tech High Mesa sent 172 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 23.3% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 39 — 21 points above the California median of 18, higher than 83% of California high schools. The school produces 2.9 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025

UC Reach Score ⓘ

Above average Top 17% of CA high schools

40 admits / 103 seniors
+21 pts above peer median (17) · Ranked #2 of 9 similar schools

5-year trend

2022 · 34 2025 · 39

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18

Top 10%
51

This school
39

050100

CA median 18 Top 10% ≥ 51 This school 39

Higher than 83% of California high schools (980 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

High Tech High Mesa's UC Reach Score of 39 is in the top quartile statewide (median 18; top 25% bar 31) — but it's still below the top-10% bar of 51.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97 — a gap of 58 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, High Tech High Mesa's UC Reach is higher than 83% of California high schools (980 ranked).

UC Application Reach Score ⓘ

167

172 applications

Most seniors are applying to at least one of the six most selective UCs (applications counted at each campus).

In context: CA median 75 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241 · higher than 81% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

23.3%

40 / 172 applications

In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.4% · higher than 34% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

7.5%

3 enrolled of 40 admitted

Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.

UC Enrollment Reach Score ⓘ

3 enrollees / 103 seniors

Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what share ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.

Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD) ⓘ

26.2

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 76% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

2.9

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 46% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

103

CDE grade 12 (exact)

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

435

All grades · CDE Census Day

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.13

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.24

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.

🎯 Who's actually getting into UC from High Tech High Mesa

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
UC San Diego	Strong shot	Moderate	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Santa Barbara	Strong shot	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Irvine	Strong shot	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Davis	Strong shot	Strong shot	Real shot	Filtered out

Strong shot = ≥30% statewide admit rate at this band · Real shot = 10–29% · Moderate = 5–9% · Long odds = 1–4% · Filtered out = under 1%. Tiers map this school's likely outcomes by GPA tier using statewide CA admit rates from UCOP 2025.

The numbers behind it

Campus	Applicant GPA	Admit GPA	Lift ⓘ	Admit rate	vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ
UC Berkeley (2022)	4.24	4.35	+0.12	24.0%	Peers +0.11 · matches
UC San Diego	4.06	4.28	+0.22	25.6%	Peers +0.23 · matches
UC Santa Barbara	4.17	4.28	+0.10	36.4%	Peers +0.16 · wider
UC Irvine	4.09	4.18	+0.10	14.7%	Peers +0.18 · wider
UC Davis	4.15	4.21	+0.06	61.9%	Peers +0.14 · wider

📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)

GPA band	UCB	UCLA	UCSD	UCSB	UCI	UCD
4.00+	17.0%	15.1%	45.2%	62.3%	46.3%	65.9%
3.70–3.99	3.1%	1.6%	9.3%	17.6%	17.0%	31.1%
3.30–3.69	0.8%	0.5%	1.5%	2.8%	2.4%	10.3%
3.00–3.29	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.4%	0.3%	1.9%
< 3.00	0.7%	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.7%

How we infer the tier labels: Each tier comes from the statewide CA admit rate at that GPA band at that UC. The "vs peers" column compares this school's lift (admit GPA − applicant GPA) to the average lift at ~100–300 other CA schools with similar applicant pool GPA. What this isn't: a guarantee. UC comprehensive review weighs essays, course rigor, demographics, and context-of-opportunity beyond GPA. A 3.9 with strong context can land an admit; a 4.0 with weak essays can be denied. Use as a baseline expectation, not a verdict. Per-campus year is shown when it differs from the headline year (UCOP doesn't always publish admit-GPA for every campus every year).

Where High Tech High Mesa sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (27.0% actual vs. 26.0% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2022–2025

UC Admit Rate %

UC Reach Score (where available)

UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus	Applicants	Admits	Enrollees	Admit Rate	UC Reach Score	Yield	Avg GPA (App)	Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite	24	—^†	—^†	—^†	—^†	—	4.21	—^†
UCLA → Elite	28	3	—^†	10.7%	3	—	4.16	—^†
UC San Diego → Selective	43	11	—^†	25.6%	11	—	4.06	4.28
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	22	8	3	36.4%	8	37.5%	4.17	4.28
UC Irvine → Selective	34	5	—^†	14.7%	5	—	4.09	4.18
UC Davis →	21	13	—^†	61.9%	13	—	4.15	4.21

† = UCOP-suppressed (count below 3 students, hidden for privacy — actual value is 0, 1, or 2, not necessarily zero). Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once; Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.

A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.

UC Reach is solid. A meaningful share of the senior class is achieving UC admission, and there is likely room to grow both application volume and admission outcomes.

Students are earning UC admission but enrolling elsewhere at a notable rate. This may reflect competition from private colleges, out-of-state flagships, cost considerations, or UC campus fit. Student outcome surveys can clarify.

The school generates broad UC access, but fewer students are reaching the most selective UC campuses (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, UCI). Targeted academic enrichment and campus-fit advising may help.

Berkeley/UCLA admit volume is modest relative to overall UC reach. This is common and reflects the highly selective nature of those campuses, but may be a target area for the school's highest-performing students.

UC Reach has improved meaningfully compared to the prior year — a positive trajectory worth monitoring and reinforcing.

Note: the UC Reach Score sums campus-level admits across the top-six UC campuses, so a student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted at each. It reflects competitive admit volume relative to class size — admit-events, not distinct students — which is why a Score can exceed 100.

Compare with other schools → See San Diego County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for High Tech High Mesa

A board- and LCAP-ready intelligence brief: your enrollment retention and college outcomes, benchmarked against your closest competitors, with a 5-year forecast, concrete steps to act on, and the rigor + outcomes story you can share with your families. Built from primary public data — prepared for you, not auto-generated.

✓Your UC Reach Score (39) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
✓Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently 18.5%/yr) with the revenue at stake
✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals

See a sample report →

🎯 What are your child's odds? →