Huntington Beach High School
Huntington Beach · Orange County · Huntington Beach Union High · Public
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Westminster High School → Edison High School → Fountain Valley High School → Segerstrom High School → Marina High School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go, as the school itself publishes it. Huntington Beach High School publishes where its graduates go (Class of 2025): 124 colleges, including UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Columbia College Chicago.
- Where grads land in the UC system: UC Irvine. More graduates enroll at UC Irvine than any other UC. Berkeley and UCLA admitted 37 of this class's 834 UC applications — elite admits are rare everywhere, and the strong middle campuses are where most real outcomes happen.
- Most grads aim beyond the UC system. Seniors file only ~1.2 UC applications each — families here mostly target CSU, private, or out-of-state colleges, so judge this school on more than its UC numbers.
- Who actually gets in: the top half of applicants. UC admits from this school average about a 4.2 weighted GPA — noticeably above the average applicant. Being near the top of THIS school's class is what converts to admits; UC reads applications in each school's own context.
- Worth asking about on a tour: counselor load. One counselor served about 2510 students here in the 2020 federal count — above the 250-to-1 level counseling experts recommend. Ask what the ratio is today and how junior-year college advising actually gets covered.
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
Huntington Beach High School publishes where its graduates enrolled (Class of 2025): 124 colleges. See the full list ↓
At a glance
- 25 AP courses offered — Elite
- Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- 10 calculus classes · 10 physics · 34 chemistry
- AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally
- SAT/ACT participation: 58th percentile by test-taker volume
- 4-yr grad rate: 98% in 2019 (Top 2.3% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
Their published matriculation list
Where the Class of 2025 enrolled
Huntington Beach High School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 124 colleges, in the document's own order.
Ivy+ and most selective · 4
Cornell University · Harvard College · Princeton University · Stanford University
University of California · 9
UC Berkeley · UC Davis · UC Irvine · UCLA · UC Merced · UC Riverside · UC San Diego · UC Santa Barbara · UC Santa Cruz
Cal State · 10
Cal Poly Pomona · Cal Poly San Luis Obispo · Cal State Fullerton · Cal State Los Angeles · Cal State Long Beach · Cal State Sacramento · Cal State San Marcos · Chico State University · San Diego State University · San Jose State University
Other California · 10
Santa Ana College · Santa Monica College · Biola University · Chapman University · Concordia University Irvine · Loyola Marymount University · Point Loma Nazarene University · Santa Clara University · University of San Diego · USC
Out of state · 54
Miami Dade College · Arizona State University · Boise State University · Colorado School of Mines · Colorado State University · Jacksonville State University · John Jay College of Criminal Justice · Kent State University · Louisiana State University · Louisiana Tech University · Mass Maritime Academy · Mississippi State University · Northern Arizona University · Oregon State University · and 40 more below
Not matched to a college page · 37
Cerritos College · El Camino College · Fullerton College · Golden West College · Irvine Valley College · LA Trade Tech College · Long Beach City College · Mt. San Antonio College · Orange Coast College · Riverside Community College · Saddleback College · Santa Barbara City College · Vancouver Community College · Arts University Bournemouth · and 23 more below
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: Westminster High School
| College | Huntington Beach High School | Westminster High School |
|---|---|---|
| Cornell University | ✓ named | — |
| Georgetown University | ✓ named | — |
| Harvard College | ✓ named | ✓ named |
| Northeastern University | — | ✓ named |
| Northwestern University | — | ✓ named |
| Princeton University | ✓ named | — |
| Stanford University | ✓ named | ✓ named |
| Tufts University | ✓ named | — |
| UC Berkeley | ✓ named | ✓ named |
| UCLA | ✓ named | — |
| USC | ✓ named | ✓ named |
| University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign | ✓ named | — |
Both schools print names, not counts, so this shows which selective colleges each list names.
All 124 colleges, as the document prints them
and 94 more
These graduates went on to the colleges above.
Check your kid's odds at these colleges →We'll load 10 from the list above — add your name, email and your child's numbers and we'll see where your child lands at each.
As published, source linked As published by Huntington Beach High School — Huntington Beach High School — Class of 2025 - Next Steps ↗. Found at: Single-page poster, heading "HUNTINGTON BEACH HIGH SCHOOL / CLASS OF 2025 - NEXT STEPS"; a 2x4 grid of sector sections.
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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.
California College-Going Rate
86.6% of the 2022-23 graduating class enrolled in college within a year.
The share of 2022-23 graduates who enrolled at a college anywhere in the U.S. within 12 months, per the National Student Clearinghouse match the California Department of Education publishes.
Give the same class four more months and 88.9% had enrolled — CDE publishes a 16-month window alongside the 12-month one, 599 students.
Down 1.6 points from the 2021-22 class (88.2%).
Where the 2022-23 class enrolled
In California — 459 students (68.1%)
Out of state — 125 students (18.5%)
CDE puts each graduate in one bucket only — whichever kind of college they were enrolled in longest — so these add up to the rate above. That is a different count from the UC Reach Score on this page, which counts a student at every UC campus that admitted them.
Source: California Department of Education, College-Going Rate (DataQuest) ↗, cohort 2022-23, posted 17-Sep-2025. Data file: cgr12mo23.txt ↗ (and the 16-month file ↗). CDE builds the rate by matching California high school completers to National Student Clearinghouse enrollment records; we publish CDE’s aggregates and hold no student-level data.
How Huntington Beach High School compares for families
Above-average college outcomes statewide.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 27 — 8 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 65% of California high schools.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsRight at the peer median (UC Reach Score 25) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
90th percentile nationally
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-2158th percentile by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
Top 2.3% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
Federal Title I context
Mixed-income school
Below Title I eligibility threshold (FRPL < 35%)
25-34% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Below the federal Title I threshold but a meaningful share of the population is income-eligible for free lunch.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025
Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.
Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.
Student composition — 2025-26
HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.
Race / ethnicity
Program subgroups
Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.
Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25
Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.
Absenteeism is up 7.3 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.
Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (-2.0%/yr, Total enrollment)
At per-pupil funding of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Funding impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2027) | ~2,460 | -50 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2029) | ~2,362 | -148 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2031) | ~2,269 | -241 | $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 Huntington Beach High School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #5 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
Westminster High School · Edison High · Fountain Valley High School · Segerstrom High School · Marina High School · La Quinta High · +4 more
Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25
Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.
Enrollment and retention both close to Orange County baseline. The demographic tide is the main mover; no internal break in the system, but no outperformance either.
170 of 2,710 students who enrolled at Huntington Beach High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (6.3% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.
Stability by student group
Nearest peer high schools
Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.
District financial profile — Huntington Beach Union High (FY2020)
From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.
Local: 57.3%
Federal: 8.6%
Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Huntington Beach Union High as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).
Huntington Beach High School sent 834 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 22.4% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 27 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 8 points above the California median of 19, higher than 65% of California high schools. The school produces 5.3 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
19
25
53
27
Higher than 65% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Huntington Beach High School's UC Reach Score of 27 is above the California median (19). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53 or higher.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 68 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Huntington Beach High School's UC Reach is higher than 65% of California high schools (1105 ranked).
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 | 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 |
The numbers behind it
| Campus | Applicant GPA | Admit GPA | Lift ⓘ | Admit rate | vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 4.01 | 4.15 | +0.14 | 19.3% | Peers +0.22 · wider |
| UCLA | 3.99 | 4.25 | +0.27 | 9.9% | Peers +0.28 · matches |
| UC San Diego | 3.93 | 4.22 | +0.29 | 23.5% | Peers +0.30 · matches |
| UC Santa Barbara | 3.96 | 4.23 | +0.28 | 23.4% | Peers +0.29 · matches |
| UC Irvine | 3.93 | 4.17 | +0.24 | 28.8% | Peers +0.26 · matches |
| UC Davis | 3.98 | 4.18 | +0.20 | 32.6% | Peers +0.22 · matches |
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% |
Where Huntington Beach High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (22.4% actual vs. 21.5% expected).
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) | Avg GPA (Adm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley → Elite | 114 | 22 | 13 | 19.3% | 3 | 59.1% | 4.01 | 4.15 |
| UCLA → Elite | 152 | 15 | 10 | 9.9% | 2 | 66.7% | 3.99 | 4.25 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 162 | 38 | 13 | 23.5% | 5 | 34.2% | 3.93 | 4.22 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 158 | 37 | 7 | 23.4% | 5 | 18.9% | 3.96 | 4.23 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 153 | 44 | 16 | 28.8% | 6 | 36.4% | 3.93 | 4.17 |
| UC Davis → | 95 | 31 | 5 | 32.6% | 4 | 16.1% | 3.98 | 4.18 |
What This Means
For School Admins
The full Reach Report for Huntington Beach High School
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 (27) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
- ✓Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently -2.0%/yr) with the revenue at stake
- ✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantHuntington Beach High School is a public high school in Huntington Beach, Orange County, California with 698 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 27 (Around the CA median, near the state median): 187 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 698, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 65% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 834 UC applications and received 187 offers, a UC admit rate of 22.4% (counted at each campus); 64 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC Irvine than at any other UC campus (16 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 37.
70% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
87% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
Of its graduates who enrolled at a UC, 92% earned a degree within six years (cohort entering 2019).
It has about 2,510 students per school counselor.
Enrollment was 2,510 students in 2026, down 15% since 2018.
Huntington Beach High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2025: 124 colleges. Source: Huntington Beach High School — Class of 2025 - Next Steps.
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 Huntington Beach High School's UC Reach Score? Huntington Beach High School's UC Reach Score is 27 (Around the CA median, near the state median): 187 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 698, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 65% of California high schools.
How many students from Huntington Beach High School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 834 UC applications and received 187 offers, a UC admit rate of 22.4% (counted at each campus); 64 enrolled.
Which UC campus do Huntington Beach High School graduates attend most? More of Huntington Beach High School's graduates enrolled at UC Irvine than at any other UC campus (16 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 37.
What percentage of Huntington Beach High School graduates complete the A-G requirements? 70% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
What percentage of Huntington Beach High School graduates go to college? 87% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
Where do Huntington Beach High School graduates go to college? Huntington Beach High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2025: 124 colleges. Source: Huntington Beach High School — Class of 2025 - Next Steps.
How many students attend Huntington Beach High School? Enrollment was 2,510 students in 2026, down 15% since 2018.
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 Huntington Beach High School?
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