Mater Dei High School

Santa Ana · Orange County · Catholic religious-affiliated

Private Orange County ~514 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Orange Lutheran High School → Crean Lutheran High School → Jserra Catholic High School → Calvary Chapel High School → Harvard-Westlake School → Compare all similar →

🎓36% UC Reach

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

Program details not reported to CRDC

Academic signals

Academic signals not yet ingested for this school

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

🎓 Where grads go

36.4% UC Reach — top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in the Class of 2025. Counts each campus admit, so multi-admits count more than once.

UC admits by campus · Class of 2025

UCB

19 admitted

6 enrolled

UCLA

17 admitted

15 enrolled

UCSD

35 admitted

7 enrolled

UCSB

44 admitted

9 enrolled

UCI

43 admitted

11 enrolled

UCD

29 admitted

6 enrolled

Source: University of California Office of the President, Admissions by Source School. Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.

💡

How Mater Dei High School compares for families

Above-average college outcomes statewide.

▸ Statewide36.4% UC Reach — 18.3 points above the California median of 18.1%. Ahead of 80% of California high schools.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (36.4% UC Reach vs 32.8% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

For Parents

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Get an email when Mater Dei High School's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.

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 Mater Dei High School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

2,143 (2020) → 1,849 (2025)

-13.7%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

497 (2020) → 514 (2025)

+3.4%

If this trend holds (-2.8%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026)	~1,797	-52	$0
3 yr (2028)	~1,696	-153	$0
5 yr (2030)	~1,601	-248	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Edit the figure to match your school.

Mater Dei High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Private · Catholic · Santa Ana · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

▸On UC Reach, Mater Dei High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #5 of 10): 36% vs. a peer median of 33%.
▸Mater Dei High School's UC Reach has stepped down from a peak of 46% in 2021 to 36% in 2025 — a 9-point decline worth tracking.
▸Senior-class enrollment is up 3% (497→514 from 2020 to 2025), outpacing the peer-group median of -2%.
▸At its recent rate (-2.9%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1692 by 2028 — about 157 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1849 students (2025)

→

~1692 projected (2028)

at -2.9%/yr

That's about 157 fewer students. At a tuition of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual tuition revenue at risk.

Estimate seeded by catholic private school typical — Catholic HS typical $10k–18k. NCES doesn't publish per-school tuition; adjust to your school's actual figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School	Type	Size	UC Reach	Enroll. trend
Mater Dei High School	Private · Catholic	1849	36.4%	+3%
Peer-group median			32.8%	-2%
Orange Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1141	36.7%	-3%
Crean Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1126	94.4%	+40%
Jserra Catholic High School	Private · Catholic	1282	32.8%	+10%
Calvary Chapel High School	Private · Other religious	839	27.6%	+0%
Harvard-Westlake School	Private · secular	1616	61.8%	+16%
Servite High School	Private · Catholic	767	24.6%	-2%
Saint Margarets Episcopal Sch	Private · Other religious	1159	72.5%	-16%
Saint John Bosco High School	Private · Catholic	869	31.1%	-3%
Bishop Amat Memorial Hs	Private · Catholic	977	28.3%	-28%
Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1141	—	-3%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type, and religious orientation. Methodology →

Diocesan context — Diocese of Orange

Diocese

Counties covered

Orange

Schools operated (K–12)

~39

approx; from diocesan reports

Other Catholic HS tracked

in this diocese, on this site

Diocese of Orange is the canonical governance body for Catholic schools in this region — board policy, tuition guidance, and shared services typically originate here. Visit the diocesan website →

Financial figures aren't shown because Catholic (arch)dioceses don't file IRS Form 990 — they're covered by the USCCB Group Ruling (GEN 0928), which exempts dioceses, parishes, and parochial schools from individual filing. School counts above are hand-compiled from each diocese's published schools-department information.

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Mater Dei High School sent 906 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 20.6% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 36.4% — 18.3 percentage points above the California median of 18.1%, higher than 80% of California high schools. The school produces 7.0 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025

UC Reach ⓘ

36%

187 admits / 514 seniors
+3.6 pp above peer median (32.8%) · Ranked #5 of 10 similar schools

5-year trend

2021 · 45.6% 2025 · 36.4%

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18.1%

Peer median
32.8%

Top 10%
51.2%

This school
36.4%

0%50%100%

CA median 18.1% Top 10% ≥ 51.2% This school 36.4%

Higher than 80% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Mater Dei High School's UC Reach of 36.4% is in the top quartile statewide (median 18.1%; top 25% bar 30.5%) — but it's still below the top-10% bar of 51.2%.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97.3% — a gap of 61 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Mater Dei High School's UC Reach is higher than 80% of California high schools (978 ranked).

UC Application Reach ⓘ

176.3%

906 applications

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

In context: CA median 74.9% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241.0% · Orange Co. Top 10% ≥ 295.1% · higher than 83% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

20.6%

187 / 906 applications

In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 19% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

28.9%

54 enrolled of 187 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 ⓘ

10.5%

54 enrollees / 514 seniors

Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % 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.

UC 6-Yr Grad Rate ⓘ

87%

68% finished in 4 yrs · N=76 entered 2019

In context: CA median 88.6% · -1.8 pp vs. median.

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

30.7

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 82% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

7.0

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 79% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

514

Private School Affidavit

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

1,849

All grades · Private School Affidavit

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.

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

3.87

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.19

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.

🎯 Who's actually getting into UC from Mater Dei High School

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

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 2024.

The numbers behind it

Campus	Applicant GPA	Admit GPA	Lift ⓘ	Admit rate	vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ
UC Berkeley	3.93	4.19	+0.26	10.0%	Peers +0.26 · matches
UCLA	3.90	4.23	+0.33	9.8%	Peers +0.32 · matches
UC San Diego	3.86	4.23	+0.37	18.9%	Peers +0.32 · steeper
UC Santa Barbara	3.87	4.26	+0.39	23.8%	Peers +0.32 · steeper
UC Irvine	3.83	4.15	+0.32	25.7%	Peers +0.32 · matches
UC Davis	3.83	4.09	+0.26	34.4%	Peers +0.28 · matches

📊 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%

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 Mater Dei High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (19.1% actual vs. 20.4% expected), based on 2024 data.

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %

UC Reach % (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	Yield	Avg GPA (App) '24	Avg GPA (Adm) '24
UC Berkeley → Elite	125	19	6	15.2%	3.7%	31.6%	3.93	4.19
UCLA → Elite	201	17	15	8.5%	3.3%	88.2%	3.90	4.23
UC San Diego → Selective	176	35	7	19.9%	6.8%	20.0%	3.86	4.23
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	168	44	9	26.2%	8.6%	20.5%	3.87	4.26
UC Irvine → Selective	157	43	11	27.4%	8.4%	25.6%	3.83	4.15
UC Davis →	79	29	6	36.7%	5.6%	20.7%	3.83	4.09

† = 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.

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

Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.

Compare with other schools → See Orange County rankings →