Menlo School
Atherton · San Mateo County · Private independent
Compare with peers
Most similar nearby schools
The Nueva School → Castilleja School → BASIS Independent Silicon Valley → Moreau Catholic High School → The Head-Royce School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go: #3 feeder school to Stanford. Menlo School's own list (Classes of 2023-2025), enrolled: Stanford (30), University of California (Berkeley) (20), UChicago (17), Boston College (12), Tulane University of Louisiana (11). Feeder standing: #3 Stanford. Ivy+ enrollment: #25 of 298 schools per class year.
- The UC pipeline here is real. 93 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 149 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 5% 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.
- And it's a rising stock. UC admissions per senior have climbed three years running — the trend line, not just the snapshot, is moving the right way.
- 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
Menlo School publishes where its graduates enrolled (Classes of 2023-2025): 115 colleges with per-college counts — the largest counts enrolled at Stanford University (30), University of California (Berkeley) (20), University of Chicago (17). See the full list ↓
Feeder standing #25 of 298 schools for Ivy+ enrollment per class year · #3 to Stanford University — from its own published counts, ranked per class year
At a glance
- Teaches no APCollege-level courses with a national exam each May. A score of 3+ "passes" and can earn college credit; the pass rate tells you whether a school's AP program has substance behind the course list.-designated courses — common among independent schools that run their own advanced curriculum
- 5 National Merit SemifinalistsRoughly the top 1% of PSAT scorers in each state — about 16,000 juniors nationally. A useful gauge of a school's academic top end. (2026)
Composed from the school's own published profile (2026), and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
Admissions at a glance
Is Menlo School a good school for college admissions?
Menlo School's UC Reach Score is 62 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 95% of California high schools), from 93 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 149 seniors in 2025, and it publishes a college list with per-college counts.
How hard is it to get into Menlo School?
Menlo School does not post an acceptance rate on its admissions pages; the school uses its own entrance assessment, applications are due Jan 5, 2027, and tuition is $67,792 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 San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley · Entrance exams in San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley · Is Menlo School worth the tuition?
Private high schools near Menlo School
Five private high schools within 7 miles of Menlo School, with tuition and the exam each requires where the school publishes them.
| School | City | Miles | Grades | Tuition | Entrance exam | UC Reach Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castilleja School | Palo Alto | 2.5 | 6–12 | No entrance exam | 114 | |
| Eastside College Prep School | East Palo Alto | 3.4 | 9–12 | No entrance exam posted | 26 | |
| Pinewood School | Los Altos Hills | 5.4 | K–12 | No entrance exam posted | 72 | |
| Woodside Priory School | Portola Valley | 5.6 | 6–12 | STAR testing on campus (boarding applicants: STAR… | 70 | |
| Notre Dame High School | Belmont | 6.6 | 9–12 | $33,730 | HSPT (administered at NDB; must be applying to… | 32 |
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 Classes of 2023-2025 enrolled
Menlo School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 115 colleges, ordered by the number of students enrolled.
The ten largest counts, enrolled · Classes of 2023-2025
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: The Nueva School
| College | Menlo School | The Nueva School |
|---|---|---|
| Stanford University | 30 | 45 |
| University of Chicago | 17 | 28 |
| University of California (Berkeley) | 20 | 16 |
| University of Southern California | 10 | 12 |
| Tufts University | 8 | 12 |
| Northeastern University | 6 | 14 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 11 | 8 |
| University of Michigan | 10 | 9 |
Each school's own printed counts (matriculation, Classes of 2023-2025 vs college_list, Classes of 2017 to 2021); spans may differ.
All 115 colleges, as the document prints them
College · Students
and 85 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.
As published, source linked As published by Menlo School — Menlo School Profile 2025-2026 ↗. Found at: p.2, section headed 'COLLEGE MATRICULATION FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE CLASSES OF 2023-2025' (printed with stylized zero-as-O: '2O25').
From the school
Menlo School had 5 National Merit Semifinalists in the Class of 2026, the seniors who graduated in June 2026 (Menlo School school profile). Source ↗ (page 1)
What does Menlo 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: none (the school teaches no AP-designated courses) (as of 2026) Source: menloschool.org ↗
- National Merit Semifinalists: 5 (as of 2026) Source: menloschool.org ↗
Keep this page current
Work at Menlo 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 Menlo School compares for families
Top-tier college outcomes for California families.
- ▸ Nationally5 National Merit Semifinalists last year (NMSF is the top 1% of US PSAT scorers).
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 62 — 43 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 95% of California high schools.
- ▸ Locally🎓 Top 6 in San Mateo County on UC Reach — plus 1 more top-rank.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (UC Reach Score 62 vs a 68 median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
For Parents
Get alerts when Menlo School's numbers change
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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 Menlo School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (+0.1%/yr, Total enrollment)
At tuition of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Tuition impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2026) | ~806 | +1 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2028) | ~807 | +2 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2030) | ~809 | +4 | $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 Menlo School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #8 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 · Castilleja School · BASIS Independent Silicon Valley · Moreau Catholic High School · Head-Royce School the · Quarry Lane 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 943204137). 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.
Menlo School sent 519 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 17.9% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 62 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 43 points above the California median of 19, higher than 95% of California high schools. The school produces 19.5 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
Menlo School earns admission to the six most selective UC campuses at a high rate (62 UC Reach Score), yet only about 34% 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
68
53
62
Higher than 95% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Menlo School's UC Reach Score of 62 clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53) — meaning roughly 62 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 33 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Menlo School's UC Reach is higher than 95% 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 | 4.05 | 4.20 | +0.15 | 20.0% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
| UCLA | 4.03 | 4.25 | +0.22 | 10.0% | Peers +0.25 · matches |
| UC San Diego | 4.02 | 4.25 | +0.23 | 8.1% | Peers +0.24 · matches |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.01 | 4.26 | +0.25 | 21.4% | Peers +0.25 · matches |
| UC Irvine | 4.02 | 4.18 | +0.16 | 17.8% | Peers +0.20 · wider |
| UC Davis | 4.01 | 4.23 | +0.21 | 16.9% | Peers +0.20 · 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% |
Where Menlo School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 5.9 points below what their GPAs predict (15.4% actual vs. 21.3% 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 | 94 | 18 | 5 | 19.1% | 12 | 27.8% | 4.05 | 4.20 |
| UCLA → Elite | 100 | 11 | 5 | 11.0% | 7 | 45.5% | 4.03 | 4.25 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 92 | 9 | —† | 9.8% | 6 | — | 4.02 | 4.25 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 94 | 25 | —† | 26.6% | 17 | — | 4.01 | 4.26 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 68 | 11 | —† | 16.2% | 7 | — | 4.02 | 4.18 |
| UC Davis → | 71 | 19 | —† | 26.8% | 13 | — | 4.01 | 4.23 |
What This Means
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantMenlo School is a private high school in Atherton, San Mateo County, California with 149 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 62 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 93 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 149, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 95% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 519 UC applications and received 93 offers, a UC admit rate of 17.9% (counted at each campus); 10 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (5 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 29.
Of its graduates who enrolled at a UC, 70% earned a degree within six years (cohort entering 2007).
Enrollment was 805 students in 2025, up 1% since 2020.
Menlo School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Classes of 2023-2025: 115 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are Stanford University (30), University of California (Berkeley) (20), University of Chicago (17), Boston College (12), Tulane University of Louisiana (11). Source: Menlo School Profile 2025-2026.
Menlo School's feeder standing, from the schools' own published counts: #3 Stanford. Ivy+ enrollment: #25 of 298 schools per class year.
Menlo School had 5 National Merit Semifinalists in the Class of 2026, the seniors who graduated in June 2026 (Menlo School school profile).
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 Menlo School's UC Reach Score? Menlo School's UC Reach Score is 62 (Excellent, top 6% in California): 93 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 149, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 95% of California high schools.
How many students from Menlo School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 519 UC applications and received 93 offers, a UC admit rate of 17.9% (counted at each campus); 10 enrolled.
Which UC campus do Menlo School graduates attend most? More of Menlo School's graduates enrolled at UC Berkeley than at any other UC campus (5 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 29.
Where do Menlo School graduates go to college? Menlo School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Classes of 2023-2025: 115 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are Stanford University (30), University of California (Berkeley) (20), University of Chicago (17), Boston College (12), Tulane University of Louisiana (11). Source: Menlo School Profile 2025-2026.
Which colleges is Menlo School a top feeder school to? Menlo School's feeder standing, from the schools' own published counts: #3 Stanford. Ivy+ enrollment: #25 of 298 schools per class year.
How many students attend Menlo School? Enrollment was 805 students in 2025, up 1% since 2020.
What is the tuition at Menlo School? At Menlo School, tuition is $67,792 for 2026-27.
Does Menlo School require an entrance exam? At Menlo School, the school uses its own entrance assessment.
When is the application deadline for Menlo School? At Menlo School, applications are due Jan 5, 2027.
Is Menlo School a good school for college admissions? Menlo School's UC Reach Score is 62 (Excellent, top 6% in California; higher than 95% of California high schools), from 93 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 149 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 Menlo School?
When a parent asks an AI assistant about Menlo 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 Menlo School and where it comes from. The first report is free.
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