Palma High School
Salinas · Monterey County · Catholic religious-affiliated
Compare with peers
Most similar nearby schools
Santa Catalina School → Monte Vista Christian High School → Presentation High School → California Crosspoint High School → Oakwood School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go: the #1 feeder school to California State University-Monterey Bay. Palma High School's own list (Class of 2025), enrolled: Monterey Peninsula College (10), Hartnell College (9), Cal Poly SLO (8), Saint Mary's College (5), CSU Monterey Bay (4). Feeder standing: #1 Cal State Monterey Bay, #7 University of San Diego.
- Worth asking admissions: the school profile. Reach doesn't yet show this school's SAT/ACT or AP results. Every private school produces a counselor's "school profile" for colleges, and most post it online — ask admissions for it. How a school answers says as much as the numbers.
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
Palma High School publishes where its graduates enrolled (Class of 2025): 39 colleges with per-college counts — the largest counts enrolled at Monterey Peninsula College (10), Hartnell College (9), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8). See the full list ↓
Feeder standing #1 feeder to California State University-Monterey Bay · #7 to University of San Diego — from its own published counts, ranked per class year
Admissions at a glance
Is Palma High School a good school for college admissions?
Palma High School's UC Reach Score is 23 (Around the CA median, near the state median; higher than 59% of California high schools), from 20 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 88 seniors in 2025, and it publishes a college list with per-college counts.
How hard is it to get into Palma High School?
Palma High School does not post an acceptance rate on its admissions pages; applications are due Jan 31, 2027.
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.
Private high schools near Palma High School
Five private high schools within 31 miles of Palma High School, with tuition and the exam each requires where the school publishes them.
| School | City | Miles | Grades | Tuition | Entrance exam | UC Reach Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| York School | Monterey | 9.9 | 8–12 | $45,950 | Own assessment — type not named; 'Dates for… | 41 |
| Santa Catalina School | Monterey | 12.4 | PreK–12 | $48,925 | Test-optional: SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, or SAT accepted… | 76 |
| Monte Vista Christian High School | Watsonville | 22.7 | 4–12 | No entrance exam posted | 40 | |
| Oakwood School | Morgan Hill | 30.4 | Preschool–12 | ISEE or school's own assessment | 68 | |
| Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep School | Santa Cruz | 30.5 | 6–12 | $52,000 | Own assessment — student interview and writing… |
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 Class of 2025 enrolled
Palma High School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 39 colleges, ordered by the number of students enrolled.
The ten largest counts, enrolled · Class of 2025
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: Santa Catalina School
| College | Palma High School | Santa Catalina School |
|---|---|---|
| Cal Poly San Luis Obispo | 8 | 7 |
| Monterey Peninsula College | 10 | 2 |
| University of San Diego | 3 | 5 |
| CSU San Diego | 2 | 6 |
| UC Irvine | 1 | 6 |
| UC Los Angeles | 2 | 4 |
Each school's own printed counts (matriculation, Class of 2025 vs matriculation, Classes of 2021-2025); spans may differ.
All 39 colleges, as the document prints them
College · Students
and 9 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 Palma High School — Palma School Newsletter, June 2025 ↗. Found at: Guidance section, “The Class of 2025 is Off to College!” (Irina Short, Guidance Department Chair).
Keep this page current
Work at Palma High 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 Palma High School compares for families
Mid-pack college outcomes within California.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 23 — right around the California median of 19.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (UC Reach Score 23 vs a 44 median) 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 Palma High School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (+3.4%/yr, Total enrollment)
At tuition of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Tuition impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2026) | ~604 | +20 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2028) | ~645 | +61 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2030) | ~689 | +105 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = a typical CA Catholic high school ($10k–18k). Edit the figure to match your school.
How does Palma High School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #9 of 10 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
Santa Catalina School · Monte Vista Christian High School · Presentation High School · California Crosspoint High School · Oakwood School · Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School · +4 more
Financial profile — IRS Form 990, FY2023
From 4 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 464896381). 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.
Diocesan context — Diocese of Monterey
DioceseDiocese of Monterey 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.
Palma High School sent 124 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 16.1% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 23 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 4 points above the California median of 19, higher than 59% of California high schools..
19
44
53
23
Higher than 59% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Palma High School's UC Reach Score of 23 is above the California median (19). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53 or higher.
Against similar schools, Palma High School trails the peer-group median (44) — even though it looks strong vs. the state average.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 72 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Palma High School's UC Reach is higher than 59% 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 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 San Diego (2020) | 3.88 | 4.03 | +0.15 | 50.0% | Peers +0.30 · wider |
| UC Santa Barbara (2021) | 3.88 | 4.28 | +0.40 | 19.2% | Peers +0.33 · steeper |
| UC Irvine (2018) | 3.81 | 4.28 | +0.48 | 31.2% | Peers +0.34 · steeper |
| UC Davis | 3.90 | 4.22 | +0.32 | 33.3% | Peers +0.25 · steeper |
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 Palma High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (23.2% actual vs. 24.7% 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 | 18 | —† | —† | —† | —† | — | 3.88 | —† |
| UCLA → Elite | 22 | —† | —† | —† | —† | — | 3.86 | —† |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 18 | 3 | —† | 16.7% | 3 | — | 3.80 | —† |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 26 | 7 | 3 | 26.9% | 8 | 42.9% | 3.85 | —† |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 19 | 5 | —† | 26.3% | 6 | — | 3.84 | —† |
| UC Davis → | 21 | 5 | —† | 23.8% | 6 | — | 3.90 | 4.22 |
What This Means
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantPalma High School is a private high school in Salinas, Monterey County, California with 88 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 23 (Around the CA median, near the state median): 20 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 88, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 59% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 124 UC applications and received 20 offers, a UC admit rate of 16.1% (counted at each campus); 3 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC Santa Barbara than at any other UC campus (3 in 2025).
Of its graduates who enrolled at a UC, 90% earned a degree within six years (cohort entering 2002).
Enrollment was 584 students in 2025, up 20% since 2020.
Palma High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2025: 39 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are Monterey Peninsula College (10), Hartnell College (9), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8), Saint Mary's College (5), CSU Monterey Bay (4). Source: Palma School Newsletter, June 2025.
Palma High School's feeder standing, from the schools' own published counts: #1 Cal State Monterey Bay, #7 University of San Diego.
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 Palma High School's UC Reach Score? Palma High School's UC Reach Score is 23 (Around the CA median, near the state median): 20 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 88, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 59% of California high schools.
How many students from Palma High School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 124 UC applications and received 20 offers, a UC admit rate of 16.1% (counted at each campus); 3 enrolled.
Which UC campus do Palma High School graduates attend most? More of Palma High School's graduates enrolled at UC Santa Barbara than at any other UC campus (3 in 2025).
Where do Palma High School graduates go to college? Palma High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2025: 39 colleges, with per-college counts; the largest counts are Monterey Peninsula College (10), Hartnell College (9), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (8), Saint Mary's College (5), CSU Monterey Bay (4). Source: Palma School Newsletter, June 2025.
Which colleges is Palma High School a top feeder school to? Palma High School's feeder standing, from the schools' own published counts: #1 Cal State Monterey Bay, #7 University of San Diego.
How many students attend Palma High School? Enrollment was 584 students in 2025, up 20% since 2020.
When is the application deadline for Palma High School? At Palma High School, applications are due Jan 31, 2027.
Is Palma High School a good school for college admissions? Palma High School's UC Reach Score is 23 (Around the CA median, near the state median; higher than 59% of California high schools), from 20 UC admits (counted at each UC) for 88 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 Palma High School?
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