Santa Clara High School

Santa Clara · Santa Clara County · Public

Public Santa Clara County ~483 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Other schools in Santa Clara County, closest in size

Lynbrook High School → Westmont High School → Christopher High School → Henry M. Gunn High School → Monta Vista High School → Compare all similar →

33 UC Reach Score · Above average

A parent's read

The UC pipeline here is real. 158 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 483 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 25% of California high schools.
Elite admits are rare — here and everywhere. Berkeley and UCLA admitted 23 of this class's 671 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

UCB

12 admitted

10 enrolled

Net $13,481/yr avg

Grads earn $92,446 @10yr

UCLA

11 admitted

5 enrolled

Net $12,548/yr avg

Grads earn $82,511 @10yr

UCSD

24 admitted

6 enrolled

Net $12,470/yr avg

Grads earn $84,943 @10yr

UCSB

39 admitted

6 enrolled

Net $16,109/yr avg

Grads earn $74,915 @10yr

UCI

32 admitted

8 enrolled

Net $14,251/yr avg

Grads earn $80,735 @10yr

UCD

40 admitted

9 enrolled

Net $14,741/yr avg

Grads earn $80,838 @10yr

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.

You've seen Santa Clara High School. 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 + the real cost range for every college on their list. Check odds →

How Santa Clara High School compares for families

Above-average college outcomes statewide.

▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 33 — 14 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 75% of California high schools.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsOther schools in the county, closest in size: Lynbrook High School, Westmont High School, Christopher High School and 2 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Santa Clara High School sent 671 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 23.5% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 33 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 14 points above the California median of 19, higher than 75% of California high schools. The school produces 4.8 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

UC Reach Score 33 ⓘ 158 admits (counted at each UC) / 483 seniors methodology

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
19

Top 10%
53

This school
33

050100

CA median 19 Top 10% ≥ 53 This school 33

Higher than 75% of California high schools (1107 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

What this number means

Santa Clara High School's UC Reach Score of 33 is above the California median (19). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53 or higher.

But in Santa Clara County, where the local median is 33 and the top-10% bar is 84, this score is mid-pack rather than exceptional — typical of its market rather than a standout.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 62 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Santa Clara High School's UC Reach is higher than 75% of California high schools (1107 ranked).

UC Application Reach Score ⓘ

139

671 applications

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

In context: CA median 81 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 240 · Santa Clara Co. Top 10% ≥ 374 · higher than 74% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

23.5%

158 / 671 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.4% · higher than 36% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

27.8%

44 enrolled of 158 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 ⓘ

44 enrollees / 483 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 (UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UCI — incl. the Elite two) ⓘ

24.4

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.9 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.2 · higher than 71% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

4.8

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 10.2 · higher than 62% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

483

CDE grade 12 (exact)

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

1,663

All grades · CDE Census Day

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %

UC Reach Score (where available)

UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data: applicant 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	106	12	10	11.3%	2	83.3%	—	—^†
UCLA → Elite	106	11	5	10.4%	2	45.5%	—	—^†
UC San Diego → Selective	121	24	6	19.8%	5	25.0%	—	—^†
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	102	39	6	38.2%	8	15.4%	—	—^†
UC Irvine → Selective	113	32	8	28.3%	7	25.0%	—	—^†
UC Davis →	123	40	9	32.5%	8	22.5%	—	—^†

† = 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 is measured against the whole senior class. 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.

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 Santa Clara County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Santa Clara 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 (33) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals

See a sample report →