No UC admissions data on file for Sunset High School.

This school doesn't appear in UCOP's source-school records (it may send few or no applicants to UC). Its enrollment trend and similar-school comparison are still below.

Sunset High School

Encinitas · San Diego County · Hacienda la Puente Unified · Public

Public San Diego County Hacienda la Puente Unified → CDS 1973445…

Shareable scorecard →

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Mt. Sac Early College Academy At West Covina → Frontier High (continuation) → Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High → Sierra Vista High (alternative) → Valencia Academy Of The Arts → Compare all similar →

At a glance

Academic signals

AP rigor: Bottom 6% of US high schools

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

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How Sunset High School compares for families

What families should know about Sunset High School.

▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Mt. Sac Early College Academy At West Covina, Frontier High (continuation), Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High and 2 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

SAT/ACT test-takers

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

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.

College readiness

Getting ready for college

These come from the state and federal files, not from UC — so they are here whether or not Sunset High School has a UC admissions record.

Student-Counselor Ratio ⓘ

Each counselor juggles about 4088 students — above the level experts recommend. Ask how junior-year college advising is handled.

4088:1

0.08 FTE counselors · 327 students

In context: CA median 337:1 · 3751 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism — 2023-24

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: total enrollment.

52% of students miss 10%+ of school days — above the state's ~22%. Ask what the school is doing about engagement.

Chronic absent

51.9%

14 of 27 students

Absenteeism is down 35.1 pp since 2016-17. Engagement improving — a positive trajectory worth understanding and reinforcing.

San Diego County median

21.0% · school is worse than 90% of 211 HS

Statewide median

21.9%

Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2023-24. 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

Total enrollment

23 (2018) → 327 (2026)

+1321.7%

How does Sunset High School really compare on getting kids to college?

Unlock a head-to-head snapshot of Sunset High School against its 10 most similar nearby schools — matched on size, location, type. See exactly where it stands on the college pipeline.

The full head-to-head table — every peer school's UC Reach, side by side.

Enrollment trend + 3-year projection — is this school growing or quietly shrinking?

The plain-English read on what it all means for your family.

Your similar-school group includes

Mt. Sac Early College Academy At West Covina · Frontier High (continuation) · Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High · Sierra Vista High (alternative) · Valencia Academy Of The Arts · International Polytechnic High School · +4 more

Enrollment stability & demand — 2023-24

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the San Diego County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

90% of students who start the year here finish it here.

Stability rate

90.0%

27 of 30 students

3 of 30 students who enrolled at Sunset High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (10.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Diego County median

88.6% · school is in the 61st percentile of 213 HS

Statewide median

87.9% · in the 61st percentile of 2,715 HS

Stability by student group

Students w/ disabilities (30) 90.0%

Hispanic / Latino (23) 100.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Mt. Sac Early College Academy At West Covina 94.1% Frontier High (continuation) 46.2% Fernando R. Ledesma Continuation High 42.1% Sierra Vista High (alternative) 34.4% Valencia Academy Of The Arts 91.6%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2023-24. 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 — Hacienda la Puente Unified (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.

Total revenue

$337.8M

+10.2% since FY2017

Per-pupil revenue

$19,490

17,329 students enrolled

Revenue mix

State: 68.5%
Local: 16.8%
Federal: 14.8%

Instruction share

57.8%

of current spending · $8,985/pupil

Long-term debt

$199.6M

+7.6% since FY2017

Total revenue by year ($M)

Total expenditure by year ($M)

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 Hacienda la Puente Unified 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).

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Sunset 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.

✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Sunset High School is a public high school in Encinitas, San Diego County, California.

It has about 4,088 students per school counselor.

Enrollment was 327 students in 2026, up 1322% since 2018.

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

How many students attend Sunset High School? Enrollment was 327 students in 2026, up 1322% since 2018.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.