Tesoro High School
Rancho Santa Margarita · Orange County · Capistrano Unified · Public
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Most similar nearby schools
Capistrano Valley High School → El Toro High School → Mission Viejo High School → Trabuco Hills High School → Aliso Niguel High School → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- Where graduates go, as the school itself publishes it. Tesoro High School publishes where its graduates go (Class of 2024): 98 colleges, including Columbia University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, Georgia Institute Of Technology.
- The UC pipeline here is real. 174 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 552 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 26% of California high schools.
- About 9 in 10 students read and write at grade level. On the state's own 11th-grade test, 90% met or exceeded the college-readiness bar — the top 10% of California high schools (statewide: 54%).
- Families don't leave. 96% of students who start the year here finish it here — top-tier retention statewide. Kids stay; that tells you something no test score does.
- Worth asking about on a tour: counselor load. One counselor served about 2013 students here in the 2020 federal count — above the 250-to-1 level counseling experts recommend. Ask what the ratio is today and how junior-year college advising actually gets covered.
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
Tesoro High School publishes where its graduates enrolled (Class of 2024): 98 colleges. See the full list ↓
At a glance
- 26 AP courses offered — Elite
- Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- Gifted & talented program
- 3 calculus classes · 6 physics · 16 chemistry
- AP rigor: 76th percentile nationally
- SAT/ACT participation: 71st percentile by test-taker volume
- 4-yr grad rate: 96% in 2019 (82nd percentile nationally)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
Their published matriculation list
Where the Class of 2024 enrolled
Tesoro High School publishes where its graduates enrolled. What follows is copied from that document — 98 colleges, in the document's own order.
Ivy+ and most selective · 6
Columbia University · Cornell University · Harvard University · Stanford University · University Of Chicago · Yale University
University of California · 8
UC Berkeley · UC Irvine · UC Riverside · UC Davis · UC Los Angeles · UC San Diego · UC Santa Barbara · UC Santa Cruz
Cal State · 9
Cal Poly Slo · California State Polytechnic University, · California State Bakersfield · Chico State · California State Fresno · California State Fullerton · California State Long Beach · California State San Marcos · San Diego State University
Other California · 15
Biola University · California Baptist University · Chapman University · Loyola Marymount University · Pepperdine University · Point Loma Nazarene University · Pomona College · Santa Ana College · Santa Clara University · Santa Monica College · University Of Redlands · University Of San Diego · University Of San Francisco · University Of Southern California · and 1 more below
Out of state · 48
Aims Community College · American University · Arizona State University · Auburn University · Baylor University · Belmont University · Boise State University · Brigham Young University · Bryn Mawr College · Clemson University · College Of New Jersey · Colorado Mesa University · Colorado School Of Mines · Colorado State University · and 34 more below
Not matched to a college page · 12
Coastline Community College · Fullerton College · Golden West College · Irvine Valley College · Mesa Community College · New England Conservatory · Orange Coast College · Saddleback College · Santa Barbara City College · University Of Phoenix · Virginia Polytech & State Univ · Washington State Universit
Is my kid's college on this list?
The school down the road: Capistrano Valley High School
| College | Tesoro High School | Capistrano Valley High School |
|---|---|---|
| Boston University | — | ✓ named |
| Columbia University | ✓ named | — |
| Cornell University | ✓ named | — |
| Georgetown University | ✓ named | — |
| Georgia Institute Of Technology | ✓ named | — |
| Harvard University | ✓ named | — |
| New York University | — | ✓ named |
| Northeastern University | ✓ named | — |
| Purdue University | ✓ named | ✓ named |
| Rice University | ✓ named | — |
| Stanford University | ✓ named | — |
| UC Berkeley | ✓ named | ✓ named |
Both schools print names, not counts, so this shows which selective colleges each list names.
All 98 colleges, as the document prints them
and 68 more
These graduates went on to the colleges above.
Check your kid's odds at these colleges →We'll load 10 from the list above — add your name, email and your child's numbers and we'll see where your child lands at each.
Independently verified As published by Tesoro High School — Tesoro High School 2025-2026 School Profile ("THS 2025 School Profile.pdf") ↗. Found at: Page 4, section headed "COLLEGE ENROLLMENT" / "COLLEGE ENROLLMENT (CLASS OF 2024)".
Keep this page current
Work at Tesoro 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.
California College-Going Rate
89.3% of the 2022-23 graduating class enrolled in college within a year.
The share of 2022-23 graduates who enrolled at a college anywhere in the U.S. within 12 months, per the National Student Clearinghouse match the California Department of Education publishes.
Give the same class four more months and 90.7% had enrolled — CDE publishes a 16-month window alongside the 12-month one, 553 students.
Up 2.2 points from the 2021-22 class (87.1%).
Where the 2022-23 class enrolled
In California — 418 students (68.5%)
Out of state — 127 students (20.8%)
CDE puts each graduate in one bucket only — whichever kind of college they were enrolled in longest — so these add up to the rate above. That is a different count from the UC Reach Score on this page, which counts a student at every UC campus that admitted them.
Source: California Department of Education, College-Going Rate (DataQuest) ↗, cohort 2022-23, posted 17-Sep-2025. Data file: cgr12mo23.txt ↗ (and the 16-month file ↗). CDE builds the rate by matching California high school completers to National Student Clearinghouse enrollment records; we publish CDE’s aggregates and hold no student-level data.
How Tesoro High School compares for families
Above-average college outcomes statewide.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 32 — 13 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 74% of California high schools.
- ▸ Locally📘 Top 5% in California on ELA proficiency — plus 2 more top-ranks.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsRight at the peer median (UC Reach Score 30) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
76th percentile nationally
Gifted/talented program
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-2171st percentile by test-taker volume
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.
4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
82nd percentile nationally
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
Federal Title I context
Lower-need school
Not Title I eligible (FRPL < 25%)
<25% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Well below the Title I threshold; expect a higher-income student body on average.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025
Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.
Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.
Student composition — 2025-26
HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.
Race / ethnicity
Program subgroups
Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.
Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25
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: grades 9–12.
Absenteeism is up 5.9 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.
Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. 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
If this trend holds (-3.5%/yr, Total enrollment)
At per-pupil funding of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Funding impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2027) | ~1,942 | -71 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2029) | ~1,808 | -205 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2031) | ~1,684 | -329 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.
How does Tesoro High School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #6 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
Capistrano Valley High School · El Toro High School · Mission Viejo High School · Trabuco Hills High School · Aliso Niguel High School · San Juan Hills High School · +4 more
Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25
Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.
Tesoro High School's enrollment is shrinking 3.9× the county rate (school -23.6% vs. county -6.0%). Stability of 95.6% means every family you keep is one fewer; the leverage is at recruitment, not retention. This is the case the high stability number alone would hide.
90 of 2,067 students who enrolled at Tesoro High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (4.4% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.
Stability by student group
Nearest peer high schools
Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. 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 — Capistrano 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.
Local: 56.4%
Federal: 6.4%
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 Capistrano 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).
Tesoro High School sent 870 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 20.0% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 32 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 13 points above the California median of 19, higher than 74% of California high schools. The school produces 3.8 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.
19
30
53
32
Higher than 74% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Tesoro High School's UC Reach Score of 32 is above the California median (19). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53 or higher.
For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 95 — a gap of 64 pp from where this school sits.
Overall, Tesoro High School's UC Reach is higher than 74% of California high schools (1105 ranked).
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 | Moderate | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Santa Barbara | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Irvine | Strong shot | Real shot | Long odds | Filtered out |
| UC Davis | Strong shot | Strong shot | Real shot | Filtered out |
The numbers behind it
| Campus | Applicant GPA | Admit GPA | Lift ⓘ | Admit rate | vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 4.09 | 4.25 | +0.16 | 8.6% | Peers +0.19 · matches |
| UCLA | 4.07 | 4.32 | +0.25 | 6.1% | Peers +0.23 · matches |
| UC San Diego | 4.05 | 4.29 | +0.24 | 22.0% | Peers +0.24 · matches |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.06 | 4.31 | +0.25 | 29.1% | Peers +0.24 · matches |
| UC Irvine | 4.04 | 4.24 | +0.21 | 22.1% | Peers +0.20 · matches |
| UC Davis | 4.07 | 4.22 | +0.15 | 35.8% | Peers +0.18 · matches |
Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)
| GPA band | UCB | UCLA | UCSD | UCSB | UCI | UCD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00+ | 17.0% | 15.1% | 45.2% | 62.3% | 46.3% | 65.9% |
| 3.70–3.99 | 3.1% | 1.6% | 9.3% | 17.6% | 17.0% | 31.1% |
| 3.30–3.69 | 0.8% | 0.5% | 1.5% | 2.8% | 2.4% | 10.3% |
| 3.00–3.29 | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 1.9% |
| < 3.00 | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.7% |
Where Tesoro High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ
Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (20.0% actual vs. 23.0% expected).
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) | Avg GPA (Adm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Berkeley → Elite | 128 | 11 | 9 | 8.6% | 2 | 81.8% | 4.09 | 4.25 |
| UCLA → Elite | 164 | 10 | 8 | 6.1% | 2 | 80.0% | 4.07 | 4.32 |
| UC San Diego → Selective | 164 | 36 | 12 | 22.0% | 7 | 33.3% | 4.05 | 4.29 |
| UC Santa Barbara → Selective | 151 | 44 | 8 | 29.1% | 8 | 18.2% | 4.06 | 4.31 |
| UC Irvine → Selective | 154 | 34 | 12 | 22.1% | 6 | 35.3% | 4.04 | 4.24 |
| UC Davis → | 109 | 39 | 7 | 35.8% | 7 | 17.9% | 4.07 | 4.22 |
What This Means
For School Admins
The full Reach Report for Tesoro 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 (32) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
- ✓Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently -3.5%/yr) with the revenue at stake
- ✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantTesoro High School is a public high school in Rancho Santa Margarita, Orange County, California with 552 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 32 (Above average, top 25% in California): 174 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 552, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 74% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 870 UC applications and received 174 offers, a UC admit rate of 20.0% (counted at each campus); 56 enrolled.
More of its graduates enrolled at UC San Diego than at any other UC campus (12 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 21.
75% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
89% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
Of its graduates who enrolled at a UC, 95% earned a degree within six years (cohort entering 2019).
It has about 2,013 students per school counselor.
Enrollment was 2,013 students in 2026, down 22% since 2018.
Tesoro High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2024: 98 colleges. Source: Tesoro High School 2025-2026 School Profile ("THS 2025 School Profile.pdf").
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 Tesoro High School's UC Reach Score? Tesoro High School's UC Reach Score is 32 (Above average, top 25% in California): 174 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 552, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 74% of California high schools.
How many students from Tesoro High School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 870 UC applications and received 174 offers, a UC admit rate of 20.0% (counted at each campus); 56 enrolled.
Which UC campus do Tesoro High School graduates attend most? More of Tesoro High School's graduates enrolled at UC San Diego than at any other UC campus (12 in 2025); UC Berkeley and UCLA together admitted 21.
What percentage of Tesoro High School graduates complete the A-G requirements? 75% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
What percentage of Tesoro High School graduates go to college? 89% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
Where do Tesoro High School graduates go to college? Tesoro High School publishes a matriculation list (where its graduates enrolled) for the Class of 2024: 98 colleges. Source: Tesoro High School 2025-2026 School Profile ("THS 2025 School Profile.pdf").
How many students attend Tesoro High School? Enrollment was 2,013 students in 2026, down 22% since 2018.
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 Tesoro High School?
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