The Nueva School

San Mateo · San Mateo County · Private independent

Private San Mateo County ~108 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Menlo School → Head-Royce School the → Quarry Lane School → Lick Wilmerding High School → Moreau Catholic High School → Compare all similar →

Top 10% UC Reach in California 23 National Merit Semifinalists

A parent's read

The UC pipeline here is real. 70 admissions to the top six UC campuses for a class of 108 seniors puts this school in roughly the top 5% of California high schools.
23 National Merit Semifinalists in one class. That's roughly 1 in 5 seniors reaching the top ~1% of the PSAT nationally — a density few schools anywhere can match.
A deeply UC-focused culture. Seniors here file about 3.8 UC applications each — among the most UC-oriented schools in California. The counseling office lives and breathes this system.
Elite admits are rare — here and everywhere. Berkeley and UCLA admitted 25 of this class's 405 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.

At a glance

Programs & features

Teaches no AP-designated courses — common among independent schools that run their own advanced curriculum
23 National Merit Semifinalists (2026)

Academic signals

ACT avg 34 (25-75: 34–35)

Worth knowing: The school reports test scores for the Classes of 2025 and 2026 together rather than one class at a time.

Composed from the school's own published profile (2026), and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

Where grads go — and what it costs & pays

UC Reach Score

Excellent top 6% 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

18 admitted

3 enrolled

Net $13,481/yr avg

Grads earn $92,446 @10yr

UCLA

7 admitted

Net $12,548/yr avg

Grads earn $82,511 @10yr

UCSD

10 admitted

Net $12,470/yr avg

Grads earn $84,943 @10yr

UCSB

12 admitted

Net $16,109/yr avg

Grads earn $74,915 @10yr

UCI

4 admitted

Net $14,251/yr avg

Grads earn $80,735 @10yr

UCD

19 admitted

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 The Nueva 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 / Competitive / Match / Likely + the real cost range for every college on their list. Check odds →

How The Nueva School compares for families

One of California's strongest schools for college outcomes.

▸ NationallyACT mean 34.0 (≈ top 1%) · 23 National Merit Semifinalists last year (NMSF is the top 1% of US PSAT scorers) · Top 5% of the 218 curated private schools in our database on ACT mean.
▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 65 — 46 points above the California median of 19. Ahead of 95% of California high schools.
▸ Locally🎓 Top 4 in San Mateo County on UC Reach — plus 1 more top-rank.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsRight at the peer median (UC Reach Score 63) 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 The Nueva School's 2025 number, statewide percentile, and 5-year trend.

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

921 (2020) → 952 (2025)

+3.4%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

91 (2020) → 108 (2025)

+18.7%

If this trend holds (+0.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026)	~958	+6	$0
3 yr (2028)	~969	+17	$0
5 yr (2030)	~980	+28	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = typical CA independent day schools ($25k–55k). Edit the figure to match your school.

How does The Nueva School really compare on getting kids to college?

We've ranked it #5 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.

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

Menlo School · Head-Royce School the · Quarry Lane School · Lick Wilmerding High School · Moreau Catholic High School · Crystal Springs Uplands School · +4 more

Key takeaway · Class of 2025

The Nueva School sent 405 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 17.3% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 65 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 46 points above the California median of 19, higher than 95% of California high schools. The school produces 23.1 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

UC Reach Score 65 ⓘ 70 admits (counted at each UC) / 108 seniors +2 pts above peer median (63) · #5 of 11 similar schools methodology

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
19

Peer median
63

Top 10%
53

This school
65

050100

CA median 19 Top 10% ≥ 53 This school 65

Higher than 95% of California high schools (1107 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

What this number means

The Nueva School's UC Reach Score of 65 clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53) — meaning roughly 64 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 30 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, The Nueva School's UC Reach is higher than 95% of California high schools (1107 ranked).

UC Application Reach Score ⓘ

375

405 applications

Strong UC pursuit. The typical senior is applying to about 4 top-6 UC campuses — a signal of a college-driven student body.

In context: CA median 81 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 240 · San Mateo Co. Top 10% ≥ 332 · higher than 99% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

17.3%

70 / 405 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.4% · higher than 5% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

4.3%

3 enrolled of 70 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 ⓘ

3 enrollees / 108 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) ⓘ

47.2

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.9 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.2 · higher than 93% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

23.1

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 10.2 · higher than 99% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

108

Private School Affidavit

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

952

All grades · Private School Affidavit

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.

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.21

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.27

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.

Who's actually getting into UC from The Nueva School

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

Strong shot = ≥30% statewide admit rate at this band · Real shot = 10–29% · Moderate = 5–9% · Long odds = 1–4% · Filtered out = under 1%. Tiers map this school's likely outcomes by GPA tier using statewide CA admit rates from UCOP 2024.

The numbers behind it

Campus	Applicant GPA	Admit GPA	Lift ⓘ	Admit rate	vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ
UC Berkeley	4.21	4.28	+0.06	26.4%	Peers +0.11 · wider
UCLA	4.22	4.28	+0.06	9.9%	Peers +0.13 · wider
UC San Diego	4.21	4.27	+0.06	14.5%	Peers +0.12 · wider
UC Santa Barbara	4.21	4.28	+0.07	30.7%	Peers +0.12 · wider
UC Irvine	4.21	4.22	+0.01	11.5%	Peers +0.07 · wider
UC Davis	4.22	4.27	+0.05	25.0%	Peers +0.08 · 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%

How we infer the tier labels: Each tier comes from the statewide CA admit rate at that GPA band at that UC. The "vs peers" column compares this school's lift (admit GPA − applicant GPA) to the average lift at ~100–300 other CA schools with similar applicant pool GPA. What this isn't: a guarantee. UC comprehensive review weighs essays, course rigor, demographics, and context-of-opportunity beyond GPA. A 3.9 with strong context can land an admit; a 4.0 with weak essays can be denied. Use as a baseline expectation, not a verdict. Per-campus year is shown when it differs from the headline year (UCOP doesn't always publish admit-GPA for every campus every year).

Where The Nueva School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (19.7% actual vs. 23.9% expected), based on 2024 data.

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) '24	Avg GPA (Adm) '24
UC Berkeley → Elite	81	18	3	22.2%	17	16.7%	4.21	4.28
UCLA → Elite	79	7	—^†	8.9%	6	—	4.22	4.28
UC San Diego → Selective	72	10	—^†	13.9%	9	—	4.21	4.27
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	65	12	—^†	18.5%	11	—	4.21	4.28
UC Irvine → Selective	50	4	—^†	8.0%	4	—	4.21	4.22
UC Davis →	58	19	—^†	32.8%	18	—	4.22	4.27

† = 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 very strong — more than 65% of seniors are earning UC admission. This places the school among California's highest-performing high schools on this metric.

Strong UC Reach paired with very low yield: this school's students are earning UC admission at high rates and then enrolling elsewhere — almost certainly at the most selective private universities (Ivies, Stanford, MIT, the top liberal-arts colleges) or elite out-of-state flagships. UC is functioning as a credentialing-grade backup rather than a destination.

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 and UCLA admit volume is strong — a clear high-end signal for this school's academic preparation.

UC Reach has declined meaningfully year-over-year. This should be reviewed in context of applicant volume, GPA trends, course rigor changes, and peer-school performance before drawing conclusions.

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.

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