Private school tuition
Is Mary Star of the Sea High School worth the tuition?
Mary Star of the Sea High School (San Pedro) set beside California Academy of Mathematics & Science (Carson), the highest-scoring public high school within 15 miles that has at least 100 seniors. The two are compared on cost, on 2025 UC outcomes and on what each offers.
What does Mary Star of the Sea High School cost?
Mary Star of the Sea High School publishes tuition of $12,100 for 2026-27, which is $48,400 over four years at today's tuition.
| Published tuition | $12,100 (2026-27) |
| Four years at today's tuition (tuition × 4) | $48,400 |
- As the school lists it: 2026-27: $12,100 Catholic / $12,700 non-Catholic (first student); international from $21,200; $550 registration fee.
- The four-year figure holds tuition constant. It leaves out fees, books, transportation and any financial aid, which Reach does not hold; the school's admissions office can say what applies.
How do their UC outcomes compare?
Mary Star of the Sea High School has a 18 UC Reach Score, from 15 UC admits counted at each campus for 83 seniors, and California Academy of Mathematics & Science has a 129 score, from 218 admits for 169 seniors, 18.1 and 129.0 admits per 100 seniors.
| Mary Star of the Sea High School (private) | California Academy of Mathematics & Science (public) | |
|---|---|---|
| UC Reach Score 2025 | 18 | 129 |
| UC admits 2025, counted at each campus | 15 | 218 |
| Seniors | 83 | 169 |
| UC admits per 100 seniors | 18.1 | 129.0 |
| Publishes a counted college list | No | Yes |
California Academy of Mathematics & Science: five most-named colleges
- CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, LONG BEACH (32)
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO (24)
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE (14)
- LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE (10)
- CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY, SAN LUIS OBISPO (8)
From the school's own published list, matriculation (where graduates enrolled), Class of 2023; Post-Secondary Enrollment Data (CAMS). Counts are the school's own.
Mary Star of the Sea High School does not publish a counted college list that we hold, so only one list is shown.
What does the public school offer?
California Academy of Mathematics & Science in Carson is 7.4 miles from Mary Star of the Sea High School, has a 129 UC Reach Score and enrolled 662 students in 2026.
- UC Reach Score 2025: 129, from 218 UC admits for 169 seniors.
- Enrollment: 662 students (2026).
- A-G completion: 100.0% of the 2024-25 graduating cohort of 170 met the UC/CSU course requirements (California median 55.9%).
- Students per counselor: 828 to 1 (Civil Rights Data Collection 2020; California median 337 to 1).
- Full profile: California Academy of Mathematics & Science.
What are families also paying for at Mary Star of the Sea High School?
Some of what a family pays for at Mary Star of the Sea High School is something only a private school can offer. None of it shows up in a UC Reach Score, and each item is a question of fit rather than a ranking.
- A community chosen by fit. A private school runs its own admissions process, so the application, the entrance exam and the interview work as a fit signal in both directions: the school learns about the student, and the family learns how the school talks about its students.
- Its own values and program. A private school sets its own curriculum, calendar and expectations rather than inheriting a district's, so a family can look for a philosophy it shares.
- A faith community. Mary Star of the Sea High School is a Catholic school, which matters to families who want faith to be part of the school day.
- Class size. The National Center for Education Statistics' Private School Survey (2022) lists Mary Star of the Sea High School at 15.4 students per teacher across 406 students.
- Size and grades served. Mary Star of the Sea High School enrolled 407 students in 2025 and serves grades 9–12.
- Advising, arts and athletics. A private school builds its own college advising and its own arts and athletics offerings, and a smaller school can mean more students on each team and in each production. Ask what the counselor caseload and the participation look like.
Parents are not only shopping for college outcomes. The UC Reach Score counts one thing, UC admits per 100 seniors, and it says nothing about whether a teenager will be known, challenged and happy at a school for four years.
Public schools are a great choice when a family cannot afford a private school, and the section above shows what California Academy of Mathematics & Science offers.
More on Mary Star of the Sea High School: its full profile, more private high schools in Los Angeles County, and private vs public high schools in Los Angeles County. Other schools are on the is it worth the tuition? index.
UC Reach Score is top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in 2025, counted at each campus, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each; a "~" marks an estimated senior count. Tuition is the figure the school publishes on its admissions pages, for the year shown. The public school is the highest-scoring district or charter high school within 15 miles (straight-line distance, 7.4 miles here) that reaches grade 12, has at least 100 seniors and is not an online, independent-study or alternative program. Form 990 figures come from the school's IRS filing, as reported through ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer; its program revenue includes tuition and other earned revenue. A-G completion is the California Department of Education's adjusted cohort graduation file; the counselor ratio is the federal Civil Rights Data Collection.