See the Sacramento-area high schools with the best track records for UC admissions
It’s almost college application season. Next month, thousands of seniors in the Sacramento area will apply for fall 2022 admission to one or more University of California campuses.
Many of them can take comfort that their high schools have a good track record.
About one of every eight Sacramento-area public and private high school graduates were admitted into a college in the University of California system during fall 2020, according to the most recent UC data.
Three relatively small private schools achieved the most success.
▪ More than 70% of 12th-graders at Sacramento Country Day were admitted to a UC campus. Located in Arden, Sacramento Country Day charges roughly $28,700 a year for high school tuition, though it also gave about $2.5 million in financial aid last year. Of the 24 Sacramento Country Day graduates who applied in 2020, 22 were admitted to at least one UC campus.
▪ Al Arqam Islamic School and College Prep was nearly as successful, with about 63% of its 12th-graders admitted to at least one UC campus. Located near Florin, high school tuition is $6,800 for the first student in a family and $4,800 for subsequent children. Of the 17 Al Arqam graduates who applied in 2020, 15 were admitted to at least one UC campus.
▪ About 44% of 12th-graders at Cristo Rey High were admitted to a UC campus. Cristo Rey is a Catholic school located in the College/Glen neighborhood, on the eastern edge of Sacramento. Cristo Rey serves low-income families and incorporates a work-study model. Corporate employers and sponsors pay most of the student tuition. Families pay between $200 to $2,300 a year.
Other local private schools with a high proportion of students admitted to the UC system include Jesuit High, Sacramento Waldorf, Christian Brothers High and Saint Francis High.
At least 30% of graduates from four local public schools were admitted into a UC campus in 2020.
Roughly 42% of graduates at Davis Senior High were admitted to a UC campus. Davis Senior High saw more graduates admitted to a UC campus than all but 22 other high schools in California during fall 2020. Despite its proximity, UC Davis was not the most popular destination for Davis Senior High grads; instead, a plurality enrolled at UC Santa Cruz.
About 35% of graduates at Sacramento Charter High were admitted into a UC campus. Located in Oak Park, Sacramento Charter High is run by St. Hope, the nonprofit founded by former mayor and basketball star Kevin Johnson. The large majority of students at Sacramento Charter High are Black or Latino. Only one other school in the state — the much larger King/Drew Magnet High in Los Angeles — saw more Black students admitted to a UC campus than Sacramento High in 2020.
Roughly one-third of graduates at West Campus were admitted into a UC college. West Campus is a college-preparatory public school near Stockton Blvd. and Fruitridge Avenue, southeast of downtown Sacramento. Students must apply to the school for admission. U.S. News and World Report ranks the school as the best in Sacramento, and the 26th-best in the state.
About 30% of graduates at Da Vinci Charter Academy in Davis were admitted into a UC college. The school was founded about 17 years ago with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Students must apply to the school for admission.
Other local public schools with a high proportion of students admitted to the UC system include Natomas Charter (Performing and Fine Arts Academy), Western Sierra Collegiate Academy, Granite Bay High and Mira Loma High.
All told, about 18% of high school graduates in the Sacramento region applied to at least one UC campus, 13% were admitted and about 7% actually enrolled.
The data comes with several caveats.
Students often apply to multiple colleges. Some of the brightest students at any high school may not even apply to a UC campus but still wind up attending a prestigious college. The state has only intermittently collected data on college-going rates that includes private colleges and out-of-state colleges.
A UC education is expensive. Some students may forego applying to the University of California system and instead attend a two-year college, with the intent to transfer.
Some high school graduates take a “gap year” and may show up in admissions data a year or two after they actually finish high school.
The state does not collect data on the number of graduates each year from private schools. Instead, this analysis uses each private school’s 12th-grade enrollment as a proxy for its graduates.
