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Golden Valley High School

2121 East Childs Avenue, Merced, CA 95344View on map

  • Public
  • Merced
  • 434 seniors
  • 1,931 students

Golden Valley High School is a public high school in Merced (Merced Union High) with 434 seniors. In fall 2025, 92% of its 100 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 88%. Its students applied most often to UC Merced, UC Davis (UCD), and UC Berkeley (Cal). 34% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

92%

92 of 100 applicants, fall 2025

County median 88%

Seniors admitted to a UC

21%

92 of 434 seniors

County median 15%

Seniors who applied to UC

23%

100 of 434 seniors

County median 17%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

9.4%

3 of 32 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

14%

6 of 42 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 13%

Campus by campus, fall 2025

The share of this school's applicants each campus admitted, beside the campus's rate for everyone else. Hardest campus first.

University of California

Golden Valley High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 5 of 9 campuses, about the same at 4.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    9%

    3 of 32 admitted

    This school9%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.95)

  • BerkeleyAbout the same

    14%

    6 of 42 admitted

    This school14%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.21 (all applicants 3.91)

  • Irvine12 pts higher

    34%

    10 of 29 admitted

    This school34%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.18 (all applicants 3.94)

  • San Diego8 pts higher

    33%

    10 of 30 admitted

    This school33%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.21 (all applicants 3.85)

  • Santa Barbara45 pts higher

    78%

    14 of 18 admitted

    This school78%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.05 (all applicants 3.91)

  • Davis7 pts higher

    44%

    23 of 52 admitted

    This school44%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.13 (all applicants 3.88)

  • Santa CruzAbout the same

    68%

    17 of 25 admitted

    This school68%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.04 (all applicants 3.80)

  • Riverside4 pts higher

    91%

    20 of 22 admitted

    This school91%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.83 (all applicants 3.76)

  • MercedAbout the same

    96%

    87 of 91 admitted

    This school96%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.88 (all applicants 3.84)

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. All CA is the campus’s admit rate that fall for applicants from every California high school. Within 3 points counts as about the same. GPA is the UC-calculated GPA (weighted, capped).

California State University

Golden Valley High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 1 of 4 campuses, about the same at 1 and worse at 2.

  • San Jose5 pts higher

    86%

    12 of 14 admitted

    This school86%Overall80%

  • Sacramento5 pts lower

    89%

    31 of 35 admitted

    This school89%Overall94%

  • Fresno5 pts lower

    91%

    43 of 47 admitted

    This school91%Overall96%

  • StanislausAbout the same

    98%

    53 of 54 admitted

    This school98%Overall97%

  • Monterey Bay

    ~97% · 3 yrs pooled8 applied

Fall 2025. A student admitted to several campuses counts once at each one. Overall is the campus’s admit rate for all its applicants, from federal IPEDS data (fall 2023, the latest published). Within 3 points counts as about the same.

Where graduates go

Class of 2023 (453 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.

Any college

37%

166 of 453 graduates

UC or CSU

14%

65 graduates

Community college

20%

91 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC388%
CSU276%
CA private college1<1%
Out of state92%
Community college9120%
Not enrolled28763%
Enrolled in college16637%
Total453100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Female, Male
  • Race & ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, White, Asian, Black or African American
  • Student need: Low-income, English learners, Students with disabilities, Homeless
See the full report

Advanced Placement

2

AP courses offered

2023–24 school year · US Dept. of Education Civil Rights Data Collection

21

AP class sections

Counts every section taught, so it is larger than the number of different AP courses.

17% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

21%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

95 of 446 graduates

A score of 3 or higher on exams or a C- or better in courses. Not comparable with the exam-only share.

2025–26 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

4%

of graduating seniors scored 3 or higher on at least two AP exams

21 of 479 graduates

2023–24 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)

Subject areas

  • English: 5 classes
  • Fine and performing arts: 2 classes
  • Foreign language: 1 class
  • Mathematics: 5 classes
  • Science: 3 classes
  • Social science: 5 classes

Academic context

State test (CAASPP), juniors tested in 2026, and the share of low-income students. A–G is the class of 2023. The tick is the county median.

  • Juniors meeting the English standard 41%County median 42%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 13%County median 15%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 14%County median 15%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 4%County median 5%
  • Low-income students 86%County median 80%
  • Graduates completing courses 34%County median 41%

Across California

Year
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Other schools in Merced Union High and nearby