Nova Academy Early College High School
500 West Santa Ana Boulevard, Santa Ana, CA 92701View on map
- Public
- Santa Ana
- 72 seniors
- 293 students
Nova Academy Early College High School is a public high school in Santa Ana (Santa Ana Unified) with 72 seniors. In fall 2025, 61% of its 18 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 76%. Its students applied most often to UC Irvine (UCI), UC Los Angeles (UCLA), and UC Berkeley (Cal). 45% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.
UC admit rate
61%
11 of 18 applicants, fall 2025
Seniors admitted to a UC
15%
11 of 72 seniors
Seniors who applied to UC
25%
18 of 72 seniors
UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate
—
— of 14 applicants, fall 2025
UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate
—
— of 10 applicants, fall 2025
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
Nova Academy Early College High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 1 of 2 campuses, about the same at 1.
- IrvineAbout the same
22%
4 of 18 admitted
This school22%All CA22%
Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.59)
- San Diego15 pts higher
40%
4 of 10 admitted
This school40%All CA25%
Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.64)
too few applicants to report14 applied
too few applicants to report10 applied
~50% · 3 yrs pooled9 applied
too few applicants to report— applied
too few applicants to report— applied
too few applicants to report— applied
too few applicants to report— applied
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
Nova Academy Early College High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 1 of 2 campuses, worse at 1.
- Long Beach11 pts lower
36%
8 of 22 admitted
This school36%Overall47%
- Fullerton9 pts higher
96%
23 of 24 admitted
This school96%Overall87%
too few applicants to report3 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 (65 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.
Any college
77%
50 of 65 graduates
UC or CSU
23%
15 graduates
Community college
54%
35 graduates
| Destination | Graduates | Share |
|---|---|---|
| UC | 3 | 5% |
| CSU | 12 | 18% |
| CA private college | 0 | 0% |
| Out of state | 0 | 0% |
| Community college | 35 | 54% |
| Not enrolled | 15 | 23% |
| Enrolled in college | 50 | 77% |
| Total | 65 | 100% |
How each student group compares
Compare college-going across student groups
- Gender: Male, Female
- Race & ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino
- Student need: Low-income
Advanced Placement
8
AP courses offered
2023–24 school year · US Dept. of Education Civil Rights Data Collection
8
AP class sections
Counts every section taught, so it is larger than the number of different AP courses.
20% of students are in AP courses
2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card
26%
of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses
24 of 93 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)
12%
of graduating seniors scored 3 or higher on at least two AP exams
6 of 52 graduates
2023–24 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)
Subject areas
- English: 2 classes
- Foreign language: 1 class
- Mathematics: 1 class
- Science: 1 class
- Social science: 3 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 63%County median 65%
- Juniors meeting the math standard 11%County median 41%
- Juniors exceeding the English standard 18%County median 33%
- Juniors exceeding the math standard 3%County median 21%
- Low-income students 87%County median 58%
- Graduates completing courses 45%County median 57%