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Pajaro Valley High School

500 Harkins Slough Road, Watsonville, CA 95076View on map

  • Public
  • Watsonville
  • 331 seniors
  • 1,270 students

Pajaro Valley High School is a public high school in Watsonville (Pajaro Valley Unified) with 331 seniors. In fall 2025, 68% of its 47 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 74%. Its students applied most often to UC Berkeley (Cal), UC Davis (UCD), and UC Los Angeles (UCLA). 43% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

68%

32 of 47 applicants, fall 2025

County median 74%

Seniors admitted to a UC

10%

32 of 331 seniors

County median 24%

Seniors who applied to UC

14%

47 of 331 seniors

County median 32%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

11%

3 of 28 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

15%

5 of 34 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

Pajaro Valley High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 2 of 9 campuses, about the same at 3 and worse at 4.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    11%

    3 of 28 admitted

    This school11%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.86)

  • BerkeleyAbout the same

    15%

    5 of 34 admitted

    This school15%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.32 (all applicants 3.82)

  • Irvine7 pts lower

    15%

    3 of 20 admitted

    This school15%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.82)

  • San Diego13 pts higher

    38%

    8 of 21 admitted

    This school38%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.21 (all applicants 3.78)

  • Santa Barbara11 pts higher

    44%

    7 of 16 admitted

    This school44%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.19 (all applicants 3.86)

  • Davis5 pts lower

    32%

    10 of 31 admitted

    This school32%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.19 (all applicants 3.73)

  • Santa Cruz5 pts lower

    67%

    16 of 24 admitted

    This school67%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.01 (all applicants 3.73)

  • Riverside12 pts lower

    75%

    9 of 12 admitted

    This school75%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.92 (all applicants 3.75)

  • MercedAbout the same

    93%

    13 of 14 admitted

    This school93%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.92 (all applicants 3.91)

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

Pajaro Valley High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 1 of 5 campuses, about the same at 3 and worse at 1.

  • San Luis Obispo13 pts higher

    43%

    12 of 28 admitted

    This school43%Overall30%

  • San Jose5 pts lower

    75%

    42 of 56 admitted

    This school75%Overall80%

  • SacramentoAbout the same

    93%

    28 of 30 admitted

    This school93%Overall94%

  • Monterey BayAbout the same

    98%

    43 of 44 admitted

    This school98%Overall95%

  • FresnoAbout the same

    96%

    26 of 27 admitted

    This school96%Overall96%

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

Any college

73%

167 of 230 graduates

UC or CSU

14%

33 graduates

Community college

56%

129 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC167%
CSU177%
CA private college1<1%
Out of state42%
Community college12956%
Not enrolled6327%
Enrolled in college16773%
Total230100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

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

Advanced Placement

9

AP courses offered

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

15

AP class sections

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

18% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

29%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

82 of 279 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)

10%

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

29 of 304 graduates

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

Subject areas

  • English: 3 classes
  • Fine and performing arts: 1 class
  • Foreign language: 4 classes
  • Mathematics: 2 classes
  • Science: 1 class
  • Social science: 4 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 51%County median 61%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 15%County median 30%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 15%County median 29%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 3%County median 14%
  • Low-income students 94%County median 36%
  • Graduates completing courses 43%County median 64%

Across California

Year
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