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Palo Alto High School

50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301View on map

  • Public
  • Palo Alto
  • 495 seniors
  • 1,828 students

Palo Alto High School is a public high school in Palo Alto (Palo Alto Unified) with 495 seniors. In fall 2025, 78% of its 341 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 79%. Its students applied most often to UC Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and UC San Diego (UCSD). 91% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

78%

265 of 341 applicants, fall 2025

County median 79%

Seniors admitted to a UC

54%

265 of 495 seniors

County median 39%

Seniors who applied to UC

69%

341 of 495 seniors

County median 53%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

9.2%

27 of 295 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

14%

41 of 285 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

Palo Alto High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 1 of 9 campuses, about the same at 6 and worse at 2.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    9%

    27 of 295 admitted

    This school9%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.23 (all applicants 4.05)

  • BerkeleyAbout the same

    14%

    41 of 285 admitted

    This school14%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.25 (all applicants 4.04)

  • IrvineAbout the same

    23%

    58 of 255 admitted

    This school23%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.24 (all applicants 4.05)

  • San Diego10 pts lower

    15%

    43 of 287 admitted

    This school15%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.26 (all applicants 4.03)

  • Santa BarbaraAbout the same

    33%

    97 of 295 admitted

    This school33%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.26 (all applicants 4.04)

  • Davis9 pts lower

    28%

    80 of 285 admitted

    This school28%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.21 (all applicants 4.01)

  • Santa CruzAbout the same

    75%

    170 of 227 admitted

    This school75%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.11 (all applicants 3.97)

  • Riverside6 pts higher

    93%

    126 of 136 admitted

    This school93%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.96 (all applicants 3.94)

  • MercedAbout the same

    98%

    96 of 98 admitted

    This school98%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.88 (all applicants 3.85)

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

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

  • San Luis Obispo4 pts lower

    26%

    49 of 191 admitted

    This school26%Overall30%

  • San Diego5 pts lower

    29%

    44 of 152 admitted

    This school29%Overall34%

  • PomonaAbout the same

    72%

    43 of 60 admitted

    This school72%Overall74%

  • San Jose12 pts lower

    68%

    70 of 103 admitted

    This school68%Overall80%

  • San Francisco4 pts higher

    100%

    47 of 47 admitted

    This school100%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 (542 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.

Any college

86%

466 of 542 graduates

UC or CSU

22%

121 graduates

Community college

13%

70 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC8816%
CSU336%
CA private college458%
Out of state23042%
Community college7013%
Not enrolled7614%
Enrolled in college46686%
Total542100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Male, Female
  • Race & ethnicity: Asian, White, Hispanic or Latino, Two or more races
  • Student need: Low-income, Students with disabilities
See the full report

Advanced Placement

37

AP courses offered

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

75

AP class sections

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

47% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

84%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

381 of 452 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)

66%

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

326 of 497 graduates

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

Subject areas

  • English: 17 classes
  • Fine and performing arts: 7 classes
  • Foreign language: 7 classes
  • Mathematics: 14 classes
  • Science: 17 classes
  • Social science: 8 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 82%County median 63%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 78%County median 42%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 54%County median 32%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 58%County median 24%
  • Low-income students 12%County median 47%
  • Graduates completing courses 91%County median 64%

Across California

Year
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Other schools in Palo Alto Unified and nearby