WhoGotIn
Language: English

Santa Cruz High School

415 Walnut Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95060View on map

  • Public
  • Santa Cruz
  • 270 seniors
  • 1,060 students

Santa Cruz High School is a public high school in Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz City High) with 270 seniors. In fall 2025, 75% of its 122 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 74%. Its students applied most often to UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), UC San Diego (UCSD), and UC Davis (UCD). 79% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

75%

92 of 122 applicants, fall 2025

County median 74%

Seniors admitted to a UC

34%

92 of 270 seniors

County median 24%

Seniors who applied to UC

45%

122 of 270 seniors

County median 32%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

11%

8 of 73 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

17%

13 of 75 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

Santa Cruz High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 5 of 9 campuses, about the same at 2 and worse at 2.

  • Los AngelesAbout the same

    11%

    8 of 73 admitted

    This school11%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.30 (all applicants 4.02)

  • Berkeley4 pts higher

    17%

    13 of 75 admitted

    This school17%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.22 (all applicants 3.98)

  • Irvine26 pts higher

    48%

    25 of 52 admitted

    This school48%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.10 (all applicants 3.95)

  • San Diego4 pts lower

    21%

    18 of 84 admitted

    This school21%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.27 (all applicants 3.93)

  • Santa Barbara7 pts lower

    25%

    23 of 92 admitted

    This school25%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.26 (all applicants 3.95)

  • Davis7 pts higher

    44%

    35 of 80 admitted

    This school44%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.17 (all applicants 3.97)

  • Santa Cruz10 pts higher

    81%

    39 of 48 admitted

    This school81%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.00 (all applicants 3.83)

  • RiversideAbout the same

    84%

    21 of 25 admitted

    This school84%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.92 (all applicants 3.85)

  • Merced4 pts higher

    100%

    24 of 24 admitted

    This school100%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.81 (all applicants 3.81)

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

Santa Cruz 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 ObispoAbout the same

    31%

    30 of 97 admitted

    This school31%Overall30%

  • San Diego11 pts higher

    46%

    41 of 90 admitted

    This school46%Overall34%

  • San Jose5 pts lower

    75%

    30 of 40 admitted

    This school75%Overall80%

  • ChicoAbout the same

    95%

    39 of 41 admitted

    This school95%Overall94%

  • HumboldtAbout the same

    98%

    39 of 40 admitted

    This school98%Overall99%

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

Any college

79%

178 of 224 graduates

UC or CSU

25%

57 graduates

Community college

35%

79 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC2210%
CSU3516%
CA private college31%
Out of state3917%
Community college7935%
Not enrolled4621%
Enrolled in college17879%
Total224100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Female, Male
  • Race & ethnicity: 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

13

AP class sections

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

24% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

44%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

110 of 250 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)

30%

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

86 of 283 graduates

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

Subject areas

  • English: 3 classes
  • Mathematics: 4 classes
  • Science: 4 classes
  • Social science: 2 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 72%County median 61%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 56%County median 30%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 41%County median 29%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 34%County median 14%
  • Low-income students 22%County median 36%
  • Graduates completing courses 79%County median 64%

Across California

Year
Loading chart…

Other schools in Santa Cruz City High and nearby