Santa Maria High School

901 South Broadway, Santa Maria, CA 93454View on map

  • Public
  • Santa Maria
  • 793 seniors
  • 3,094 students

Santa Maria High School is a public high school in Santa Maria (Santa Maria Joint Union High) with 793 seniors. In fall 2025, 80% of its 167 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 75%. Its students applied most often to UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), UC Merced, and UC Davis (UCD). 30% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.

Year

UC admit rate

80%

133 of 167 applicants, fall 2025

County median 75%

Seniors admitted to a UC

17%

133 of 793 seniors

County median 17%

Seniors who applied to UC

21%

167 of 793 seniors

County median 24%

UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate

5.3%

4 of 76 applicants, fall 2025

CA applicants 9.6%

UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate

11%

8 of 70 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 Maria High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 2 of 9 campuses, about the same at 3 and worse at 4.

  • Los Angeles4 pts lower

    5%

    4 of 76 admitted

    This school5%All CA10%

    Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.89)

  • BerkeleyAbout the same

    11%

    8 of 70 admitted

    This school11%All CA13%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.23 (all applicants 3.81)

  • Irvine10 pts lower

    13%

    10 of 80 admitted

    This school13%All CA22%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.09 (all applicants 3.85)

  • San Diego12 pts higher

    37%

    21 of 57 admitted

    This school37%All CA25%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.10 (all applicants 3.70)

  • Santa BarbaraAbout the same

    35%

    37 of 106 admitted

    This school35%All CA32%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.14 (all applicants 3.72)

  • Davis9 pts higher

    46%

    39 of 85 admitted

    This school46%All CA37%

    Admitted students' average GPA 4.04 (all applicants 3.71)

  • Santa Cruz12 pts lower

    59%

    49 of 83 admitted

    This school59%All CA71%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.98 (all applicants 3.69)

  • RiversideAbout the same

    88%

    49 of 56 admitted

    This school88%All CA87%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.82 (all applicants 3.75)

  • Merced5 pts lower

    91%

    83 of 91 admitted

    This school91%All CA96%

    Admitted students' average GPA 3.71 (all applicants 3.67)

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 Maria High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 1 of 5 campuses, about the same at 4.

  • San Luis Obispo15 pts higher

    45%

    63 of 140 admitted

    This school45%Overall30%

  • NorthridgeAbout the same

    90%

    47 of 52 admitted

    This school90%Overall93%

  • SacramentoAbout the same

    95%

    59 of 62 admitted

    This school95%Overall94%

  • ChicoAbout the same

    94%

    81 of 86 admitted

    This school94%Overall94%

  • FresnoAbout the same

    99%

    108 of 109 admitted

    This school99%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 (585 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.

Any college

69%

404 of 585 graduates

UC or CSU

17%

99 graduates

Community college

51%

298 graduates

DestinationGraduatesShare
UC387%
CSU6110%
CA private college41%
Out of state31%
Community college29851%
Not enrolled18131%
Enrolled in college40469%
Total585100%

How each student group compares

Compare college-going across student groups

  • Gender: Female, Male
  • Race & ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, White
  • 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

29

AP class sections

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

19% of students are in AP courses

2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card

22%

of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses

152 of 689 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)

7%

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

53 of 762 graduates

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

Subject areas

  • English: 9 classes
  • Foreign language: 11 classes
  • Mathematics: 2 classes
  • Science: 1 class
  • Social science: 6 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 43%County median 52%
  • Juniors meeting the math standard 19%County median 23%
  • Juniors exceeding the English standard 13%County median 18%
  • Juniors exceeding the math standard 7%County median 7%
  • Low-income students 92%County median 58%
  • Graduates completing courses 30%County median 48%

Across California

Year
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Other schools in Santa Maria Joint Union High and nearby