Santa Ynez Valley Union High School
2975 Mission Drive, Solvang, CA 93463View on map
- Public
- Solvang
- 221 seniors
- 729 students
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School is a public high school in Solvang (Santa Ynez Valley Union High) with 221 seniors. In fall 2025, 69% of its 45 University of California applicants were admitted, compared with a county median of 75%. Its students applied most often to UC San Diego (UCSD), UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and UC Los Angeles (UCLA). 46% of the class of 2023 completed the A–G courses UC requires.
UC admit rate
69%
31 of 45 applicants, fall 2025
Seniors admitted to a UC
14%
31 of 221 seniors
Seniors who applied to UC
20%
45 of 221 seniors
UC Los Angeles (UCLA) admit rate
—
— of 28 applicants, fall 2025
UC Berkeley (Cal) admit rate
32%
7 of 22 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
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School applicants did better than all California applicants at 4 of 6 campuses, about the same at 1 and worse at 1.
- Berkeley18 pts higher
32%
7 of 22 admitted
This school32%All CA13%
Admitted students' average GPA 4.18 (all applicants 4.03)
- Irvine6 pts lower
17%
4 of 24 admitted
This school17%All CA22%
Admitted students' average GPA — (all applicants 3.93)
- San DiegoAbout the same
25%
8 of 32 admitted
This school25%All CA25%
Admitted students' average GPA 4.29 (all applicants 3.98)
- Santa Barbara8 pts higher
40%
12 of 30 admitted
This school40%All CA32%
Admitted students' average GPA 4.29 (all applicants 4.03)
- Davis20 pts higher
57%
12 of 21 admitted
This school57%All CA37%
Admitted students' average GPA 4.07 (all applicants 3.92)
- Santa Cruz22 pts higher
93%
14 of 15 admitted
This school93%All CA71%
Admitted students' average GPA 4.12 (all applicants 4.06)
too few applicants to report28 applied
too few applicants to report9 applied
too few applicants to report6 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
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School applicants did better than the campus overall at 2 of 4 campuses, about the same at 1 and worse at 1.
- San Luis Obispo38 pts higher
68%
30 of 44 admitted
This school68%Overall30%
- San Diego7 pts higher
41%
16 of 39 admitted
This school41%Overall34%
- Long Beach4 pts lower
43%
15 of 35 admitted
This school43%Overall47%
- ChicoAbout the same
94%
15 of 16 admitted
This school94%Overall94%
~95% · 3 yrs pooled6 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 (172 graduates), the latest published by fall 2025, within 12 months of graduating.
Any college
78%
135 of 172 graduates
UC or CSU
13%
23 graduates
Community college
45%
78 graduates
| Destination | Graduates | Share |
|---|---|---|
| UC | 8 | 5% |
| CSU | 15 | 9% |
| CA private college | 11 | 6% |
| Out of state | 23 | 13% |
| Community college | 78 | 45% |
| Not enrolled | 37 | 22% |
| Enrolled in college | 135 | 78% |
| Total | 172 | 100% |
How each student group compares
Compare college-going across student groups
- Gender: Male, Female
- Race & ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino, White, Two or more races
- Student need: Low-income
Advanced Placement
14
AP courses offered
2023–24 school year · US Dept. of Education Civil Rights Data Collection
23
AP class sections
Counts every section taught, so it is larger than the number of different AP courses.
27% of students are in AP courses
2024–25 school year · California School Accountability Report Card
32%
of graduating seniors passed at least two AP exams or courses
63 of 195 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)
14%
of graduating seniors scored 3 or higher on at least two AP exams
28 of 204 graduates
2023–24 school year · California Department of Education (College/Career Indicator)
Subject areas
- English: 3 classes
- Fine and performing arts: 8 classes
- Foreign language: 2 classes
- Mathematics: 3 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 56%County median 52%
- Juniors meeting the math standard 31%County median 23%
- Juniors exceeding the English standard 26%County median 18%
- Juniors exceeding the math standard 13%County median 7%
- Low-income students 25%County median 58%
- Graduates completing courses 46%County median 48%