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Best high schools in Santa Monica for UC admissions

From fall 2023 to fall 2025, the 5 published high schools in Santa Monica sent 1,833 applicants to the University of California, and 1,251 were admitted to at least one campus (68%). Among schools with at least 100 applicants, Santa Monica High School had the highest rate, 71% (797 of 1,119).

Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, CaliforniaUpdated Free to read

SourceUniversity of California Information Center, Admissions by source school, fall 1994 to fall 2025.

Santa Monica high schools ranked by UC admit rate

Share of applicants admitted to at least one UC campus, fall 2023 to fall 2025. A school has its own page when the University of California printed both applicants and admits for at least 3 fall terms, including at least 2 falls from 2023 to 2025, and at least 30 applicants in those window years. A city page ranks those schools when the city has at least 3 of them, not counting online schools, and they are not already the whole county. A rate on this page counts only the years in which UC printed both the applicants and the admits.

RankSchoolTypeAppliedAny UCBerkeleyUCLA
1Santa Monica High SchoolPublic1,11971%20%10%
2Pacifica Christian High SchoolPrivate10570%23%10%
3Saint Monica Catholic High SchoolPrivate18967%16%12%
4New Roads SchoolPrivate13965%23%16%
5Crossroads School for Arts & SciPrivate28158%19%11%

Santa Monica combined

The 5 schools above added together, fall 2023 to fall 2025: 1 public and 4 private. The county and California rows count every school UC lists, published here or not.

Applicants fromToAppliedAdmittedRate
Santa MonicaAny UC campus1,8331,25168%
Santa MonicaUC Berkeley1,24525220%
Santa MonicaUCLA1,38415311%
Los Angeles CountyAny UC campus109,85577,98471%
CaliforniaAny UC campus393,310283,71672%

Santa Monica high schools ranked by UC Berkeley admit rate

5 of the city’s published schools have a UC Berkeley figure. A rate built on a handful of applicants moves a long way with one student, so the counts sit beside it.

RankSchoolAdmittedUC Berkeley
1Pacifica Christian High School14 of 6023%
2New Roads School24 of 10623%
3Santa Monica High School158 of 77620%
4Crossroads School for Arts & Sci46 of 24119%
5Saint Monica Catholic High School10 of 6216%

How to get into UC Berkeley: the GPA and SAT of admitted applicants

Santa Monica high schools ranked by UCLA admit rate

5 of the city’s published schools have a UCLA figure. A rate built on a handful of applicants moves a long way with one student, so the counts sit beside it.

RankSchoolAdmittedUCLA
1New Roads School17 of 10516%
2Saint Monica Catholic High School18 of 14912%
3Crossroads School for Arts & Sci25 of 22411%
4Pacifica Christian High School9 of 8610%
5Santa Monica High School84 of 82010%

How to get into UCLA: the GPA and SAT of admitted applicants

Questions

What are the best high schools in Santa Monica for UC admissions?
By the share of applicants admitted to at least one UC campus from fall 2023 to fall 2025, among schools with at least 100 applicants, the highest in Santa Monica were Santa Monica High School (71%, 797 of 1,119), Pacifica Christian High School (70%, 74 of 105) and Saint Monica Catholic High School (67%, 127 of 189). A school's rate reflects who chose to apply as much as the school itself.
What is the UC acceptance rate for high schools in Santa Monica?
68%. The 5 published high schools in Santa Monica sent 1,833 applicants from fall 2023 to fall 2025, and 1,251 were admitted to at least one UC campus. Every high school in Los Angeles County together, as UC counts them, had 71%; 1 of the 5 ranked schools in Santa Monica was above that.
Which high school in Santa Monica gets the most students into UC Berkeley?
Santa Monica High School, with 158 admitted of 776 applicants from fall 2023 to fall 2025. All of Santa Monica's published high schools together sent UC Berkeley 1,245 applicants and 252 were admitted (20%). Among schools with at least 30 UC Berkeley applicants, Pacifica Christian High School had the highest rate, 23% (14 of 60).
Which high school in Santa Monica gets the most students into UCLA?
Santa Monica High School, with 84 admitted of 820 applicants from fall 2023 to fall 2025. All of Santa Monica's published high schools together sent UCLA 1,384 applicants and 153 were admitted (11%). Among schools with at least 30 UCLA applicants, New Roads School had the highest rate, 16% (17 of 105).
Which high school in Santa Monica sends the most UC applicants?
Santa Monica High School, with 1,119 applicants from fall 2023 to fall 2025. Of the 5 published schools in Santa Monica, 1 is public and 4 are private.

How to cite

Aristo Scholars, "Best high schools in Santa Monica for UC admissions," https://aristoscholars.com/uc-chances/city/santa-monica, updated October 31, 2026. Figures from the University of California Information Center, Admissions by source school, fall 1994 to fall 2025.

A school’s rate is not one student’s chance

These figures average every application a school sent, and they depend on who chose to apply. To read one profile, use Chance Me, start with a Specialist, or ask on the forum.

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