Hillsdale High School

San Mateo · San Mateo County · San Mateo Union High
Public San Mateo County 🏛 San Mateo Union High → ~411 seniors CDS 4169047…
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Most similar nearby schools

Aragon High School → San Mateo High School → Burlingame High School → Sequoia High School → Woodside High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,534 (2018)1,517 (2026)
-1.1%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
362 (2018)404 (2026)
+11.6%

If this trend holds (-0.1%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,515 -2 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,511 -6 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,506 -11 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the San Mateo County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Mixed signal
Outperforming on demand; some mid-year churn to look at.

Hillsdale High School is recruiting families faster than San Mateo County is shrinking (school +11.6% vs. county -5.3%), but 94 students didn't make it to year-end. The recruitment engine works; the mid-year exits are worth understanding.

+11.6%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-5.3%  San Mateo County baseline
+16.9pp  gap vs. county
94.2%  retention (county median 93.0%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
94.2%
1,535 of 1,629 students

94 of 1,629 students who enrolled at Hillsdale High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (5.8% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Mateo County median
93.0% · school is in the 71st percentile of 28 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 86th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (633) 89.4%
White (492) 98.2%
Socio. disadvantaged (485) 88.7%
Asian (249) 97.2%
English learners (232) 80.6%
Students w/ disabilities (230) 93.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Aragon High School 96.8% San Mateo High School 90.2% Burlingame High School 96.6% Sequoia High School 92.8% Woodside High School 93.5%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
12.6%
202 of 1,601 students

Absenteeism is up 7.5 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

San Mateo County median
20.1% · school is better than 68% of 28 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 354
72.0%
incl. 39.8% exceeded
+12.0 pts above San Mateo County median (60.0%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 358
41.9%
incl. 25.4% exceeded
+9.4 pts above San Mateo County median (32.5%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 37%
White 30% -1.1
Asian 16%
Two or more 11%
Filipino 5%
Pacific Islander 1%
Black / African Am. 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 25% +4.0
Socioeconomically disadv. 13% -1.1
English learners 11% -2.9

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

District financial profile — San Mateo Union High (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$262.3M
+20.1% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$28,504
9,203 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 11.5%
Local: 85.0%
Federal: 3.6%
Instruction share
52.6%
of current spending · $10,712/pupil
Long-term debt
$689.8M
+2.0% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the San Mateo Union High as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
32%
132 admits / 411 seniors
On the peer median (33.0%) · Ranked #6 of 10 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 26.2% 2025 · 32.1%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
33.0%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
32.1%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 32.1%

Higher than 75% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Hillsdale High School's UC Reach of 32.1% is in the top quartile statewide (median 18.5%; top 25% bar 32.0%) — but it's still below the top-10% bar of 53.3%.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 71 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Hillsdale High School's UC Reach is higher than 75% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
163.0%
670 applications
Most seniors are applying to at least one of the six most selective UCs (applications counted at each campus).
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · San Mateo Co. Top 10% ≥ 339.9% · higher than 79% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
19.7%
132 / 670 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 15% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
23.5%
31 enrolled of 132 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach
7.5%
31 enrollees / 411 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
345:1
4.4 FTE counselors · 1,517 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
75%
274 of 366 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · +19.0 pp above · San Mateo Co. 66.7%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
97%
86% finished in 4 yrs · N=36 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · +8.6 pp above.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
22.9
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 68% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
5.8
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 70% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
411
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,585
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.79
97th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Hillsdale High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · San Mateo · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Hillsdale High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #6 of 10): 32% vs. a peer median of 33%.
  • Its UC Reach has held roughly steady since 2018.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 12% (362→404 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -3%.
  • At its recent rate (-0.1%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1511 by 2029 — about 6 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1517 students (2026)
~1511 projected (2029)
at -0.1%/yr

That's about 6 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Hillsdale High School Public 1517 32.1% +12%
Peer-group median 33.0% -3%
Aragon High School Public 1654 53.7% +14%
San Mateo High School Public 1532 33.0% -17%
Burlingame High School Public 1627 44.7% +18%
Sequoia High School Public 1839 21.3% -5%
Woodside High School Public 1694 31.7% -2%
Carlmont High School Public 2385 54.1% +4%
Mills High School Public 1120 59.3% -16%
Capuchino High School Public 1086 14.2% -1%
South San Francisco Hs Public 1224 14.5% -26%
Henry M. Gunn High Public 1606 -16%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
4.02
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.24

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA?

Campus Applicant GPA (avg) Actual admit rate CA peer avg Δ Verdict
UC Berkeley 4.05 13.8% 13.5% +0.3pp On target
UCLA 4.06 8.7% 9.6% -0.8pp On target
UC San Diego 4.03 19.1% 19.3% -0.1pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 4.00 24.6% 32.7% -8.1pp Under
UC Irvine 4.02 18.3% 27.2% -8.9pp Under
UC Davis 3.99 31.7% 32.8% -1.1pp On target
"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

Where Hillsdale High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (19.7% actual vs. 22.8% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach % (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 109 15 7 13.8% 3.6% 46.7% 4.05 4.25
UCLA → Elite 103 9 6 8.7% 2.2% 66.7% 4.06 4.30
UC San Diego → Selective 115 22 3 19.1% 5.4% 13.6% 4.03 4.24
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 114 28 4 24.6% 6.8% 14.3% 4.00 4.27
UC Irvine → Selective 109 20 18.3% 4.9% 4.02 4.22
UC Davis → 120 38 11 31.7% 9.2% 28.9% 3.99 4.20
⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.
A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
UC Reach is solid. A meaningful share of the senior class is achieving UC admission, and there is likely room to grow both application volume and admission outcomes.
Students are earning UC admission but enrolling elsewhere at a notable rate. This may reflect competition from private colleges, out-of-state flagships, cost considerations, or UC campus fit. Student outcome surveys can clarify.
The school generates broad UC access, but fewer students are reaching the most selective UC campuses (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, UCI). Targeted academic enrichment and campus-fit advising may help.
Berkeley/UCLA admit volume is modest relative to overall UC reach. This is common and reflects the highly selective nature of those campuses, but may be a target area for the school's highest-performing students.
Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.
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