Hollister High School

Hollister · San Benito County · San Benito High · Public

Public San Benito County 🏛 San Benito High → ~888 seniors CDS 3567538…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

📚AP rigor: 82th percentile nationally 📖20 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 20 AP courses offered — Elite
  • 🔢 5 calculus classes · 7 physics · 25 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 82th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 4% by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 92% (60th percentile nationally)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How Hollister High School compares for families

Real college outcomes data available below.

  • Statewide10.7% UC Reach — 7.4 points below the California median of 18.1%.
  • vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (10.7% UC Reach vs 16.5% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

82th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
20
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Advanced math classes
28
5 calculus · 23 advanced
Lab science classes
32
7 physics · 25 chemistry
Other rigor signals
No dual-enrollment or gifted program reported

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 4% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
2
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.1
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

60th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
92%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
692
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

61.6%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Hollister High School sent 356 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 26.7% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 10.7%7.4 percentage points below the California median of 18.1%, higher than 20% of California high schools. The school produces 1.1 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
11%
95 admits / 888 seniors
-5.8 pp vs. peer median (16.5%) · Ranked #10 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 7.3% 2025 · 10.7%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.1%
Top 10%
51.2%
This school
10.7%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.1% Top 10% ≥ 51.2% This school 10.7%

Higher than 20% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Hollister High School's UC Reach of 10.7% is below the California median (18.1%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51.2% or higher.

Overall, Hollister High School's UC Reach is higher than 20% of California high schools (978 ranked).

UC Application Reach
40.1%
356 applications
In context: CA median 74.9% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241.0% · higher than 19% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
26.7%
95 / 356 applications
In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 53% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
25.3%
24 enrolled of 95 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
2.7%
24 enrollees / 888 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
476:1
7.0 FTE counselors · 3,330 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 138 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
51%
410 of 807 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -5.1 pp vs. median.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
84%
68% finished in 4 yrs · N=25 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · -4.6 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
6.9
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 8% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
1.1
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 8% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
888
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
3,316
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.26
67th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.77
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.13

UC funnel — which kids are getting in at what GPA

Combining the school's applicant pool GPA, admit pool GPA, actual admit rate, and statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, we can read which GPA tiers tend to get in — and which don't.

🎯 Who's actually getting into UC from Hollister High School
Campus 4.00+ GPA 3.70–3.99 GPA 3.30–3.69 GPA < 3.30 GPA
UC Berkeley Real shot Long odds Filtered out Filtered out
UCLA Real shot Long odds Filtered out Filtered out
UC San Diego Strong shot Moderate Long odds Filtered out
UC Santa Barbara Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Irvine Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Davis Strong shot Strong shot Real shot Filtered out
Strong shot = ≥30% statewide admit rate at this band · Real shot = 10–29% · Moderate = 5–9% · Long odds = 1–4% · Filtered out = under 1%. Tiers map this school's likely outcomes by GPA tier using statewide CA admit rates from UCOP 2025.

The numbers behind it

Campus Applicant GPA Admit GPA Lift Admit rate vs peer schools @ same GPA
UC Berkeley 3.87 4.13 +0.26 9.7% Peers +0.31 · wider
UCLA (2023) 3.79 4.30 +0.51 10.1% Peers +0.41 · steeper
UC San Diego 3.74 4.19 +0.45 28.1% Peers +0.40 · steeper
UC Santa Barbara 3.74 4.14 +0.41 43.4% Peers +0.37 · steeper
UC Irvine 3.67 4.18 +0.51 25.5% Peers +0.40 · steeper
UC Davis 3.73 4.07 +0.34 44.2% Peers +0.34 · matches
📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)
GPA band UCB UCLA UCSD UCSB UCI UCD
4.00+ 17.0% 15.1% 45.2% 62.3% 46.3% 65.9%
3.70–3.99 3.1% 1.6% 9.3% 17.6% 17.0% 31.1%
3.30–3.69 0.8% 0.5% 1.5% 2.8% 2.4% 10.3%
3.00–3.29 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.4% 0.3% 1.9%
< 3.00 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.7%
How we infer the tier labels: Each tier comes from the statewide CA admit rate at that GPA band at that UC. The "vs peers" column compares this school's lift (admit GPA − applicant GPA) to the average lift at ~100–300 other CA schools with similar applicant pool GPA. What this isn't: a guarantee. UC comprehensive review weighs essays, course rigor, demographics, and context-of-opportunity beyond GPA. A 3.9 with strong context can land an admit; a 4.0 with weak essays can be denied. Use as a baseline expectation, not a verdict. Per-campus year is shown when it differs from the headline year (UCOP doesn't always publish admit-GPA for every campus every year).

Where Hollister High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 5.7 points above what their GPAs predict (26.7% actual vs. 21.0% 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 62 6 4 9.7% 0.7% 66.7% 3.87 4.13
UCLA → Elite 60 4 6.7% 0.5% 3.85
UC San Diego → Selective 57 16 3 28.1% 1.8% 18.8% 3.74 4.19
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 53 23 4 43.4% 2.6% 17.4% 3.74 4.14
UC Irvine → Selective 47 12 4 25.5% 1.4% 33.3% 3.67 4.18
UC Davis → 77 34 9 44.2% 3.8% 26.5% 3.73 4.07
= UCOP-suppressed (count below 3 students, hidden for privacy — actual value is 0, 1, or 2, not necessarily zero). 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 →

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 = 799
52.7%
incl. 21.8% exceeded
On the San Benito County median (52.7%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 798
16.7%
incl. 5.9% exceeded
+6.7 pts above San Benito County median (10.0%) · 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 79% +1.5
White 14%
Asian 2%
Filipino 1%
Two or more 1%
Not reported 1% -2.8
Black / African Am. 1%
American Indian 0%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 60% -3.1
Socioeconomically disadv. 14%
English learners 10% -3.0
Homeless 4% +1.2

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.

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
15.0%
507 of 3,383 students

Low and stable absenteeism — students are engaged and showing up. The leading indicator is healthy.

San Benito County median
15.0% · school is worse than 33% of 3 HS
Statewide median
22.9%

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).

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
2,975 (2018)3,330 (2026)
+11.9%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
719 (2018)880 (2026)
+22.4%

If this trend holds (+1.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~3,377 +47 $0
3 yr (2029) ~3,474 +144 $0
5 yr (2031) ~3,573 +243 $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.

Hollister High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Hollister · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Hollister High School sits near the bottom of its similar-school group (ranked #10 of 11): 11% vs. a peer median of 16%.
  • Its UC Reach has slipped 2 points since 2018 — worth watching.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, Hollister High School is admitting at roughly +6 percentage points above what its average applicant GPA (3.771) alone would predict (27% actual vs. 21% expected). That's a meaningful signal — it can reflect UC's track record with this school's graduates, students presenting strongly in UC's holistic review (essays, EC's, context), or institutional familiarity helping at the margin. The data can't distinguish which, but the pattern itself is real and worth understanding.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 22% (719→880 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of +1%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+1.4%/yr); projects to ~3474 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

3330 students (2026)
~3474 projected (2029)
at +1.4%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Hollister High School Public 3330 10.7% +22%
Peer-group median 16.5% +1%
Alisal High School Public 2811 20.1% +0%
Salinas High School Public 2356 24.2% -8%
North Salinas High School Public 2046 11.6% +15%
Everett Alvarez High School Public 1826 18.9% -11%
Watsonville High School Public 2232 14.2% +1%
Gilroy High School Public 1546 9.8% +23%
Rancho San Juan High School Public 1559 29.0% +31%
Christopher High School Public 1628 13.1% +1%
North Monterey County High Sch Public 1169 21.8% +14%
Pajaro Valley Hs Public 1270 10.9% -4%

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 →

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 Benito 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.

Hollister High School is recruiting families faster than San Benito County is shrinking (school +22.4% vs. county +14.2%), but 234 students didn't make it to year-end. The recruitment engine works; the mid-year exits are worth understanding.

+22.4%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+14.2%  San Benito County baseline
+8.2pp  gap vs. county
93.1%  retention (county median 93.1%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate
93.1%
3,181 of 3,415 students

234 of 3,415 students who enrolled at Hollister High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (6.9% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Benito County median
93.1% · school is in the 67th percentile of 3 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 80th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (2,662) 92.6%
Socio. disadvantaged (2,211) 91.9%
White (526) 95.8%
Students w/ disabilities (477) 89.9%
English learners (420) 80.2%
Asian (67) 94.0%

Nearest peer high schools

Alisal High School 90.5% Salinas High School 90.0% North Salinas High School 87.8% Everett Alvarez High School 90.7% Watsonville High School 88.2%

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.

District financial profile — San Benito 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
$91.6M
+115.4% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$27,354
3,350 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 44.4%
Local: 49.2%
Federal: 6.4%
Instruction share
48.1%
of current spending · $5,982/pupil
Long-term debt
$99.4M
+72.4% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Benito 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).

What This Means

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.
Fewer than 15% of seniors are earning UC admission. This may reflect a high non-UC college-going rate, significant A-G completion gaps, or an early-stage UC pipeline. A deeper review of A-G readiness and counseling capacity is warranted.
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.
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.
Compare with other schools → See San Benito County rankings →

Researching colleges for your kid at Hollister High School?

Get a personalized College Plan Audit — find Reach, Target, and Safety colleges matched to your kid's GPA, test scores, intended major, and your family's budget. Free.

Start the College Plan Audit →

For school leaders looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →