Mater Dei Catholic High School

Chula Vista · San Diego County · Private (Catholic)

Private San Diego County ~294 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Saint Augustine High School → Academy Our Lady of Peace → LA Jolla Country Day School → Santa Fe Christian School → Jserra Catholic High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

941 (2020) → 1,222 (2025)

+29.9%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

184 (2020) → 294 (2025)

+59.8%

If this trend holds (+5.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026)	~1,288	+66	$0
3 yr (2028)	~1,429	+207	$0
5 yr (2030)	~1,587	+365	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Edit the figure to match your school.

Diocesan context — Diocese of San Diego

Diocese

Counties covered

San Diego, Imperial

Schools operated (K–12)

~46

approx; from diocesan reports

Other Catholic HS tracked

in this diocese, on this site

Diocese of San Diego is the canonical governance body for Catholic schools in this region — board policy, tuition guidance, and shared services typically originate here. Visit the diocesan website →

Financial figures aren't shown because Catholic (arch)dioceses don't file IRS Form 990 — they're covered by the USCCB Group Ruling (GEN 0928), which exempts dioceses, parishes, and parochial schools from individual filing. School counts above are hand-compiled from each diocese's published schools-department information.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025

UC Reach ⓘ

35%

104 admits / 294 seniors
On the peer median (35.9%) · Ranked #6 of 11 similar schools

5-year trend

2021 · 42.7% 2025 · 35.4%

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18.5%

Peer median
35.9%

Top 10%
53.3%

This school
35.4%

0%50%100%

CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 35.4%

Higher than 78% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Mater Dei Catholic High School's UC Reach of 35.4% 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 67 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Mater Dei Catholic High School's UC Reach is higher than 78% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach ⓘ

186.7%

549 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 Diego Co. Top 10% ≥ 216.5% · higher than 83% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

18.9%

104 / 549 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 11% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

23.1%

24 enrolled of 104 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 ⓘ

8.2%

24 enrollees / 294 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.

Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD) ⓘ

24.1

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 71% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

4.8

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 62% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

294

Private School Affidavit

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

1,222

All grades · Private School Affidavit

Private-school figures come from the California Private School Affidavit. Per CDE, inclusion in private-school data is not an evaluation, approval, or endorsement of a school.

Mater Dei Catholic High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Private · Catholic · Chula Vista · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

▸On UC Reach, Mater Dei Catholic High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #6 of 11): 35% vs. a peer median of 36%.
▸Its UC Reach has held roughly steady since 2020.
▸Senior-class enrollment is up 60% (184→294 from 2020 to 2025), outpacing the peer-group median of +2%.
▸Enrollment has been growing (+5.4%/yr); projects to ~1429 by 2028.

Enrollment projection

1222 students (2025)

→

~1429 projected (2028)

at +5.4%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School	Type	Size	UC Reach	Enroll. trend
Mater Dei Catholic High School	Private · Catholic	1222	35.4%	+60%
Peer-group median			35.9%	+2%
Saint Augustine High School	Private · Catholic	717	14.4%	-1%
Academy Our Lady of Peace	Private · Catholic	722	38.2%	+9%
LA Jolla Country Day School	Private · secular	1099	48.7%	+11%
Santa Fe Christian School	Private · Other religious	1095	33.3%	+3%
Jserra Catholic High School	Private · Catholic	1282	32.8%	+10%
Linfield Christian School	Private · Other religious	1208	35.1%	+1%
Loma Linda Academy	Private · Other religious	1261	4.2%	-6%
Saint Margarets Episcopal Sch	Private · Other religious	1159	73.8%	-16%
Orange Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1141	36.7%	-3%
Crean Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1126	94.4%	+40%

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, and religious orientation. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

3.90

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.19

GPA figures reflect 2024 — UC has not yet released applicant/admit GPA for 2025.

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? Based on 2024 (latest GPA available).

Campus	Applicant GPA (avg)	Actual admit rate	CA peer avg	Δ	Verdict
UC Berkeley	3.96	9.6%	14.2%	-4.6pp	On target
UCLA	3.92	8.9%	9.0%	-0.1pp	On target
UC San Diego	3.87	15.7%	24.2%	-8.5pp	Under
UC Santa Barbara	3.93	29.4%	29.4%	-0.0pp	On target
UC Irvine	3.87	14.9%	22.5%	-7.5pp	Under
UC Davis	3.88	42.9%	30.6%	+12.2pp	Over

"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 Mater Dei Catholic High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (18.5% actual vs. 21.0% expected), based on 2024 data.

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) '24	Avg GPA (Adm) '24
UC Berkeley → Elite	66	5	—	7.6%	1.7%	—	3.96	4.26
UCLA → Elite	95	9	8	9.5%	3.1%	88.9%	3.92	4.27
UC San Diego → Selective	127	19	6	15.0%	6.5%	31.6%	3.87	4.26
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	88	22	—	25.0%	7.5%	—	3.93	4.24
UC Irvine → Selective	98	16	6	16.3%	5.4%	37.5%	3.87	4.12
UC Davis →	75	33	4	44.0%	11.2%	12.1%	3.88	4.09

⚠ 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.

Compare with other schools → See San Diego County rankings →