Mater Dei High School

Santa Ana · Orange County · Private (Catholic)

Private Orange County ~514 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Orange Lutheran High School → Crean Lutheran High School → Jserra Catholic High School → Calvary Chapel High School → Harvard-Westlake School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

2,143 (2020) → 1,849 (2025)

-13.7%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

497 (2020) → 514 (2025)

+3.4%

If this trend holds (-2.9%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026)	~1,795	-54	$0
3 yr (2028)	~1,692	-157	$0
5 yr (2030)	~1,595	-254	$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 Orange

Diocese

Counties covered

Orange

Schools operated (K–12)

~39

approx; from diocesan reports

Other Catholic HS tracked

in this diocese, on this site

Diocese of Orange 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 ⓘ

36%

187 admits / 514 seniors
+3.6 pp above peer median (32.8%) · Ranked #5 of 10 similar schools

5-year trend

2021 · 45.6% 2025 · 36.4%

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18.5%

Peer median
32.8%

Top 10%
53.3%

This school
36.4%

0%50%100%

CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 36.4%

Higher than 79% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Mater Dei High School's UC Reach of 36.4% 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 66 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Mater Dei High School's UC Reach is higher than 79% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach ⓘ

176.3%

906 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% · Orange Co. Top 10% ≥ 294.1% · higher than 81% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

20.6%

187 / 906 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 19% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

28.9%

54 enrolled of 187 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 ⓘ

10.5%

54 enrollees / 514 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.

UC 6-Yr Grad Rate ⓘ

87%

68% finished in 4 yrs · N=76 entered 2019

In context: CA median 88.6% · -1.8 pp vs. median.

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

30.7

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 80% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

7.0

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 76% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

514

Private School Affidavit

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

1,849

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 High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Private · Catholic · Santa Ana · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

▸On UC Reach, Mater Dei High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #5 of 10): 36% vs. a peer median of 33%.
▸Its UC Reach has held roughly steady since 2020.
▸Senior-class enrollment is up 3% (497→514 from 2020 to 2025), outpacing the peer-group median of -2%.
▸At its recent rate (-2.9%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1692 by 2028 — about 157 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1849 students (2025)

→

~1692 projected (2028)

at -2.9%/yr

That's about 157 fewer students. At a tuition of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual tuition revenue at risk.

Estimate seeded by catholic private school typical — Catholic HS typical $10k–18k. NCES doesn't publish per-school tuition; adjust to your school's actual 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
Mater Dei High School	Private · Catholic	1849	36.4%	+3%
Peer-group median			32.8%	-2%
Orange Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1141	36.7%	-3%
Crean Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1126	94.4%	+40%
Jserra Catholic High School	Private · Catholic	1282	32.8%	+10%
Calvary Chapel High School	Private · Other religious	839	27.6%	+0%
Harvard-Westlake School	Private · secular	1616	61.8%	+16%
Servite High School	Private · Catholic	767	24.6%	-2%
Saint Margarets Episcopal Sch	Private · Other religious	1159	73.8%	-16%
Saint John Bosco High School	Private · Catholic	869	31.1%	-3%
Bishop Amat Memorial Hs	Private · Catholic	977	28.3%	-28%
Lutheran High School	Private · Other religious	1141	—	-3%

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 ⓘ

3.87

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	3.93	10.0%	13.7%	-3.7pp	On target
UCLA	3.90	9.8%	9.0%	+0.8pp	On target
UC San Diego	3.86	18.9%	24.6%	-5.7pp	Under
UC Santa Barbara	3.87	23.8%	28.0%	-4.2pp	On target
UC Irvine	3.83	25.7%	22.0%	+3.7pp	On target
UC Davis	3.83	34.4%	30.8%	+3.6pp	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 Mater Dei High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (19.1% actual vs. 20.4% 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	125	19	6	15.2%	3.7%	31.6%	3.93	4.19
UCLA → Elite	201	17	15	8.5%	3.3%	88.2%	3.90	4.23
UC San Diego → Selective	176	35	7	19.9%	6.8%	20.0%	3.86	4.23
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	168	44	9	26.2%	8.6%	20.5%	3.87	4.26
UC Irvine → Selective	157	43	11	27.4%	8.4%	25.6%	3.83	4.15
UC Davis →	79	29	6	36.7%	5.6%	20.7%	3.83	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.

UC Reach has improved meaningfully compared to the prior year — a positive trajectory worth monitoring and reinforcing.

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 Orange County rankings →