Palma High School

Salinas · Monterey County · Private (Catholic)
Private Monterey County ~88 seniors
📄 Shareable scorecard →

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Santa Catalina School → Monte Vista Christian Hs → Presentation High School → California Crosspoint High School → Oakwood School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
486 (2020)584 (2025)
+20.2%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
93 (2020)88 (2025)
-5.4%

If this trend holds (+3.7%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026) ~606 +22 $0
3 yr (2028) ~652 +68 $0
5 yr (2030) ~702 +118 $0

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

Financial profile — IRS Form 990, FY2023

From 4 years of Form 990 filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (free public IRS data). The school's tax filings show financial scale, fundraising health, and endowment trajectory — signals that drive board-level conversations about tuition pricing, financial-aid capacity, and capital projects.

Total revenue
$0.3M
FY2023
Net assets (endowment + property)
$2.5M
Tuition revenue (program)
Gifts & grants
$0.3M
fundraising
Total revenue by year ($M)
Net assets by year ($M)

Source: IRS Form 990 via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 464896381). Tuition-per-student is total program-service revenue divided by latest enrollment — a rough average that includes auxiliary revenue (athletics, food service, etc.); the actual published tuition can differ. Form 990 is filed annually under penalty of perjury, so the financial scale figures are authoritative.

Diocesan context — Diocese of Monterey

Diocese
Counties covered
Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, San Luis Obispo
Schools operated (K–12)
~17
approx; from diocesan reports
Other Catholic HS tracked
2
in this diocese, on this site

Diocese of Monterey 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.

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Palma High School sent 124 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 16.1% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 22.7%4.2 percentage points above the California median of 18.5%, higher than 61% of California high schools..

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
23%
20 admits / 88 seniors
-21.2 pp vs. peer median (43.9%) · Ranked #9 of 10 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 22.5% 2025 · 22.7%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
43.9%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
22.7%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 22.7%

Higher than 61% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Palma High School's UC Reach of 22.7% is above the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Against similar schools, Palma High School trails the peer-group median (43.9%) — even though it looks strong vs. the state average.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 80 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Palma High School's UC Reach is higher than 61% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
140.9%
124 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% · higher than 74% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
16.1%
20 / 124 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 3% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
15.0%
3 enrolled of 20 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
3.4%
3 enrollees / 88 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
90%
43% finished in 4 yrs · N=21 entered 2002
In context: CA median 84.0% · +6.5 pp above.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
17.0
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 55% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
88
Private School Affidavit
Total School Enrollment
584
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.

Palma High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Private · Catholic · Salinas · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Palma High School sits near the bottom of its similar-school group (ranked #9 of 10): 23% vs. a peer median of 44%.
  • Its UC Reach has slipped 17 points since 2020 — worth watching.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 5% (93→88 from 2020 to 2025), outpacing the peer-group median of -18%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+3.7%/yr); projects to ~652 by 2028.

Enrollment projection

584 students (2025)
~652 projected (2028)
at +3.7%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Palma High School Private · Catholic 584 22.7% -5%
Peer-group median 43.9% -18%
Santa Catalina School Private · Catholic 439 76.3% -22%
Monte Vista Christian Hs Private · Other religious 836 25.4% -34%
Presentation High School Private · Catholic 545 42.7% -17%
California Crosspoint High School Private · Other religious 536 83.3% -36%
Oakwood School Private · secular 546 87.5% +25%
Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit Hs Private · Catholic 435 35.2% -14%
Moreau Catholic High School Private · Catholic 806 43.9% -18%
Central Catholic High School Private · Catholic 422 14.4% +22%
Granada Islamic School Private · Other religious 456 +450%
Saint Joseph-Notre Dame Hs Private · Catholic 395 48.8% -27%

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
3.86
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.22

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

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 Palma High School
Campus 4.00+ GPA 3.70–3.99 GPA 3.30–3.69 GPA < 3.30 GPA
UC San Diego Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Santa Barbara Strong shot Moderate Long odds Filtered out
UC Irvine Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Davis Strong shot Real shot Moderate 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 2024.

The numbers behind it

Campus Applicant GPA Admit GPA Lift Admit rate vs peer schools @ same GPA
UC San Diego (2020) 3.88 4.03 +0.15 50.0% Peers +0.30 · wider
UC Santa Barbara (2021) 3.88 4.28 +0.40 19.2% Peers +0.33 · steeper
UC Irvine (2018) 3.81 4.28 +0.48 31.2% Peers +0.34 · steeper
UC Davis 3.90 4.22 +0.32 33.3% Peers +0.25 · steeper
📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2024 (for reference)
GPA band UCB UCLA UCSD UCSB UCI UCD
4.00+ 17.1% 14.4% 43.5% 57.3% 46.0% 64.1%
3.70–3.99 2.8% 1.5% 11.2% 9.2% 16.5% 27.5%
3.30–3.69 0.8% 0.9% 1.4% 2.3% 3.4% 9.1%
3.00–3.29 0.5% 0.4% 0.1% 0.5% 0.4% 2.1%
< 3.00 0.6% 0.2% 0.2% 0.5% 0.3% 0.6%
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 Palma High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (23.2% actual vs. 24.7% 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 18 3.88
UCLA → Elite 22 3.86
UC San Diego → Selective 18 3 16.7% 3.4% 3.80
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 26 7 3 26.9% 8.0% 42.9% 3.85
UC Irvine → Selective 19 5 26.3% 5.7% 3.84
UC Davis → 21 5 23.8% 5.7% 3.90 4.22
⚠ 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.
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 Monterey County rankings →

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