Acaciawood Preparatory Academy

Overview

Acaciawood Preparatory Academy is an independent, non-sectarian K-12 private school in Anaheim, California, serving grades K-12, founded in 1996, with about 136 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $7,570 to $8,515, which puts it in the lower range among Orange County private schools at this level. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa.

Admissions

No standardized entrance exam; admission uses an on-campus assessment or visit day.

The school publishes the following application details. The process for local students is simple: contact the school office directly, schedule an admissions interview with the principal, and sign an Enrollment Contract once admitted. Re-registration for returning students for 2026-27 closes March 20, 2026, after which the registration fee rises from $200 to $300 and a $100 late fee is added. International students follow a separate process: review the Foreign Student Applicant Information on the school website, then submit the Foreign Student I-20 Registration form and the International Enrollment Contract. The international contract asks for the host family’s name and address and both parents’ mobile numbers and email addresses, along with contact information for the student’s parents in their home country and the student’s country of birth and passport nationality, which means the school uses a host family model and does not itself provide on-campus housing (school website, Admissions page; Downloads page, International Enrollment Contract PDF). The school website does not publish open house dates, visit days or an application deadline for new students.

The main entry points at a K-12 school are kindergarten, grade 6 and grade 9; seats in other grades open only when a family leaves. Plan on a 12-month runway: visit in the fall, submit materials and test in the winter, and receive decisions in the spring. Applications for mid-year grades can be filed at any time, but availability depends on that year’s openings.

Tuition and fees

2026-27 pay-in-full rates for the first child, US Resident Students: $7,570 for elementary grades 1-5 and $8,515 for grades 6-12 (list prices $7,870 and $8,815; paying in full saves each family $300). Installment plans are not discounted: elementary is 12 monthly payments of $655.83, totaling $7,870, or 10 payments of $787; grades 6-12 are 12 monthly payments of $734.58, totaling $8,815, or 10 payments of $881.50. Each additional child after the first is $500 less ($7,370 for elementary, $8,315 for grades 6-12), but the school website states that “the sibling discount does not apply to families on financial aid.” The contract posted on the school website notes that the $500 sibling discount does not apply to families on financial aid, and credit card payments carry a 3% processing fee (school website, Downloads page, Enrollment Contract 2026-2027 PDF).

Incidental fees for 2026-27, charged per student unless noted: registration fee $200, rising to $300 after the March 20 deadline, with returning families paying an additional $100 late registration fee; activity fee $400, covering textbook rental, online subscriptions and the yearbook; parent association fee $35 per family; Blackbaud payment system fee $56 per family; basketball and volleyball athletic fee $350 for grades 9-12, optional; grade 12 cap and gown $75; Chromebook management fee $50 per device; families who do not complete the required 36 hours of on-campus volunteer service per year pay $540 (36 x $15). Credit card payments carry a 3% processing fee. Withdrawal refunds require written notice before May 8, 2026, and a $75 cancellation fee applies. International and F-1 students are on a separate schedule: $27,500 for the first year ($17,500 due August 21, 2026 and $10,000 due January 22, 2027) and $22,000 for each subsequent year, in two payments of $11,000; plus an I-20 processing fee of $600, a registration fee of $200, an activity fee of $400, a parent association fee of $35, a $35 fee per wire transfer, and a grade 12 cap and gown fee of $100 (school website, Downloads page, both Enrollment Contract PDFs).

Financial aid: The Enrollment Contract on the school website contains a clause stating that the $500 sibling discount does not apply to “families on financial aid,” which indicates the school does award aid, but the school website has no financial aid page, application channel, or information on the number of awards or the amounts.

Academics and programs

• The whole school follows UC A-G and the California content standards: the school website states that courses are designed to “meet or exceed” University of California A-G entrance requirements and California State Board of Education model standards, with electives deliberately limited so that class time goes to core subjects; the year runs 36 instructional weeks, with 6-7 periods a day of about 45 minutes each, for 1,037 instructional hours a year (school website, About page)
• Honors tracking: honors versions are offered in English 9/10 and 11/12, World History 9/10, US Government, US History, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry 1/2, Physics, and Spanish 1 and 2, roughly 10 honors sections school-wide (school website, Courses & Curriculum page)
• AP and college dual enrollment: the school website states that students may “take AP exams in areas of their own interest through core coursework and dual enrollment at community colleges,” but it does not name a single AP course, and AP is coordinated by the Office Manager as an additional duty (school website, Courses & Curriculum page and Administration page)
• A tradition of academic competition: National History Day national finalists and champions, California State Science Fair champions, the Chapman University Holocaust art and writing contest, and National Merit semifinalists and finalists (school website, Statistics page and Competitions page)
• CIF Southern Section teams: the school has competed in CIF Southern Section boys basketball and girls volleyball since 1999 and has added cross country in recent years (school website, Students/Athletics page)
• Host family arrangements for international students: the international contract requires complete host family information, and the school takes F-1 students on a host family basis; the school website does not offer on-campus housing (school website, Downloads page, International Enrollment Contract PDF)

How this school compares

These are the nearest schools at the same level and a comparable price. Select a name to open that school’s admissions guide:

School	City	Grades	Tuition	Entrance test	Class size	Distance
Acaciawood Preparatory Academy	Anaheim	K-12	$7,570	On-campus assessment	—	—
Eastside Christian Schools	Fullerton	K-12	$7,725	—	—	1.7 mi
Veritas Classical Academy	Fullerton	K-12	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	2.5 mi
Anaheim Discovery Christian School	Anaheim	K-12	$10,490	On-campus assessment	—	4.3 mi
Orangewood Academy	Garden Grove	K-12	$8,087	—	—	6.8 mi

Where students go next

The Statistics page on the school website states that “99% of students go on to two-year or four-year colleges” and says graduates have been admitted to Ivy League institutions, the UC system and other well-known universities, but it lists no specific schools, years or numbers. CDE filings report 12 graduates in 2025-26 (school website, Statistics page; CDE private school filing)

Students continuing internally generally do not test again, but families planning to move to a different high school in grade 9 should start preparing in the spring of grade 7.

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $7,570, 13 years covering grades K-12 come to roughly $98,410 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $126,000. Neither number includes registration fees, deposits, uniforms or activity fees. A California 529 plan can cover up to $10,000 per child per year of K-12 tuition.

Getting there from Irvine

These are straight-line distances from neighborhoods where many Irvine families live. Actual drive times will be longer, and a morning rush-hour trip typically takes 1.5 to 2 times as long as an off-peak one:

Neighborhood	Straight-line distance
Woodbury	16.7 miles
Northwood	13.7 miles
Turtle Rock	17.2 miles
Portola Springs	18.2 miles

The website does not describe bus service; confirm this during your visit.

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• avgClassSize = null — the Statistics page on the school website gives only an 11:1 student-teacher ratio and no average class size; no other page mentions it
• apCount = null — the Courses & Curriculum page on the school website says only that students “may take AP exams through core coursework and dual enrollment,” and names no AP courses at all, so a course count cannot b…
• enrollment uses the CDE 2025-26 filing figure of 136 — the Statistics page on the school website publishes a student-teacher ratio rather than an enrollment count, and no other page gives one
• aid can only be described as aid that exists but is not publicly documented — the school website has no financial aid or tuition assistance page, and the existence of aid can only be inferred from the Enrollment Contract line saying that families on financial aid do not receiv…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Acaciawood Preparatory Academy’s admissions calendar, prepare students for the campus visit and interview, and review application materials before they are submitted. Book a school-selection consultation or read the Chinese version of this page.