La Purisima Catholic School

Overview

La Purisima Catholic School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Orange, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1965, with about 135 students. The school does not publish tuition; ask for current figures when you book a visit. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying.

Admissions

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

The school publishes the following application details. The Admissions Process page on the school website sets out four steps: call (714) 633-5411 to schedule a tour; submit the application online; the school reviews the file and immunization records; and the family is notified of admission and completes registration. The stated basis for admission includes “grade-level assessments”, academic records and recommendations. The Requirements page gives the age cutoffs: children must turn 3 before September 1 for Preschool, 4 for TK and 5 for Kindergarten; California-mandated immunization records are required at entry and again on entering grade 7. The school website does not publish open house dates or deadlines for any particular school year.

The main entry points at a K-8 school are kindergarten and grade 6. Younger applicants are usually evaluated through an on-campus visit, while most applicants above grade 5 need an ISEE score. Start in the fall of the year before entry: visit first to confirm the school is a fit, then decide whether to register for testing.

Tuition and fees

The Tuition + Scholarships page on the school website publishes no amounts, saying only that every family’s situation is different and asking families to call the school office about tuition and scholarships, at (714) 633-5411. The Scholarships section on the home page likewise gives only a phone number. No tuition figures are given for this school here; request them directly from the school (school website, Tuition + Scholarships page, home page).

Financial aid: The school website states that scholarships are available (Scholarship Opportunities), and the “SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES” buttons on the home page and on the Tuition + Scholarships page link directly to the school’s institutional application landing page at FACTS Grant & Aid (online.factsmgt.com/grant-aid/inst/4R1SR/landing-page), so the channel is clear. The school website publishes no amounts, no share of families receiving aid and no application deadline; both pages say only that the school is glad to discuss tuition and scholarship options with families and ask them to call the school office at (714) 633-5411. One caution: the “FACTS PORTAL” link in the site footer actually points to the school’s Instagram account, a misconfigured link on the site, and should not be taken for the payment portal (school website home page, Tuition + Scholarships page)

Academics and programs

• The core instructional method is the Station Rotation Model, in which a single class period rotates through direct instruction, small-group collaboration, teacher-guided work grouped by ability, and online learning; the school website says 100% of the faculty is trained in the model (school website, Academics page, home page)
• i-Ready diagnostic assessments and STAR Benchmark assessments are used to build personalized learning paths (school website, Academics page, Partnerships page)
• High-performing middle school students may take advanced courses through Arizona State University Preparatory (ASU Prep): grade 8 students can take high school level math and reading, grades 6 and 7 can take accelerated sections, and every ASU Prep student has an Individualized Learning Plan (school website, Academics page, Partnerships page)
• The Education in Virtue character program, developed by the Dominican Sisters, and the apologetics and faith-and-science curriculum of Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. (school website, Faith Formation page, home page)
• Athletics run through the Diocese of Orange PAL (Parochial Athletic League): for grades 5-8, boys flag football and girls volleyball in the fall, boys and girls basketball in the winter, and boys volleyball and girls softball in the spring; track and field in the spring for grades 1-8. To compete, a student must maintain a GPA above 2.0 with no failing grades and a conduct grade no lower than C (school website, Athletics page)
• After-school programs: choir, Challenger Sports, cheer, chess and after-school extended care (school website, Extracurriculars page)

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
La Purisima Catholic School	Orange	K-8	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	—
Salem Lutheran School	Orange	K-8	Not published	—	—	1.9 mi
Covenant Christian School	Orange	K-8	Not published	On-campus assessment	—	3.2 mi
Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac Catholic School – Tustin	Tustin	K-8	Not published	—	—	3.8 mi
Oakridge Private School	Orange	K-8	$12,300	On-campus assessment	20	1.4 mi

Where students go next

The Academics > High School Acceptance page on the school website states: “Graduates of La Purisima Catholic School are accepted to all Catholic high schools of their choice.” It adds that some of those students earn merit scholarships from the high schools on the strength of their academic records. Lower on the page, “a list of some of the high schools where our students have been accepted” appears as school crest images rather than text, with no names in the body copy, but the four crests link to materdei.org, rosaryacademy.org, servitehs.org and cristoreyoc.org, that is, Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Rosary Academy in Fullerton, an all-girls school, Servite High School in Anaheim, an all-boys school, and Cristo Rey Orange County High School in Santa Ana. One caution: St. Anne and St.

Schools in our guide library that appear on this list: Mater Dei High School, Servite High School, Rosary Academy, Cristo Rey Orange County High School.

Applying to high school from here usually begins in the spring of grade 7: sit the ISEE or HSPT in the fall of grade 8, then submit materials between November and January. EDUBUS works backward from each target high school’s requirements to plan grades, activities and test preparation across the K-8 years.

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	7.3 miles
Northwood	5.1 miles
Turtle Rock	10.8 miles
Portola Springs	8.1 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Tuition — neither the Tuition + Scholarships page (/tuition) nor the home page on the school website publishes any amounts, leaving only a phone number. The site also has a legacy page at /tuition-no that is n…
• Enrollment — the CDE filing figure is used, because no page on the school website publishes an enrollment count
• Average class size — the home page on the school website gives only a 1:15 student-teacher ratio, not an average class size
• F-1 students — the Admissions and Requirements pages on the school website make no mention of international students or I-20s
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track La Purisima Catholic School’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.