New Horizon School, Irvine — Upper Campus

Overview

New Horizon School, Irvine — Upper Campus is an Islamic K-8 private school in Irvine, California, serving grades 3-8, founded in 2001, with about 430 students. Tuition for the current year is $25,580 to $27,270, which puts it in the upper range among Orange County private schools at this level. 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. Rolling admissions: the school website’s FAQ states that “applications are accepted on a rolling basis”, recommends applying early, and notes that space is limited in some grades. The process: schedule and complete a campus visit; submit the application and required materials; the student spends time in class and takes an on-campus assessment (two days of classroom experience plus assessment for grades 3-5, and two full days of classroom experience plus one day of class visits and assessment for grades 6-8); submit transcripts; meet with the director of admissions, who gives the decision at that meeting; sign the enrollment contract. The school website states that decisions usually come within two weeks of the assessment and document review. The school website does not give an application deadline 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 and Fee Schedule on the school website’s Admissions page: grades K-2 (Lower Campus) $25,580; grades 3-5 (Upper Campus) $25,580; grades 6-8 (Upper Campus) $27,270. Preschool ranges from $12,780 to $25,580 depending on the number of days. The page gives amounts only and does not state which school year they apply to. (School website, Admissions page, Tuition and Fee Schedule)

Registration fee $500 (the same in every division). New grade 6 students and newly enrolling grade 7 and 8 students also pay a $700 technology fee covering a Chromebook, a case and software. The school website does not list fees for lunch, after-school care or similar. International tuition is not listed on the school website.

Financial aid: The school’s own Tuition Adjustment Program reduces tuition by 10% to 75%, assessed on household income, number of dependents, debt, number of children enrolled and special circumstances. The school puts 13% to 15% of its total operating revenue into the program each year and has awarded more than $2.5 million since it opened in 2001. A family must be admitted before applying, and the aid review is entirely separate from the admission review; enrolled families generally apply by each December, along with their re-enrollment notice. Beginning August 28, 2026, all applications are submitted through the Clarity platform, and review takes about 4-6 weeks. The program is limited to full-day students and does not apply to preschool-only families. (School website, Admissions page)

Academics and programs

• Arabic, Quran and Islamic Studies are three religion and language specialty classes, scheduled alongside STEAM, physical education and art (school website, Academics page)
• Leader in Me (the 7 Habits) is used school-wide, and the school was named a Leader in Me Lighthouse School in 2017 (school website, Academics page and Admissions page)
• Positive Discipline and the Zones of Regulation program for emotional regulation (school website, Academics page)
• A 1:1 Chromebook program in the middle school, with new grade 6 students paying a $700 technology fee for the device (school website, Academics page and Admissions page)
• A middle school House system built around four themes: Generosity, Justice, Gratitude and Compassion (school website, Academics page)
• Middle school electives, a Student Leadership Council (SLC) and a French club, which meet during the lunch period (school website, Academics 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
New Horizon School, Irvine — Upper Campus	Irvine	3-8	$25,580	On-campus assessment	—	—
Montessori on the Lake	Lake Forest	K-8	$20,000	On-campus assessment	—	1.2 mi
Stratford School – Mission Viejo	Mission Viejo	K-8	$21,080	On-campus assessment	—	3.7 mi
The Camino School	Laguna Woods	K-8	$13,900	On-campus assessment	19	2.1 mi
Abiding Savior Lutheran School	Lake Forest	K-8	$10,500	On-campus assessment	—	1.9 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the current rate of $25,580, 6 years covering grades 3-8 come to roughly $153,480 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $170,000. 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	4.2 miles
Northwood	6.7 miles
Turtle Rock	5.4 miles
Portola Springs	5.0 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Tuition year (rechecked September 8, 2026) — the Tuition and Fee Schedule on the school website’s Admissions page marks each rate only with the hours of attendance, such as “M-F, 7:55 am - 3:30 pm”, and nowhere on the page is there any school y…
• Chinese program — on the school website’s Academics page, the elementary Specialty Classes are listed only as “Arabic, Quran, Islamic Studies, STEAM, P.E., and Art”, which is a list of specialty classes rather than an…
• Basis for accepting non-Muslim families — item 13 of the FAQ on the school website’s Admissions page (“Do you accept students from non-Muslim families? - Absolutely.”); the nondiscrimination statement for all three divisions on the same page…
• Enrollment year — the roughly 430 students given on the school website’s About Us page is a school-wide figure (including preschool and the Lower Campus) and carries no school year label, so the figure for the Upper C…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track New Horizon School, Irvine — Upper Campus’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.