Santa Margarita Catholic High School

Overview

Santa Margarita Catholic High School is a Catholic high private school in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, serving grades 9-12, founded in 1987, with about 1,792 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $22,000 to $23,600, which puts it in the middle range among Orange County private schools at this level. Religion classes are required, so confirm your family is comfortable with that before applying. Average class size is about 23. The school offers 24 AP courses. Mandarin is offered, and students can continue through AP Chinese. The school accepts F-1 international students and issues the I-20 needed for a student visa. Bus service is available, covering San Clemente, Dana Point, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, Irvine, Foothill Ranch, Newport Beach, Laguna Hills, Corona.

Admissions

The HSPT (Catholic high school placement test, offered once each January) is required.

The school publishes the following application details. For the 2027-28 school year, the Class of 2031 (school website, Class of 2031 page): applications, Shadow Day sign-ups and tuition assistance applications open September 1, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.; the priority admission and tuition assistance deadline is November 15; admission packets and assistance decisions go out December 1; and from December 2 admission becomes rolling until the class is full. The HSPT is offered three times and applicants choose one when they apply: Saturday, January 16, 2027 (8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.), Wednesday, January 20 (3:30-7:00 p.m.) and Saturday, January 30 (8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.). Tuition assistance decisions are released monthly on a rolling basis: applications submitted 9/1-11/15 are notified 12/1; 11/16-12/15 on January 4, 2027; 12/16-1/15 on 2/1; 1/16-2/15 on 3/1; and 2/16-3/15 on 4/1.

For schools whose main entry point is grade 9, the target list should be settled before the fall of grade 8: attend open houses and shadow days in the fall, submit applications and sit the entrance test between November and January, and expect decisions in March. The summer after grade 7 is a realistic time to start ISEE or HSPT preparation.

Tuition and fees

$23,600 per year (2026-27, school website, Tuition page; families registered as Catholics in the Diocese of Orange receive $1,600 off)

2026-27 (school website, Tuition page): application fee $80 (new students only); registration fee $700 per year; technology fee $875 per year, required and nonrefundable; grade 12 graduation fee $475; FACTS payment account annual fee $25-55. Families may pay annually, semiannually or in ten monthly installments. Discounts: $1,600 off for families registered as Catholics in the Diocese of Orange (parish verification required), $500 off for a second child, $750 off for each child after that, and $750 off for paying in full by May 31. The Auxiliary Studies Program (ASP) learning support program is an additional $3,800 per year, and psychoeducational testing is $2,200. The full IB Diploma Programme fee is $525; Course Candidates taking a single IB subject pay $175 per course plus $50 for each additional course, capped at $275, with exam fees billed separately. International students are on a separate schedule (International Student Tuition page): tuition $41,000, application fee $350, registration fee $1,500 and technology fee $875, plus a $3,000 international student support course for new students the admissions committee determines need English support, with all charges due in full by May 1 before the school year begins. The school website also estimates $700-1,000 for textbooks and e-books, $300-500 for uniforms, $500-1,000 for health insurance, $1,200-2,500 for athletics and activities, and $1,000-2,000 in spending money

Financial aid: Assessed through FACTS Management, with a $45 processing fee; families submit the prior year’s tax return, W-2s, recent pay stubs and a rent or mortgage statement. For 2027-28, applications open September 1, 2026, the first round closes November 15, and decisions begin going out December 1, after which they are monthly (applications submitted by the 15th of a month are notified on the 1st of the following month). The school website gives two different figures: the Tuition Assistance & Scholarships page says “1 IN 4” students receive tuition assistance, with an average award of $7,500, and that assistance and scholarships together can cover up to 50% of tuition; the 2025-26 School Profile says “40% of Santa Margarita students receive tuition assistance/scholarships,” a broader measure that includes scholarships. Scholarships for the Class of 2031: $4,000 for students in the 98th-100th national percentile on the HSPT, paid as $1,000 a year over four years, and $2,000 for the 95th-97th percentile, $500 a year, both requiring a 3.5 GPA; $4,000 for students who competed on an elementary school Academic Decathlon team, $1,000 a year and also requiring a 3.5 GPA; and need-based and merit scholarships from the Eagle Foundation, with applications open December 6 through January 7. International students are not eligible for any assistance or discounts (Tuition Assistance & Scholarships page, 2025-26 School Profile, International Student Tuition page)

Academics and programs

• IB Diploma Programme (IB DP): in 1997 the school became the first Catholic high school in the western United States to join the IB, and it is one of four Catholic high schools in California offering the IBDP and the only one in Orange County; students take six IB courses plus TOK, the EE and CAS in grades 11 and 12; the class of 2025 had 33 full diploma candidates, 8% of the class, 94% of whom earned the diploma against a world average of 81.3%, with an average score of 30 out of 45 (IB page, 2025-26 School Profile)
• 24 AP courses; in 2025 students sat 1,388 exams with 91% scoring 3 or higher, and 305 students were named AP Scholars; College Board AP Honor Roll (AP page, School Profile)
• Chinese: Mandarin Chinese 1, Mandarin Chinese 2, Mandarin Chinese 3 Honors, Mandarin Chinese IB SL and AP Chinese; in 2025, 21 students took the AP Chinese Language and Culture exam with a 100% pass rate (School Profile course list)
• 115 advanced courses, which the School Profile says is twice the number at any Catholic school in Orange County; 228 courses in all; the school website states explicitly that it does not offer dual enrollment courses through community colleges or online schools (School Profile)
• The Auxiliary Studies Program (ASP), a learning support program for students with documented learning differences, at an additional $3,800 per year (Tuition page, School Profile)
• 62 performing and visual arts courses, plus 44 courses in the TAPA Conservatory after-school academy (School Profile)

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
Santa Margarita Catholic High School	Rancho Santa Margarita	9-12	$22,000	HSPT	23	—
Heritage Christian School (Junior High / High School Campus)	Lake Forest	7-12	$12,215	On-campus assessment	20	6.8 mi
Crean Lutheran High School	Irvine	9-12	$23,575	—	19	9.6 mi
JSerra Catholic High School	San Juan Capistrano	9-12	$26,200	HSPT	—	9.9 mi
Ronald Reagan Secondary School	Laguna Hills	7-12	$35,000	None	—	8.3 mi

Where graduates go

Class of 2025, 418 graduates: 99% went on to college, enrolling at 167 universities; 100% of applicants received at least one offer, with 4,235 applications submitted and 2,470 offers received, a 58% overall admit rate; 40% stayed in California, 59% went out of state and 1% went abroad; 60% attend public institutions and 40% private; 3 students entered service academies and 75 were recruited for college athletics. Class of 2026, 473 graduates: 5,136 applications and 3,015 offers, enrolling at 157 universities, with 112 students admitted to every college they applied to (2025-26 School Profile, College Matriculation page)

For college applications from this school, EDUBUS can begin with course selection in grade 9.

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $22,000, 4 years covering grades 9-12 come to roughly $88,000 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $93,000. 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	10.1 miles
Northwood	13.1 miles
Turtle Rock	13.4 miles
Portola Springs	8.4 miles

The school runs bus service, covering San Clemente, Dana Point, Anaheim, Yorba Linda, Irvine, Foothill Ranch, Newport Beach, Laguna Hills, Corona.

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Share of students receiving assistance — the school website gives two different figures, 1 in 4 on the Tuition Assistance page and 40% in the School Profile; both are listed here rather than choosing between them
• Share of international students — the School Profile says 5% of students are not US citizens, 96 of 1,792, while the International Students page says about 4%; both are listed
• “Tablets schoolwide” — the School Profile on the school website discusses only the Microsoft Showcase School designation and the AI policy, and the Tablet Distribution & Training page was not opened in this round, so that …
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Santa Margarita Catholic High School’s admissions calendar, prepare students for the HSPT, and review application materials before they are submitted. Book a school-selection consultation or read the Chinese version of this page.