Saint Joachim Catholic School

Overview

Saint Joachim Catholic School is a Catholic K-8 private school in Costa Mesa, California, serving grades K-8, founded in 1949, with about 250 students. Tuition for 2026-27 is $9,195, which puts it in the lower 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. The school website’s Admissions & Policies page states that any student may apply and that all applicants are assessed for school grade level readiness; admitted students must submit a birth certificate, a baptismal certificate if applicable and immunization records, and transfer students must also submit their prior transcripts. Age cutoffs follow California law and diocesan policy: preschool applicants must turn 3 by September 1, TK applicants 4, kindergarten applicants 5 and grade 1 applicants 6. The school website also has Admissions Events and Request a Tour pages, but it does not list specific application deadlines.

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

2026-2027 annual tuition for TK through grade 8: $9,195 for one child, $19,870 for two children, $29,495 for three and $39,160 for four. This page does not separate parishioner and non-parishioner rates; there is only one tier. Preschool is billed separately: $10,800 for the regular school year, August through June, and $2,300 for the six-week summer session, June through July, Monday through Thursday (school website, Tuition & Fees page).

TK-8 fees: registration fee $525, curriculum and student materials fee $350, safety fee $250, parent-teacher organization fee $38 and device fee $400; the grade 8 graduation fee is $400; and the yearbook fee is $25, which the school website states is charged to every family and provides a book to every family, at an actual cost of about $30. Family obligations are 20 service hours and $500 in fundraising each year. Extended care: TK-8 drop-in is $20 an hour, with monthly plans also available; preschool extended care, 2:00-6:00 p.m., is $22 an hour drop-in or a flat $650 a month. Athletic programs are charged by sport. Families using FACTS installment plans also pay the FACTS annual fee (school website, Tuition & Fees page). The school website does not publish a rate for international students.

Financial aid: Tuition assistance is applied for online through FACTS; the school website states that preschool through grade 8 (PS-8th) may apply, with applications at online.factsmgt.com/aid. The school website does not publish the share of families receiving aid or the average award (school website, Tuition & Fees page).

Academics and programs

• There is one class per grade, and the school website lists this “intimate class setting – one class per grade” among the school’s defining features (school website, Why St. Joachim page)
• Spanish is required from kindergarten through grade 8 (school website, Why St. Joachim page)
• 1:1 technology for K-8, with BTE Technology and Makerspace courses in K-5 (school website, Why St. Joachim page)
• Leveled math classes in grades 6-8 (school website, Why St. Joachim page)
• A full-time learning support teacher and counselor are on site (school website, Why St. Joachim page)
• Athletics include basketball, beach volleyball, flag football, the Newport-Mesa Soccer Classic, track and field, and volleyball; after-school enrichment includes art, basketball, chess, coding, cooking, Lego, piano, kidokinetics and STEM, and there are also a drama club, a choir, altar servers, student council and Academic Decathlon (school website, Why St. Joachim 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
Saint Joachim Catholic School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$9,195	On-campus assessment	—	—
Christ Lutheran School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$8,652	On-campus assessment	—	1.3 mi
St. John the Baptist Catholic School	Costa Mesa	K-8	$9,742	On-campus assessment	—	2.6 mi
Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic School	Newport Beach	K-8	$12,380	On-campus assessment	25	2.0 mi
Page Academy — Costa Mesa Campus (Newport Mesa Campus)	Costa Mesa	K-8	$18,920	—	—	1.1 mi

Total tuition through graduation

At the 2026-27 rate of $9,195, 9 years covering grades K-8 come to roughly $82,755 in tuition alone. Assuming the 4% annual increase common at private schools, the figure is closer to $97,000. 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	10.4 miles
Northwood	8.7 miles
Turtle Rock	5.6 miles
Portola Springs	13.0 miles

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

Questions to ask on a campus visit

• Enrollment — the CDE 2025-26 filing of 250 is used, because the About Us, Why St. Joachim and Accreditation pages on the school website do not publish enrollment
• Average class size — the school website says only that there is one class per grade, without giving a class size or student-teacher ratio
• International students — the school website has no information about international students or I-20s
• Transportation — the school website’s navigation (About Us, Admissions, Campus Life, Parents, Giving & Alumni) has no Transportation or school bus page, the fee list on the Tuition & Fees page includes no transportat…
• Registration, technology, uniform and activity fees beyond tuition

How EDUBUS helps

Our Irvine-based counselors work in both Chinese and English. We track Saint Joachim 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.