Directory

Public · Excelsior · AKA: Bal

Balboa

“First on the Pacific”

Students
~1,240
Ratio
20:1
Tuition
Free

What makes this school special

  • The first SFUSD school to go wall-to-wall on career pathways: every junior and senior belongs to one of five — arts (CAST), game design, law, social justice (PULSE), or wilderness education (WALC), so a 1,200-student school works like several small ones
  • A short walk from Balboa Park station, where BART and three Muni Metro lines (J, K, M) converge — one of the easiest commutes of any SF high school
  • A Wellness Center with an on-site DPH Teen Clinic, plus the CYC after-school program

Academics

Curriculum

All instruction runs through small learning communities; every junior and senior joins one of five career pathways.

Advanced coursework

10 AP courses · 2 UC-approved honors courses

See the list filed with UC

World languages

Spanish, Mandarin, Filipino, French

Schedule

Semester

Signature programs

  • CAST — Creative Arts for Social Transformation (arts & entertainment CTE)
  • Game Design Academy (GDA)
  • Law Academy
  • PULSE — Peers United for Leadership, Service and Equity
  • WALC — Wilderness, Art and Literacy Collaborative

UC admissions · For fall 2025 entry

applied
152
admitted to at least one campus
120
enrolled at a UC
60
What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · CIF San Francisco Section (AAA)

BadmintonBaseball (boys)BasketballCheerCross CountryFencingFlag Football (girls)Football (boys)GolfSoccerSoftball (girls)SwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyballWrestling

Arts

BandOrchestraGuitarVocal MusicArtMedia ArtsCreative ComputingDJ Audio Media ProductionCAST Media Arts (video, animation, motion graphics, theatre production)

Clubs & activities · 20+

Asian Student UnionBlack Student UnionLatinoamerica UnidaChinese ClubDragon BoatLion DanceMock TrialRoboticsJROTCEco ClubPhotographyBook ClubBal EmpowerHerStudent Association
See all clubs

Life there

Food

Free for all students (SFUSD)

Learning support

Wellness Center with on-site DPH Teen Clinic, counseling, College Room, Special Education, CYC after-school program

Notable alumni

  • Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead)
  • Solofa Fatu / Rikishi (WWE Hall of Famer)
  • Cindy Herron (En Vogue)
  • Herbert Sigüenza (playwright/actor, Culture Clash)

Often on the same list

Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School

Public

Mission High School

Public

Galileo Academy of Science & Technology

Public

Sources

  1. Balboa High School | SFUSD — name, address, neighborhood, hours, support services
  2. Balboa Pathways | SFUSD — the five career pathways, wall-to-wall model
  3. Balboa Departments | SFUSD — AP courses, world languages, arts
  4. Balboa Clubs | SFUSD — club list
  5. Balboa Athletics | SFUSD — sports by season and gender, league
  6. NCES Common Core of Data (2024-25) — enrollment, student:teacher ratio, % students of color
  7. How student assignment works | SFUSD — application process, deadlines, tiebreakers
  8. Balboa High School | Wikipedia — 1928 founding, school colors, motto ("First on the Pacific"), alumni
  9. SFUSD Grading Periods — two-semester (Fall/Spring) structure ("18 weeks in a semester")
  10. Balboa Details | SFUSD — language programs (Mandarin, Filipino, Spanish)
  11. UC A-G course list — Balboa High School — the 2026-27 course list the school files with the University of California: 10 AP courses and 2 UC-approved honors courses beyond AP. The same filing names the languages the school teaches: Chinese, Filipino, French, Spanish. UC's list doesn't distinguish Mandarin from Cantonese; we carry the school's own name for the course

Details checked September 2026