University High School

What makes this school special

Academically intense, with seminar-style, college-level classes and a workload to match. Thriving here means genuinely wanting that
Facilities that punch way above a 500-student school: a Julia Morgan-designed main building, a 400-seat theater, and the brand-new California Street Campus (2025) with net-zero energy, a maker space, and a collegiate-level gym
Despite the name, no university attached. It's independent (a perennial point of confusion)

Academics

Curriculum

In-house honors electives alongside college-level courses in every discipline

Advanced coursework

12 AP courses · 28 UC-approved honors courses

See the list filed with UC

World languages

French, Latin, Mandarin, Spanish, American Sign Language

Schedule

Semester

Signature programs

Independent Study (student-designed projects)
Honors elective seminars

College matriculation

Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, Tufts, Tulane, UCLA, Yale, Boston College, Brown, Cornell, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Wesleyan, Pitzer, Princeton

See the full list

UC admissions · For fall 2025 entry

applied: 79
admitted to at least one campus: 51
enrolled at a UC: 11

See UC’s data

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · Bay Area Conference — BCL West

BadmintonBaseball (boys)BasketballCross CountryFencingField Hockey (girls)Flag FootballGolfLacrosseSailingSoccerSoftball (girls)SwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyball

Arts

Visual ArtCeramicsPhotographyInstrumental MusicChoral MusicTheaterTechnical TheaterDance

Clubs & activities

Society of Women EngineersSports AnalyticsArchitecture ClubPathway to MedicineFinance ClubHiking ClubBusiness and Investment AnalysisCurrent Events ClubFlight Club AerospaceBooks & TeaJewelry ClubGardening ClubVibe Coding ClubYouth for Common SenseSF Unity RoboticsBehavior and Society Club

See all clubs

Applying

Key dates

Applications open: August 28, 2026
Application & aid due: January 5, 2027
Decisions released: March 12, 2027
Enrollment agreements due: March 19, 2027

Tours and events

See the school's schedule Sign up on Ravenna

The application

UHS is test-free and admits on its own application via Ravenna, the shared application platform. The application and financial-aid application are due together in early January, and enrollment agreements come due a day earlier for financial-aid recipients than for everyone else.

Application requirements

Application via Ravenna
Transcript and two teacher recommendations
Student and parent statements
Interview

Testing

Test-free

Sources

UHS School Profile 2025-26 — academics, AP/honors policy, world languages, college matriculation
UHS At a Glance — enrollment, students of color, student-teacher ratio, the share of students receiving financial aid, teams
Academic Program — schedule, signature programs
Arts — arts disciplines
University Athletics — Teams — sports teams by season and gender
Clubs & Affinity Groups — clubs
Learning Services — learning support
Wikipedia — SF University High School — notable alumni
Tuition & Fees — tuition, mandatory fees, books estimate
Admissions FAQ — test policy (UHS does not require or accept the SSAT/ISEE)
Admissions Timeline & Events — 2026-27 cycle dates and deadlines
Bay Area Conference — conference structure and division membership
University Athletics — Facilities — the Bessolo Family Pavilion, the school's first full-sized, collegiate-level gymnasium (2025)
UC A-G course list — University High School — the 2026-27 course list the school files with the University of California: 12 AP courses and 28 UC-approved honors courses beyond AP. The school's own pages count 10 APs; we carry the filed number. The same filing names the languages the school teaches: American Sign Language, Chinese, French, Latin, Spanish. UC's list doesn't distinguish Mandarin from Cantonese; we carry the school's own name for the course

Details checked September 2026

University