High schools in OC (San Diego, San Jose: school rankings, colleges, estates)

[lulu33]

Hello. Two questions

1. Are all the high schools in Irvine extremely competitive with 50%+ Asian kids?
2. Besides the high schools in Irvine, what are some other top high schools in OC?

[Electrician4you]

1. Yes

Top 10

2016 Top 100 Public High Schools in California - Redlands, CA Patch
Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, CA
Troy High School, Fullerton, CA
Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA
Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, CA
Campolindo High School, Moraga, CA
San Marino High School, San Marino, CA
Miramonte High School, Orinda, CA
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates, CA
Lynbrook High School, San Jose, CA

[lulu33]

Are any of the Irvine high schools less competitive than the rest?

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by lulu33

Are any of the Irvine high schools less competitive than the rest?

Not sure, I used to build schools in Tustin school district (and a few other districts) and some of the high schools were actually physically in Irvine. I think it was Beckmann that was awarded Distinguished school status, I'm not sure if that helps. The student body was diverse.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by lulu33

Hello. Two questions

1. Are all the high schools in Irvine extremely competitive with 50%+ Asian kids?
2. Besides the high schools in Irvine, what are some other top high schools in OC?

Not to be Captain Obvious, but school in the more affluent areas tend to be the better schools.

Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Brea-Olinda, Fountain Valley, Edison, Mission Viejo, Capistrano Valley, Aliso Niguel, Laguna Hills, Foothill, etc.

A lot of the highly ranked "public" schools you see are Magnet or Charter high schools so not necessarily open to everyone.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

Not to be Captain Obvious, but school in the more affluent areas tend to be the better schools.

Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Brea-Olinda, Fountain Valley, Edison, Mission Viejo, Capistrano Valley, Aliso Niguel, Laguna Hills, Foothill, etc.

A lot of the highly ranked "public" schools you see are Magnet or Charter high schools so not necessarily open to everyone.

I see Dana Hills is missing from the list.

[loveorangecounty]

We loved Tesoro High School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I see Dana Hills is missing from the list.

Dana Hills has a shockingly low rating from k12 niche (relative to other schools in the area), who does rankings by some objective and some subjective criteria.

https://k12.niche.com/dana-hills-hig...dana-point-ca/

[Coldjensens]

"Best" is relative. Best for some criteria does not make it the best for any given child. Hopefully you know your kids by high school and have an idea what is "best" for them. Some of our kids were better off in ore competitive atmosphere and some were better off in a less competitive atmosphere. Some schools are less accomplished by some criteria, but will be more supportive. Some schools get marked down because of things like sports, diversity, AP programs, trade school programs, robotic team accomplishments, band awards, etc that you or your kids might or might not care about.

Some of those schools with hyper-competitive atmospheres, I would not subject my kids to for anything (well I did but realized the mistake and got them out). Academic success is not everything. You also need to keep them from becoming neurotic, a holes, arrogant/snobby, unable to find happiness, etc. Frankly if my kids got all 4.0 and won a bunch of awards, scholarships to all the top colleges, but turned out with the personalities of some of the kids I met at the hyper-competitive schools, I would consider myself a failure as a parent.

We fell for the school rankings/ratings thing for years, but we eventually figured out it is essentially meaningless. A terrible school is obvious when you visit it and anything else will depend on your kid. Also often great schools by ranking suddenly change when a principal, vice principle or a specific teacher leave. So the "best" high school in 2016, may not even be in the top 10 in 2017.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by TimTheEnchanter

Dana Hills has a shockingly low rating from k12 niche (relative to other schools in the area), who does rankings by some objective and some subjective criteria.

https://k12.niche.com/dana-hills-hig...dana-point-ca/

A- overall (A in academics and in academic success combined with Bs and Cs in lunch, administration and other non academic issues) is shockingly low eh?