Irvington High School Ranking for College Admissions

There’s a misconception in Fremont that Irvington High School’s prestige alone gives students a leg up in selective admissions. 

But when you study its school profile, you see what admissions officers actually see: a large, high-achieving Bay Area public school with strong academics, delayed access to APs, and a student body where strong performance is the norm rather than the exception. That means Irvington applicants aren’t evaluated against students from Mission or Gunn or Saratoga—they’re evaluated against other Irvington students, year over year.

This is the piece Niche and U.S. News rankings don’t tell families. The question AOs ask isn’t “How good is the school?” It’s: “What did this student do with the opportunities (and constraints) of this school?” And that’s where you should start with your admissions strategy.

Irvington High School Ranking

First, let’s look at the actual rankings. According to Niche, Irvington earns:

• #83 Best STEM High Schools in CA
• #148 Best College Prep Public High Schools in CA
  #274 Best Public High Schools in CA
• Overall Grade: A
  
  

U.S. News ranks Irvington:

• #405 in the nation
• #51 in California
• #54 in STEM High Schools

These are strong rankings and are accurate for what families already know: Irvington is academically rigorous, STEM-leaning, and competitive.

But when an admissions officer reads your application, they aren’t pulling up Niche on their computer.
Selective colleges don’t evaluate your student by a national or statewide ranking system. Instead, they evaluate them through the lens of Irvington’s course access, grading policies, culture of competition, and year-over-year applicant performance.

To understand that, you (and admissions officers) look to the school profile.

Irvington High School Profile

Here’s what AOs actually see when they open the Irvington school profile:

Key School Context

• Enrollment: 2,174 students
• Class of 2025 size: 551
• College-going rate: 86% to four-year colleges

Grading & GPA Policies

• Unweighted GPA listed on transcripts
• No class rank (FUSD does not rank)
• FUSD doesn’t allow “acceleration of coursework from outside institutions” which may make it difficult to get ahead in math classes if you aren’t already on an accelerated track

This already tells an AO a lot: Irvington doesn’t give weighted GPAs, so AOs have to look at rigor separately, and it limits acceleration—meaning rigor opportunities will be looked at in this context.

AP / Honors Access

One of the biggest admissions-relevant features of Irvington:

• Most APs generally not allowed until 11th grade
• Only AP World History is available in 10th
• Select APs (e.g., AP Stats, AP CS A, AP Psych) are impacted and prioritized for seniors
• Several courses do not receive UC honors weighting even if titled “Honors”

This means an Irvington student with 5 - 7 APs may actually have taken the maximum most students can access. Selective colleges know this because it’s in the profile, so you won’t be penalized for what you can’t access.

From this profile, AOs understand that rigor is limited by structural constraints, so they judge students on choices within those constraints. Students who max out rigor here may have fewer APs than students at other high-achieving schools—yet still demonstrate a “most demanding” curriculum. This is why profiles matter more than rankings. That context is important.

How Admissions Officers Read Students from Irvington

Irvington is part of a well-known, high-volume school group. When admissions officers read applicants from Irvington, they first sort them into what’s called a “school group”—the group of all Irvington students who have applied that year. 

Here’s what that looks like:

1. GPA Sort

Since Irvington transcripts list only unweighted GPA, AOs begin by sorting applicants by that unweighted number. Some schools may also re-calculate the GPA using their own system. Because so many students have high GPAs, admissions officers must use course rigor, AP availability, and year-over-year patterns to estimate where a student sits relative to classmates.

2. Rigor Check

Next, AOs look at rigor. They will likely ask:

• How many APs were possible for this student?
• Did they select the hardest courses among those offered?
• Which courses did they take, and how do those courses align with their college goals?

Because Irvington limits AP access until junior year, what matters is whether the student took the hardest path available to them.

3. Year-over-Year Comparison

In addition to looking at the current year’s applicants, AOs may also look at past applicants from Irvington. They’ll look specifically at how this year’s top Irvington applicants to last year’s. They may use this information to contextualize how many APs top students typically take. They may also ask how any changes in competitiveness or grade distribution have affected this class.

At a school where many students earn strong grades and take several AP classes, a high GPA and rigorous course load are just a starting point. After that, you have to focus on the story you’re telling in your application.

UC Admissions Data for Irvington

The UC releases admissions data for all California high schools. This is a goldmine of a resource to understand more about where Irvington stands in UC admissions and how you can position your application strategically.

Applications to UC Berkeley from Irvington

First, take a look at the admit data from Irvington applicants to Berkeley:

• 328 applied
• 34 admitted
• 23 enrolled

This is ~10% admit rate, which is actually slightly under Berkeley’s overall admit rate of 11-12%. Many Bay Area high schools have admit rates that are higher than Berkeley’s overall rate, so Irvington may be less competitive in Berkeley’s eyes than other high schools in the area. In that case, you’ll likely want to be above the top 10% of your class to stand out in Cal admissions.

Average GPAs for Irvington Students (2024)

The UC system also releases UC weighted GPA data for all applications, admits, and enrolled students from Irvington. 

Here’s what the breakdown looks like for Irvington across all UC campuses:

• Applicant GPA: 3.88
• Admit GPA: 3.95
• Enrolled GPA: 4.04

These numbers are higher for UC Berkeley:

• Applicant GPA: 3.94
• Admit GPA: 4.23
• Enrolled GPA: 4.22

But lower for UC Merced:

• Applicant GPA: 3.85
• Admit GPA: 3.87
• Enrolled GPA: 3.68

Taken together, we can easily say that a high GPA alone doesn’t guarantee admission. Even Irvington’s strongest applicants still face the same UC unpredictability as other competitive Bay Area schools. The most selective UCs, like UC Berkeley and UCLA, remain reaches for everyone, including the very top of Irvington’s class. Even the least selective UCs, Riverside and Merced, still admit students with average UC GPAs of 3.99 and 3.87. To stand out in UC admissions, aim to take on rigorous courses and do well in them.

Strategic Takeaways for Irvington Families

For Prospective Families: Who Thrives Here?

Students who excel at Irvington tend to be:

• Independent learners who can handle large classrooms and a challenging course load
• Students who aren’t relying on early AP access to find academic challenge
• Creators and self-starters who can differentiate themselves beyond the classroom

For Current Students: What Matters Most?

1. Understand your academic context

Selective colleges know Irvington limits AP access. Finding ways to excel in your courses and deepen your rigor within this context can be helpful.

2. Build a cohesive narrative

When many students have high GPAs and STEM-heavy schedules, your story—extracurricular impact, reflection on your strengths, your authentic voice—is what differentiates you.

3. Craft a balanced school list

Want to understand how your Irvington application will read?

Every student at Irvington is evaluated within the school’s specific context—AP options, unweighted GPA, and the competitiveness of the school group.

If you want to talk about how to build a strategic narrative that stands out, book a free consult with our team.