Niche gives LAHS an A+ overall, ranking it #5 Best Public High School in the San Francisco Bay Area, while U.S. News gives it a 97.84/100 overall score.
From a family perspective, those numbers scream: We picked the right school.
From an admissions officer’s perspective, they raise a different question:
In a place where so many students have high GPAs, APs, and strong scores, what makes this student meaningfully different from the rest of Los Altos High School?
That’s why high school rankings are only the starting point. What matters most is how you make the most of what LAHS offers and how clearly that story comes through in your application.
Los Altos High School Ranking
Let’s start with the conventional rankings first:
Niche grants Los Altos high marks across the board:
- #5 Best Public High Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area
- #18 Best Public High Schools in California
- #25 Best College Prep Public High Schools in California
- #80 Best High Schools for STEM in California
- 96% graduation rate, 70% math proficiency, 85% reading proficiency
U.S. News does the same:
- #386 in National Rankings
- #48 in California High Schools
- #160 in STEM High Schools
- 72% took at least one AP exam; 63% passed at least one
These rankings tell colleges that Los Altos is a highly resourced, high-performing Bay Area public school.
But admissions officers aren’t sorting you by “Best Public High Schools in California.” They actually sort your application in line with other Los Altos students.
That’s where the school profile comes in.
Los Altos High School Profile
When you apply to college and send in your transcript, your counselor also sends a document called the LAHS School Profile through the Common App.
AOs use it to answer questions like:
- What is the most rigorous course pathway at this school?
- What APs and Honors are available and how many students take them?
- What does the class GPA distribution look like?
Los Altos’s school profile also shows a ton of other helpful information.
Size, Setting, and Demographics
- Total enrollment: 2,170 students (Oct 2024)
- Community spans Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and parts of Mountain View
Grading & GPA Context
LAHS reports multiple GPAs on the transcript:
- Academic GPA 9–12 (no PE/TA-type classes)
- Academic GPA 10–12
- Total GPA 9–12
- Weighted GPAs include all Honors & AP courses, 9–12
There is no formal class rank, but the profile includes a grade distribution table for the Class of 2025:
- 185 students: 3.76 - 4.00 unweighted
- 91 students: 3.51 - 3.75
- 125 students: 3.01 - 3.50
For an AO, that signals that there is a large cluster at the very top of the class and that a 3.76 - 4.0 unweighted GPA is common, not rare.
Course Rigor & AP/Honors
The school profile also breaks down information about LAHS’s courses.
- Seven-period block schedule; students are encouraged to take six classes, with an option for seven.
- Robust AP/Honors offerings across subjects, including:
- STEM: Honors Geometry, Algebra II, Trig/Math Analysis; AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Statistics; Honors/AP Biology, Honors/AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1, AP Physics C: Mech & E&M, AP Environmental Science
Humanities & Social Science: AP World, APUSH, AP Gov, AP Microeconomics, AP Psychology, AP Human Geography - Languages: AP Chinese, AP French, AP Latin, AP Spanish Language & Literature, plus Honors levels
- STEM: Honors Geometry, Algebra II, Trig/Math Analysis; AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Statistics; Honors/AP Biology, Honors/AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1, AP Physics C: Mech & E&M, AP Environmental Science
Rigor expectations here are high. That doesn’t mean every student should max out, but it does mean that for top-20-type schools, you’re being measured against that AP-rich baseline.
For an AO reading your application, all of this says that you had access to a wide, interesting range of opportunities. When they read your application, they’re asking: Where did you go deep? Where did you show impact? How did you make the most of the opportunities available to you?
How Admissions Officers Read Students from Los Altos
In college admissions, your file is usually read in a “school group”: all the applicants from Los Altos High in that cycle, sorted by some combination of GPA and rigor.
In that group, an AO will:
- Scan academics first.
- Where is your GPA compared to your peers on that grade-distribution chart?
- Did you take the most demanding courses that fit your goals, or a lighter version of what LAHS offers?
- Check rigor against the profile.
From the school profile, AOs know:- LAHS has open access APs.
- Students can take 6 - 7 classes.
- Many peers will have multiple AP STEM and humanities courses by graduation.
- Compare year-over-year.
In addition to looking at everyone else from your school who has applied that year, AOs also look at how this year’s top Los Altos students stack up against prior admits from LAHS. - Score your “personal” factors.
Once your academics pass a certain bar, decisions hinge on:
- Extracurricular magnitude and impact
- Depth and breadth
- Essays that show a cohesive identity and direction
- Letters of recommendation that speak highly of your classroom engagement
When you apply, your job is to make your AO’s job easy by giving them a clear story they can advocate for you among your school group.
UC Admissions Data for Los Altos High School
The UC system is on most Bay Area college lists. One resource worth looking at is the UC database that lays out high school admissions outcomes. You can search by high school and see admissions statistics by campus.
This data is useful for planning your strategy. For example, of the 246 applications from LAHS who applied to Berkeley, 36 were admitted, which is roughly a 15% admit rate from Los Altos to Berkeley. That’s slightly above Cal’s overall admit rate of about 12%, which tells us that Berkeley AOs may be more willing to go deeper into the LAHS school group than they would be at other schools.
On the GPA side, the UC “average GPA by high school” dashboard shows GPA for Los Altos, including average applicant GPA, admitted GPA, and enrolled GPA:
- University-Wide (2024)
- Applicant GPA: 3.93
- Admitted GPA: 3.98
- Enrolled GPA: 4.11
- UC Berkeley (2024)
- Applicant GPA: 4.01
- Admitted GPA: 4.24
- Enrolled GPA: 4.23
In other words, the students who do get into schools like Cal or UCLA are sitting at the very top of an already high-achieving school. Even schools like Davis and Irvine now enroll freshman classes where a huge majority had 4.0+ weighted GPAs, and Berkeley/UCLA are reaches even for valedictorians.
A high GPA at LAHS helps, but is nowhere near a guarantee for a UC admit, especially for Berkeley, UCLA, and impacted majors like CS, engineering, and business.
Strategic Takeaways for Los Altos Families
For Prospective Families: Who Thrives at LAHS?
Los Altos tends to serve students best if they:
- Are self-motivated and comfortable in a rigorous academic culture
- Want access to challenging STEM coursework (through AP Calc BC, Physics C, advanced CS, etc.) and are willing to seek out opportunities independently
- Can handle a campus where many classmates are also gunning for UCs, CS, and top-20 privates, and where “above average” is not enough for the most selective outcomes
Because of this admissions context, students can’t expect the school’s prestige alone to “carry” them into top colleges.
For Current LAHS Students: What Actually Matters
At a school like Los Altos, the question to ask yourself is:
“What is my angle in this applicant pool, and how does my angle make me a good fit for the schools I’m interested in?”
To get at this question, start with your coursework and extracurriculars.
- Take on as much rigor as is manageable.
For selective STEM/CS/business programs, for example, you’ll generally want to reach Calc (ideally BC) and a strong lab-science sequence, if that’s sustainable for you. AOs value well-chosen rigor that supports your story. - Impactful, not scattered, extracurriculars.
Lean into one or two areas where you can show magnitude and impact, whatever that looks like for you. LAHS’s huge club ecosystem is a good place to start, but most top applicants layer in self-directed “passion projects” or local impact initiatives that go beyond club membership. - Build a cohesive narrative.
Ask yourself: “What’s my ‘thing’?” This will become the “thesis” that guides your application narrative. - Make a balanced school list.
Your list should include true safeties and targets that you’d actually be happy attending. As you’ve seen from the UC admissions data, even strong academics aren’t a guarantee for top schools.
Bringing It Back to Your Student’s Story
Going to Los Altos High School is not, by itself, a hook. AOs already know LAHS is strong.
Your strengths come down to thoughtful course planning, a focused and high-impact extracurricular resume, essays that tell a compelling story, and a balanced college list that reflects the current reality of UC and T20 admissions.
If you’d like help figuring out how your Los Altos profile will actually read to an AO, we do this every day with Bay Area families.