The Squire
VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1
Summer 2025
ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN HIGH SCHOOL
Riordan ranks fourth among SF private schools in UC acceptance rates By Noelle Trout Grade 8 Lipman Middle School The San Francisco Chronicle’s latest article on San Francisco private schools’ acceptance rates puts Archbishop Riordan High School in the top four and top two of Catholic High Schools in the City. Riordan came in at number four, with an overall acceptance rate to the University of California’s most competitive schools (Berkeley, UCLA, Irvine, San Diego, and Santa Barbara) at 17 percent. Convent of the Sacred Heart was number one with 22 percent, followed by Proof School and International High School at 21 percent, and Lick-Wilmerding at 20 percent. This means that Riordan outperformed St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in acceptance rates to top UC campuses for the Class of 2025. For comparison, Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep had an acceptance rate of 15 percent and St. Ignatius was 17 percent. Although the percentage of acceptance rates at SHC and SI are close to Riordan’s, the ranking is also based on the number of applicants who are accepted. For example, Riordan students submitted 413 applications to
UC ADMISSIONS 2025 Convent of the Sacred Heart
Proof School
22%
21%
The International School of San Francisco 21%
LickWilmerding High School
Archbishop Riordan High School
20%
17%
Based on information published in the San Francisco Chronicle
Graphic by The Squire staff the top UC schools and received 72 acceptances while SI students submitted 959 applications and received 161 acceptance letters. For SHC, the rate was 98 acceptance letters for 652 applications. Among Catholic high schools in the City, Convent of the Sacred Heart was first, followed by Riordan and Immaculate Conception Academy Cristo Rey. English teacher Susan Sutton, who teaches seniors at Riordan and graduated from ICA, said, “I’m extremely proud of both of my
schools–my home and my alma mater.” She continued, “The senior English teachers at Riordan have been working very closely with each other and the counselors the past five years to push our students to aim high while providing them with the best opportunity to succeed, including new courses, new novels, and new, challenging assessments.”
Please see “UC acceptance rate” on Page 3