S a n Fr a n c i s c o
University High School
* School Profile *
FALL 2015
I.
The School
San Francisco University High School opened in 1975 as a coeducational, college preparatory, independent
secondary school. Enrollment stands at approximately 400 students this year. Accredited by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges, UHS is also a member of the National Association of Independent
Schools, the California Association of Independent Schools, the College Entrance Examination Board, and
the Secondary School Admissions Test Board.
San Francisco University High School
3065 Jackson St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
www.sfuhs.org
CEEB code: 053039
School Phone: 415-447-3100
Head of School: Julia Russell Eells
Director of Admissions: Aaron Mieszczanski
Director of College Counseling: Jon Reider
Sr Associate Director of College Counseling: Jenny Schneider
College Counseling Assistant: Elizabeth Faris
College Counseling Phone: 415-447-3112
II.
Student Body
UHS enrolls a diverse student body from a variety of racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds.
Most students come from the city of San Francisco and Marin County; some commute from the East Bay
and the Peninsula. Students of color make up about 44% of the student body. The school distributes over
$2.5 million in financial aid to 22% of the student body.
III. Curriculum and Diploma Requirements at UHS
The following is a list of the most advanced courses offered in each discipline:
Arts (Western Civ and 2 electives required):
AP Art History; AP Studio Art; AP Music Theory
English (4 years required):
English III*; English IV*
* These are considered honors courses by the University of California and prepare students for the AP exam in
English Literature.
Foreign Languages (3 years required):
Advanced Latin; Advanced Latin Honors; AP French Language; Honors French Literature; Advanced French Seminar; Spanish 4H; Spanish 5H; Advanced Spanish Seminar; Chinese 4H; Advanced Chinese Seminar
History (2 years required):
AP US History (required of all juniors); AP Modern European History; AP Economics (through 2014–15) and AP Microeconomics/Economic Policy (beginning 2015–16); History Electives
III. Curriculum and Diploma Requirements at UHS continued...
Mathematics (3 years required):
AB Calculus (AP); AP Statistics; AP Computer Science-A; Honors Differential Calculus and BC Calculus (AP)*; Multivariable Calculus
* This is a two-year sequence leading to the BC Calculus exam.
Science (2 years required):
AP Physics-C (Mechanics, Electricity, & Magnetism); AP Chemistry (through 2014–15) and Advanced
Topics in Modern Chemistry (beginning 2015–16); AP Environmental Science; Advanced Topics in
Biology-A: Human Physiology, B: Microbiology, & C: Molecular Biology
All non-AP electives are considered honor courses by the University of California.
One important feature of the UHS curriculum that we are particularly proud of is the opportunity for
students to pursue an Independent Study project of their own design and implementation. Through these
projects, students take responsibility for an aspect of their own education. Last year, 73 students took
advantage of this option. In addition to serving as TAs for courses (18) and pursuing individual projects
in the arts such as music, visual arts, and theater (19), the range of student intellectual choices was both
vast and imaginative. These included Constitutional Law, Human Immunization, Medicinal Chemistry,
Russian Literature, Psychology, Philosophy, American Sign Language, Neuroscience, the History of AntiSemitism, Social Entrepreneurship, Comedy Sketch Writing, Typography, Dance History, Marine Biology,
and Portuguese.
IV. Academic Profile of the Class of 2016
The Class of 2016 has 96 students. The median GPA is 3.49. This is unweighted, counting all graded courses,
including the arts, in grades 9–11, but excluding P.E., Health, and Community Service.
A. SAT Reasoning Test – Middle 50% Scores: Critical Reading = 670–780, Math = 660–760, Writing = 660–750
B. SAT Subject Tests – Middle 50% Scores (number in sample)
Biology – Ecology
Biology – Molecular
Chemistry
Chinese w/ List
English Literature
French
French w/ List
600 (1)
660–690 (7)
690–780(9)
740–780 (4)
630–750 (40)
590–780(9)
720 (1)
Japanese w/ List
Latin
Math I
Math II
Physics
Spanish
U.S. History
790 (1)
650–710(5)
570–680 (6)
620–790 (53)
720–780(16)
610–720(13)
640–720 (67)
C. ACT Tests – Middle 50% Scores (mean) *
English
Math
Reading
* 28 students were tested.
29–35
28–30
32–35
(32.1)
(29.8)
(33.0)
Science Reasoning
Composite
27–33
30–34
(30.3)
(31.5)
IV.
Academic Profile of the Class of 2016 continued...
D. National Merit Scholarship Information: In the Class of 2016, 14 students are expected to be National
Merit Semi-Finalists and 22 others should receive Commended status.
E. Advanced Placement Examinations: In May 2015, UHS students took 470 examinations in the following
subjects, which are based on courses taught at UHS. We do not limit the number of AP courses students
can take, but we urge them to attempt a reasonable load.
Scores (5 High – 1 Low)
5
4
3
2
1
Examination Subject
Art History
4
2 1
Calculus AB
11
13
6
Calculus BC
15
2
1
Chemistry
8
6
1
6
3
Chinese Language
7
Comparative Gov & Pol
1
Computer Science A
13
14
5
1
Economics – Macro
5
7
10
12
Economics – Micro
7
16
9
13
English Literature
9
8
4
1
Environmental Science
4
8
3
European History
3
3
1
French Language
4
6
Music Theory
3
7
Physics C (E & M)
8
1
Physics C (Mech)
8
2
Physics 1
3
6
Physics 2
11 1
3
2
Psychology
1
Spanish Language
5
2
2
Statistics
5
13
15
2
1
Studio Art: 2–D
1 Studio Art: 3–D
2
1
2
Studio Art: Drawing
2
1
3
5
3
1
US History
38
32
17
7
1
Tests Taken
166
154
91
41
18
87% scored 3 or above and 68% scored 4 or above. We do not offer AP Biology, AP Latin, AP Physics
B, or AP English, but some students do take the AP English, AP Physics 1 & 2 exams, AP Comparative
Government & Politics, and Psychology exams.
V.
College Enrollment (2011–2015)
Following is a list of the major colleges and universities where the school’s graduates have enrolled over
the past five years. If no one chose to enroll during this period, but students were admitted, no number is
assigned. One-hundred percent of our students enroll in four-year colleges.
American University
2
Amherst College
4
Arizona State
2
Bard College
Barnard College
3
Bates College
4
Bennington College
1
Boston College
2
Boston University
7
Bowdoin College
6
Brandeis University
2
Brown University
9
Bryn Mawr College
1
Bucknell University
2
California Institute of Technology
1
Carleton College
4
Carnegie Mellon University
1
Chapman University
4
Claremont McKenna College
6
Colby College
8
Colgate University
11
College of William and Mary
1
Colorado College
Columbia University
6
Connecticut College
6
Cornell College
1
Cornell University
7
Dartmouth College
8
Duke University
5
Emory University
3
Fordham University
Lincoln Center/Rose Hill Campus
2
Franklin & Marshall College
1
Furman University
1
George Washington University
Georgetown University
6
Grinnell College
1
Hamilton College (NY)
3
Harvard University
16
Harvey Mudd College
2
Haverford College
2
Hendrix College
1
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
2
Hofstra University
1
Indiana University at Bloomington
2
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
1
Johns Hopkins University
3
Kenyon College
5
King’s College (London)
2
Lafayette College
1
Laguna College of Art and Design
1
Lehigh University
3
Lewis and Clark College
3
Loyola Marymount University
2
Loyola University (MD)
1
Macalester College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2
McGill University
1
Middlebury College
15
Mills College
Mount Holyoke College
2
Muhlenberg College
1
The New School – Eugene Lang College
2
New York University
15
Northeastern University
1
Northwestern University
10
Notre Dame de Namur University
1
Oberlin College
4
Occidental College
9
Ohio Wesleyan University
1
Pacific University
1
Pitzer College
Point Loma Nazarene University
1
Pomona College
4
Princeton University
10
Reed College
5
Rhode Island School of Design
1
Rice University
Santa Clara University
2
Sarah Lawrence College
2
Scripps College
4
Seattle University
1
Skidmore College
3
Smith College
1
Sonoma State University
1
Southern Methodist University
2
St. Andrews University (Scotland)
4
St. John’s College
1
Stanford University
15
Swarthmore College
4
Syracuse University
2
Trinity College (CT)
3
Tufts University
11
Tulane University
4
United States Naval Academy
1
University of Arizona
1
University of British Columbia
2
University of California
Berkeley12
Davis6
Irvine
Los Angeles
5
Merced
Riverside
San Diego
4
Santa Barbara
8
Santa Cruz
3
University of Chicago
6
University of Colorado at Boulder
3
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
3
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
1
University of Michigan
6
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill1
University of Notre Dame
4
University of Pennsylvania
7
University of Puget Sound
1
University of San Diego
1
University of San Francisco
1
University of Southern California
15
University of Texas, Austin
1
University of Virginia
3
University of Washington 2
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ursinus College
2
Vanderbilt University
3
Vassar College
2
Washington and Lee University
1
Washington University in St. Louis
13
Wellesley College
5
Wesleyan University
6
Western Washington University
1
Wheaton College (IL)
1
Wheaton College (MA)
2
Whitman College
7
Whittier College
1
Willamette University
3
Williams College
2
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
1
Yale University
10