Upper School Profile 2024–2025 FACTS AND FIGURES
Upper School enrollment (9–12):
231
Average class size:
14
% students enrolling in 4-year college:
97%
% of students who choose a gap year:
7%
Students in the Class of 2025:
51
Median unweighted 6-semester GPA:
3.95
Median weighted 6-semester GPA:
4.12
In May 2024, 108 students took 188 AP exams: Scores of 4 or 5:
75%
Scores of 3 and above:
89%
CONTACT INFORMATION Gabrielle McColgan Director of College Counseling and Upper School Academic Policy (650) 470-7761 gmccolgan@castilleja.org Courtney Oben Associate Director of College Counseling (650) 470-7739 coben@castilleja.org Heidi Gallegos Registrar and Administrative Assistant to College Counseling (650) 470-7706 hgallegos@castilleja.org CEEB/ACT CODE 052-330 Castilleja School 1310 Bryant Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 328–3160 castilleja.org
Our Learning Community OUR PROGRAM Castilleja was founded in 1907 to open new educational opportunities for women, and that work continues today as we seek to amplify women’s voices and inspire our middle and high school students to become leaders who will effect meaningful and necessary change. To pursue our motto—Women Learning. Women Leading—we rely on the most current research regarding the critical advantages of deep-dive, interdisciplinary learning. OUR STUDENTS The student body reflects the region’s ethnic and economic diversity, with 75% of students identifying as students of color and 21% of students receiving tuition assistance. Our students learn deeply, strengthen their voices, and make empowering choices through interdisciplinary problem-solving and real world engagement. Students engage with issues of diversity, antiracism, human rights, and environmental awareness, and they demonstrate intellectual excellence in creative writing, mathematics, performing and visual arts, robotics, and research science for which they are nominated and awarded distinctions for their accomplishments and service. In the past three years, our student-athletes have been recruited to play at the following NCAA college programs: Bowdoin, Brown, Colby, Colorado College, Columbia, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Howard, MIT, Northwestern, Pomona, Santa Clara, Stanford, Tufts, UVA, and Yale. OUR FACULTY Relationships are at the heart of Castilleja. Our talented faculty members build meaningful and lasting connections with their students while also challenging them to develop their own voices and pursue their passions. 90% of our faculty hold advanced degrees from colleges and universities throughout the world and have been recognized by local, state, and national organizations for their contributions to student learning and thought.
Our Mission, Values, and Affiliations MISSION Castilleja School educates motivated young women to become confident thinkers and compassionate leaders with a sense of purpose to effect change in the world. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION Each member of the Castilleja community is responsible for fostering an equitable, respectful, and just community. Together, we commit to learning from diverse voices and experiences, and we aspire to engage our differences with courage, honesty, intellectual curiosity and respect. We believe this commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential to developing compassionate leaders. HONOR CODE AND REPORTING POLICY The Castilleja Honor Code and Acceptable Use Policies speak to the promotion of trust and respect by and for all members of our community, both in terms of academics and personal conduct. When requested, Castilleja will report to colleges any incidents in grades 9-12 that result in probation, suspension, or expulsion. AFFILIATIONS Castilleja is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is a member of One Schoolhouse, the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Western Association for College Admission Counseling, and the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, and is a partner and summer site for the Peninsula Bridge Program. Please note: ACT and SAT test centers remain scarce in the Bay Area as of Fall 2024. Castilleja enthusiastically supports students who choose to opt out of ACT/SAT testing and offers thanks to the many colleges who practice test free/optional admission and/or provide testing centers in their local areas.