University High School Reviews

530 reviews

University High School is full of rigorous academic and social opportunities, such as IMPACT, science olimpiad, ASB, and model UN. Due to multiple resources, that students must look up on their own, students can find exactly what they are looking for through their high school experience. On the other hand, I do believe that the administration should put forth more in person resources and/or support for their students.

I've really enjoyed my time at University High School. The majority of teachers are extremely nice and good at what they teach, and the campus feels safe and diverse. I would have liked there to be a little bit more help with preparation for college, because I didn't really feel like I knew what I was doing while applying.

This high school prepared me well for college by instilling great work habits, time-management, leadership, and communication skills. However, the school is quite cut-throat and staying motivated when competing against all the students can be difficult. The school is very academic heavy, making it hard to truly enjoy and participate in other activities.

Review University High School

University High School is awesome! The teachers are incredibly dedicated and helpful -- especially many of the STEM teachers. I loved the clubs and school community that encourages healthy competition and growth.

I played on the football team and was a varsity soccer captain. From my sophomore to my senior year, I found my people through sports and became very prepared for college. Hard academics get you ready for college. You'll have to work for your grades, but if you succeed at University High School, you can succeed in college.

University High School is a highly competitive environment that will prepare you for college life and more. While it has amazing teachers, the higher level classes are designed to be challenging, and often have extremely heavy workloads. Many are passionate about their extracurriculars, which can be a great opportunity to be involved in nation recognized teams such as Academic Decathalon, Mock Trial, and United Nations. However, the environment can also be highly stressful for many, and mental health has continuously been a problem on campus.

For your child to do very well here, you need to be very involved, especially if your child is taking a lot of AP courses. The office hours with teachers get mixed reviews and nothing is really consistently taught out of the 15 pounds of books these kids have to carry. In some ways the students are on their own and need to be resourceful, which does prepare them for college. We've had tutors advise us to know the teacher and what they want instead of making sure they know the subject. Most of the teachers are genuine and actually teach but there are enough that don't to be a concern. Facilities could use an uplift, at least for Irvine standards. Maybe Will Ferrell could make a donation. The athletics department is pretty dismal for most of the sports. The practice environment and equipment in sports is questionable from a safety perspective and the funding is very limited. This is an academic school no doubt but it's setting a message that you can't excel in both.

I like the facilities and the school community. The worst part is that some of the teachers are less hands-on with students.

Do not believe the ratings of this school as one of the best in California; the good teachers here actually good at teaching students and being good people I can count with my hands and the only reason students succeed is because they come from rich families that can get them tutors and extracurricular activities, it has absolutely nothing to do with the school itself. If you’re a rich immigrant family just go somewhere else that is less competitive college admissions wise than Irvine. The administration does not care about the student body’s needs, or they would have stopped enforcing the idiotic and sexist dress code and actually addressed the insane mental health issue the entire student population has (I did not meet a single mentally OK student all 4 years). Most teachers cannot teach for the life of them, and some of them are genuinely just bigots or straight abusive. Food is inedible, sports are a joke, clubs are a sham with no funding, and there are no college resources.

Overall a great school. My experience has been good. The first year I had to get adjusted to the overwhelming amount of homework ( including weekends and holidays ). After adjusted to the advanced school curriculum it has been a good experience.

University High School has a competitive atmosphere that is highly taxing on students' mental and physical health. To begin with, there is a concerning divide between CP and AP classes. On one hand, the AP classes at UHS are ridiculously challenging. For example, UHS's AP physics class crams the content of two AP exams into a single school year, differing from every other school in the district. On the other hand, CP classes lack organization. Therefore students who hope for a constructive learning atmosphere but don't wish to pack their schedules with AP classes will find themselves in an impossible situation.

Great teachers that prepare students well for their courses giving them the support they need. It is a very academically competitive school among students and many (including me) can feel the suffocating pressure of doing well in classes.

Teachers are incredibly challenging which results in amazing standardized testing but GPAs that smell like sewage water.

UNI, allowed me to explore my passions and interests. Over my four years, I got to step out of my comfort zone and find myself as a person. The school community at UNI took a book part in that because I always felt welcome and able to be myself.

All of the students are really nice, there are 2 extremes of students. The majority is where they really want to do good. But some like 40% just hangs around and does nothing. Just be careful who you make friends with.

University High School has a strength in its academics. They provide rigorous and highly academic classes. However, this emphasis on academics has led to an extremely competitive community at school and a detrimental decline to mental health. UHS has done a good job at trying to accommodate those who need assistance with their mental health, but the students tend to ignore them as they focus on their academics even more. I hope UHS does more to diffuse the seriousness of school and provide more fun, carefree events that are accessible to everyone.

i really like how people care about their grades and take education seriously. There is this one teacher though, that cusses us out sometimes which is pretty annoying.

Review University High School

The culture at this school is very divided between academically focused students and others. The wide amount of AP classes offered is a positive. I wish there was more advertising or emphasis on competitions like science olympiad or science bowl because I would have liked to participate in these if I knew about them.

Very competitive School. Has many amazing programs/ clubs. Open to opportunities as it work with College like SMC , UCLA and other universities. Has great college counseling that help you chose the right courses and resources to get into your dream school.

My experience at University High School has been pretty good. The school has strong academics and the large size of the student body has, at least for me, eliminated a lot of social cliques and social pressure. However, I wish there was less pressure on academics and academic extracurriculars. The academics at University High School are very competitive. Many students feel pressured to always get extraordinary grades, while doing numerous extracurriculars, just to keep-up and achieve more things to put on their college applications.

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