Harvard-Westlake Upper School Admissions Consulting
Straight guidance on tenth grade entry at the Studio City campus, where roughly five to ten places open each year.
Cardinal Education is an independent educational consulting company. We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with any private or public school, including Harvard-Westlake School.
As Seen On
About the School
About Harvard-Westlake Upper School
The Upper School occupies the former Harvard School campus at 3700 Coldwater Canyon Avenue in Studio City and enrolls 884 students across grades 10 through 12. Harvard-Westlake traces to the Harvard School for Boys of 1900 and the Westlake School for Girls of 1904, merged in 1991, and runs its grades 7 through 9 separately at the Holmby Hills campus on North Faring Road. Niche ranked it the top college preparatory private high school in the Los Angeles area for 2026, first of 165, and first for STEM among 512 area high schools. Almost all of those 884 students arrived years earlier through the Middle School in Holmby Hills. External admission happens at tenth grade only, and depending on enrollment the school takes roughly five to ten new students. Eleventh and twelfth grade applications are considered only in genuine special circumstances, such as a family relocating to Los Angeles.
Harvard-Westlake Upper School Fast Facts
Campus
3700 Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604
Grades Served
10 through 12
Upper School Enrollment
884 students, of 1,627 across both campuses
External Entry Point
Grade 10 only, approximately 5 to 10 students per year
School Type
Private, coeducational, college preparatory day school
Average Class Size
16 students
Student-Teacher Ratio
8 to 1
Student Body
67% identify as students of color
Curriculum
58 Honors courses; no AP-designated courses as of 2025–26, though AP exams are still offered
Average of Highest ACT Composite
32
Average of Highest SAT Critical Reading
717
Average of Highest SAT Math
726
Applications Open
August 2026
Transportation
School bus service
Academic Profile
Harvard-Westlake retired AP designations in 2025–26 and now offers 58 Honors courses while continuing to administer AP exams. For a tenth grade transfer applicant this is worth understanding before the interview, because the school will expect a student to speak about rigor in terms of what they actually studied rather than how many AP labels they collected.
Average of Highest ACT Composite
32
Average of Highest SAT Critical Reading
717
Average of Highest SAT Math
726
Honors Courses Offered
58
AP-Designated Courses
None as of 2025–26; AP exams still offered
Faculty Holding Advanced Degrees
76%
Average Nightly Homework
1.5 to 2.5 hours
Departments cover English, history, interdisciplinary studies and independent research, library and information literacy, mathematics, performing arts, physical education, science, visual arts, and world languages.
Admission Openings Across the School
Grade 7 (Middle School)
Approximately 215 spaces (Primary entry point)
Grade 8 (Middle School)
Attrition only (Rare)
Grade 9 (Middle School)
Approximately 90 new students (Second major entry point)
Grade 10 (Upper School)
Approximately 5 to 10 students (Depends on total school enrollment)
Grades 11 and 12 (Upper School)
Special circumstances only (Such as a family relocating to Los Angeles)
Athletics and Accreditation
Sports Offered
Baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, cheerleading, cross country, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling
Accreditation
Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
Our complete Harvard-Westlake guide covers both campuses, curriculum, student life, and strategy in depth: How to Get Into Harvard-Westlake: A Complete Admissions Guide for Parents.
Harvard-Westlake Upper School Admissions Timeline and Events
Applications open in August 2026. The school has not yet published this cycle’s deadline or its fall event dates. Given how few tenth grade places exist, register for an information session as soon as the calendar posts.
Applications Open
August 2026 (Start with the online admission inquiry form)
Information Sessions and Campus Visits
Visit the school website for updates (Studio City campus)
Application Deadline
Not yet published (Historically late fall to early winter)
Interview and Timed Writing Exercise
Late fall through winter (Arranged through the admission office)
Admissions Decisions Released
March (Consistent with prior cycles)
What Makes Harvard-Westlake Upper School Admissions Unique?
The honest headline is arithmetic. Five to ten places against an applicant pool drawn from every strong high school in Los Angeles produces odds that no amount of preparation reliably overcomes. That is not a reason to skip applying, but it is a reason to apply differently. A tenth grade candidate is not being measured against an abstract standard. They are being measured against a specific, cohesive class that has been together since seventh grade, and the committee is asking whether this particular student adds something that class does not already have. Generic excellence does not answer that question. A distinct and demonstrated interest sometimes does. If your child is younger, the far better strategy is to apply at grade 7 or grade 9.
What the Harvard-Westlake Upper School Application Requires
Top Tips for Applying to Harvard-Westlake
- Lead with something specific. In a five-to-ten-seat process, being broadly excellent is the baseline and a defined strength is the argument.
- Prepare for the interview as the decisive component, since with so few places the committee is deciding on fit rather than filtering on qualification.
- Submit ISEE scores only if they are genuinely strong; the school accepts the most recent scores only.
- Have your current school explain your record in the administrative recommendation, especially if your transcript uses an unusual grading scheme.
- Apply elsewhere seriously. Treating Harvard-Westlake as the plan rather than one of several is a strategic error at these odds.
Best Practices for Families Applying to Harvard-Westlake
- Be candid with your child about the numbers before they invest emotionally. A rejection here reflects capacity, not their worth.
- If relocation is your circumstance, say so clearly and early, since grades 11 and 12 open only for reasons like that.
- Visit Studio City rather than relying on the school’s reputation. Your child should be able to name what they want from this campus.
- Consider whether joining an established cohort in tenth grade suits your child socially, because it is a real adjustment and the committee will ask about it.
- Keep your own record of dates as the school posts them, since the calendar arrives late and sessions fill.
- 01Application Steps
- Complete the online admission inquiry form and application
- Complete the student questionnaire
- Schedule a campus visit and interview
- Sit the timed 30-minute writing exercise
- Submit standardized test scores if you choose to (optional)
- Submit teacher recommendation letters
- Submit the administrative recommendation and transcript
- 02Standardized Testing
The school does not require standardized testing, and only the most recent ISEE results are considered when a family opts in. For a tenth grade candidate the calculation is sharper than it is for younger applicants. With five to ten places available, the committee is not screening out unqualified students, so a merely respectable score adds nothing and a weak one hands them an easy reason to move on. Submit if the score is a genuine strength in the context of this applicant pool. Otherwise let the interview, the writing exercise, and your transcript carry the case.
- 03Interview and Timed Writing
Expect an interview of roughly 40 minutes and a 30-minute timed writing exercise completed independently. In a test-optional process with very few seats, these two components do most of the deciding.
How Cardinal Education Helps Upper School Applicants
We will tell you what the odds are before we take your money, which is not universal in this industry. Where a tenth grade application is genuinely worth making, our admissions consulting work is narrow and specific: identifying the one thing your child brings that an established Harvard-Westlake class does not already have, and building the interview and writing sample around it. Where it is not worth making, we say so and help you look at the Los Angeles schools where your child would both get in and thrive. Families of younger children are usually better served by our Middle School page, since grades 7 and 9 hold nearly all the available seats.
“Thanks to their personalized approach, my daughter gained admission to Harvard-Westlake. I highly recommend Cardinal Education to any student aiming for top-tier schools. When my daughter starts preparing for college admissions, we will definitely work with them again.”— Harvard-Westlake Parent, Cardinal Education Client
Frequently Asked Questions
How many students transfer into Harvard-Westlake in tenth grade?
Can my child apply to eleventh or twelfth grade?
Does Harvard-Westlake Upper School require standardized tests?
How big is the Asian American population at Harvard-Westlake?
Does Harvard-Westlake still offer AP courses?
Is it easier to get in at grade 10 than grade 7?
A tenth grade application to Harvard-Westlake is a long shot for almost everyone who makes one, and it is still sometimes the right thing to do. What it should never be is the only plan. Go in clear-eyed and your child comes out of the process fine either way.
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