 | Founded in 1952, Crystal Springs Uplands School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school located on a 10-acre suburban campus on the San Francisco peninsula. Serving grades 6-12, CSUS provides an intimate, collaborative community that encourages students to pursue their passions, explore new interests, build confidence, develop compassion and thrive in an environment of academic excellence.
With a 29% acceptance rate, CSUS enrolls 350 students from 66 elementary schools and 53 middle schools. Our student body reflects CSUS’s strong commitment to cultural, social and socioeconomic diversity. 52% of the student community identifies as students of color and our generous financial aid program annually awards $2M in grants to 23% of the student body.
Crystal Springs Uplands School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools and is a member of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, the National Association of Independent Schools and People of Color in Independent Schools, among others.
Curriculum
Given the rigorous academic demands of CSUS, freshmen and sophomores take five academic courses. In order to maintain a balanced courseload, juniors and seniors are strongly encouraged to take four academic courses only. Students need 21 credits total in order to graduate.
GPA and Class Rank
Grade point average (GPA) is calculated using all academic courses (PE, non-AP Fine Arts and non-CSUS courses excluded) and is cumulative from the fall semester of 10th grade onward. Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors-level (H) courses are weighted by 0.3, as are fifth academic courses taken during junior and senior years. CSUS does not rank students.
New Curricular Offerings at CSUS
As of the 2012-13 academic year, Crystal Springs Uplands School no longer offers AP courses. We uncoupled our curriculum from the Advanced Placement model in order for our teachers to design challenging courses which allow for more student-initiated projects, internships, investigative research and global experiences. The following CSUS courses have been renamed, redesigned and designated as Honors Level on the transcript. While Crystal is no longer offering AP-designated courses, students remain able to sit for AP tests administered on site.
See the list of former AP courses and new curricular offerings (PDF)>> |
| |
| Instruction |
| 350 |
Total student enrollment |
| 250 |
Upper school enrollment |
| 100 |
Middle school enrollment |
| 59 |
Faculty |
| 6:1 |
Student:teacher ratio |
| 14 |
Average class size |
| 63 |
Percent faculty with advanced degrees |
| 12 |
Average years teaching at CSUS |
Honors-Level Courses and AP Exam Results
|
| 23 |
HL courses courses offered |
| 138 |
Students taking AP exams |
| 294 |
AP exams taken |
| 45 |
Percent scoring 5 |
| 73 |
Percent scoring 4 or above |
| 89 |
Percent scoring 3 or above |
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| * Beginning in 2010, CSUS reduced the number of AP courses in favor of college-level courses that allow faculty to delve more deeply into topics that are given less emphasis in the AP curriculum. Read more about the Curricular Change>> |
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