Focus I2 Enrollment

Gunnar Lee • January 1, 2026

The student body of Peninsula is declining, with eighth graders choosing to enroll at its rival Palos Verdes High School. Peninsula’s reputation as an academically rigorous institution is well-established. Peninsula has traditionally had a larger and more diverse student body, the majority of whom enrolled at Peninsula for its reputation of academic competition. Palos Verdes has been associated with comparatively relaxed academics and a greater emphasis on the arts and sports. The student bodies of Peninsula and Palos Verdes are the closest they have been in years.

Peninsula is renowned for the broad range of award-winning computer science, natural science and social science programs it offers. Peninsula is known for its formidable debate team and rigorous robotics team. The culture of Palos Verdes is more well known for its focused attention on the arts and sports departments. The walls of the Peninsula Center Library, at which Peninsula students study, are predominantly adorned with artwork submitted by Palos Verdes students, and Palos Verdes’ football team competes in a league above Peninsula’s. There is a popular stereotype among middle schoolers in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District that those who want to academically excel should attend Peninsula, while the artistically and athletically inclined believe that they should go to Palos Verdes. Geographic convenience is another factor: the majority of Ridgecrest students attend Peninsula and most Palos Verdes Intermediate students enroll at Palos Verdes, with Miraleste students the most split in their decisions. Junior Austin Hsu’s decision to choose Peninsula was influenced by this way of thinking.

“All of my friends decided to attend Peninsula because it is more [academically renowned],” Hsu said. “The thought of going to Palos Verdes High School never crossed my mind because Peninsula had always been the obvious choice [among my peers]. Why would I leave my friends so that I can attend a school [with a poorer academic reputation]?”

In spite of Peninsula’s academic reputation, the number of students attending the school has gradually declined over the years. Although many enroll in Palos Verdes in order to pursue their athletic or artistic passions, a new trend has emerged in which middle schoolers choose to attend Palos Verdes over Peninsula to pursue academic success by taking full advantage of the school’s unique schedule. Palos Verdes High School’s block schedule, with its three two-hour classes a day, has led both students and parents to believe that the school would better lead to students’ academic success. This schedule allows Palos Verdes students to space out their homework between two days meaning they can maintain a comfortable balance between their grades and their personal lives while also investing significantly more time into extracurricular activities, thus allowing them to curate a well-rounded college application without sacrificing their mental health. Peninsula’s schedule of six one-hour classes per day is significantly more rigid, and given that many have daily sports practice, Peninsula students have very little time at night to complete their homework. When presented with the two options, more and more eighth graders are choosing to attend Palos Verdes, an academically relaxed school with ample opportunity to excel, over Peninsula, a highly competitive institution which demands a great portion of their time outside of school. Junior Cody Tu reflected on these differences between Peninsula and Palos Verdes.

"I can understand why [middle schoolers] would not want to deal with the stress of Peninsula," Tu said. "Many of my own friends went to Palos Verdes to take advantage of the relaxed academics and have a lot more free time than I do. However, the [quality of] the [academic] programs offered at Pen are much better than those at Palos Verdes.”

Palos Verdes’ perceived academic inferiority and lack of competition gives it another edge for ambitious students. Palos Verdes has historically had a smaller student body compared to that of Peninsula due to this stigma. Yet a higher percentage of Palos Verdes students are admitted into prestigious colleges than Peninsula students. According to school district data regarding the 2023 college application process, of 282 Peninsula applicants to UCLA, only 23 (or 8%) were admitted, whereas 24 of 155 (15%) Palos Verdes students were accepted. During the 2024 cycle, 6% more Palos Verdes students were admitted into UC Irvine than Peninsula students and 4% more were admitted into UC Berkeley. A cursory examination suggests a significant difference between the two schools; a second glance reveals that the statistics are somewhat skewed. Peninsula has a larger student population than Palos Verdes and thus a larger number of qualified applicants to the University of California. The limited number of spots available at colleges and the necessity for them to maintain balance between the number of students admitted from schools in a given area has naturally resulted in many of Peninsula’s competitive and academically accomplished students getting rejected. The rationale of both parents and students alike is that attending and performing well at a less academically rigorous school is preferable to attending an academically stressful school with a greater risk of rejection from colleges. However, registrar Daniel Cordova predicts that the numbers will even out soon.

“I think that [Palos Verdes’ advantage over Peninsula in college admissions] is overexaggerated,” Cordova said. “Parents are starting to gravitate towards Palos Verdes because they think that because they have less students there that they have a better opportunity to get into colleges. College representatives say that kids from the Palos Verdes Unified School District, regardless of high school, know that they will be well-rounded students because of the quality of education offered at both schools. I do not necessarily think it is an edge to go to Palos Verdes High, and if there is any validity behind [doing so], I think it is gone because [the student bodies of Peninsula and Palos Verdes] are pretty close now. From what [Peninsula’s] counselors have been saying, based on their years of experience, it should not be a factor.”