Eastside College Preparatory School

Eastside College Preparatory School is a private, tuition-free high school in East Palo Alto for students who will be the first in their families to go to college. The campus is at 1041 Myrtle Street, at the corner of Pulgas Avenue, about 2.3 miles from downtown Palo Alto in a straight line. It is an independent day and boarding school supported by donations, with dormitories on site.

Eastside is one of the closest private high schools to Palo Alto, but it works very differently from the others on our private schools list. Admission is aimed at first-generation college students, there is no tuition and the school tracks its graduates through college and into careers. This page covers its history, how admission works for 2027 to 2028 and what the school publishes about its program and results.

Why Eastside was founded

Eastside's history page starts in 1976, when East Palo Alto's only high school closed. Students were then bused to high schools in neighboring communities. The school says many were placed in non-college-track classes. It cites a 65 percent dropout rate for East Palo Alto students and fewer than 4 percent going on to a four-year college or university.

Chris Bischof, a Stanford graduate, had started an after-school program for East Palo Alto elementary students called Shoot for the Stars that tied basketball to daily tutoring. With Helen Kim, a Stanford classmate, he opened Eastside in 1996 with eight ninth graders. They had no campus. Classes met first at a picnic table in a park, then in a room at the Plugged In computer center and then at the nonprofit Families in Transition.

The next year a donor offered a 1.6-acre lot at Pulgas Avenue and Myrtle Street. Soon the school had grown to 20 ninth and tenth graders. Construction on a larger campus began in 2001, adding science and computer labs, the Center for the Arts and dormitories. In 2008 Eastside launched its alumni program to support graduates through college and into professional jobs. Chris Bischof is named on the school's "From the Principal" page.

The school today

Eastside serves grades 9 to 12. The state's private school affidavit for 2025 to 2026 lists 262 students: 74 in ninth grade, 72 in tenth, 60 in eleventh and 56 in twelfth. The same filing reports 56 graduates in the previous year. The school's at a glance page gives these figures:

• The student body is 78 percent Latino, 16 percent African American and 6 percent Pacific Islander or Filipino.
• 94 percent of students are first-generation college bound.
• 99 percent of graduates have been admitted to four-year colleges or universities.
• In 2022 the school received the maximum six-year accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The school's mission page reports a cumulative college graduation rate of 72 percent for its alumni and says 71 percent of its college graduates have professional jobs within six months. It says more than 1,000 alumni are now in college or working. Those are the school's own figures, measured its own way.

The program

Academics

All students take the same college preparatory curriculum, with placement differences only for native language and math. Students take four years each of English, history, foreign language, mathematics and laboratory science, at least a year of fine arts and a three-year college readiness series. Sophomores take Composition and Argumentation, juniors Writing for College and seniors Senior College Prep. A resource program offers individual help with study and test-taking skills. Wikipedia notes classes offered in partnership with Foothill College for college credit and a year-round calendar.

Incoming freshmen attend a Summer Bridge Program with classes in math, English and personal finance. Continuing students spend summer session on electives, college-level classes, internships, volunteering or travel programs.

Boarding

On-site dormitories let Eastside accept students who live too far to commute daily. Residential faculty live with students and serve as tutors, counselors and mentors. Two students share a room. Evenings include study sessions, house meetings and community activities. Some boarders return home on weekends.

Alumni support

Every graduate is matched with a college coach and a career coach. That support is a large part of how the school measures success.

Athletics and activities

Eastside fields boys' and girls' teams in basketball, volleyball, soccer, cross country and track and field. Students can also take a strength and conditioning elective, dance or yoga and wellness. The school runs an arts program based in its Center for the Arts, an outdoor education program with class trips and a community service program.

Admission for 2027 to 2028

Eastside's admissions page, published in English and Spanish, lists these steps for the 2027 to 2028 school year:

1. Attend the open house for prospective students and families on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The school asks families to RSVP by email to the admissions contact listed on its page.
2. Download the 2027 to 2028 application from the admissions page.
3. Ask the student's English and math teachers to complete the school's recommendation forms.
4. Make sure the completed application is received by Friday, December 11, 2026.

Part of the Spanish text on the page still shows an older year next to the deadline, so confirm the date with the admissions office by phone at (650) 688-0850, extension 100. Eastside does not charge tuition, so there is no financial aid application. Families should still ask about costs such as boarding and summer programs.

How it compares

Eastside is small: 262 students in the state's count, against 2,152 at Menlo-Atherton, the public high school whose attendance area includes much of East Palo Alto. It is tuition-free, while independent high schools nearby list 2026 to 2027 tuition from about $67,000 to $69,500, including Menlo School at $67,792. Unlike most independent schools, it does not follow the shared January deadline and March decision calendar; its application is due in December.

East Palo Alto families also have public options. Students are assigned a Sequoia district high school by address and may apply to East Palo Alto Academy through the Sequoia district's open enrollment, due February 1, 2027. Younger students may join PAUSD schools through the Tinsley voluntary transfer program, described in our transfers guide.

Getting there from Palo Alto

From Palo Alto, take University Avenue across Highway 101 into East Palo Alto, then follow local streets to Myrtle Street. The school's directions for drivers on southbound 101 use the University Avenue exit, Donohoe Street and Clarke Avenue to reach Myrtle. From northbound 101, it suggests the Embarcadero Road exit, a left onto East Bayshore Road, then Pulgas Avenue for about half a mile to Myrtle. Visitors can park in front of the two-story administration building or in the lot behind campus. Our East Palo Alto guide covers the city around the school.

Frequently asked questions