By now, we hope you have learned about the rigorous academic program, pre-professional arts conservatories, and unique school culture found only at Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA). You are ready to apply!

After becoming familiar with the school’s various conservatories through an OCSA Preview Day, prospective students are invited to fill out an application and participate in a Conservatory Placement Activity. A public, random drawing (“lottery”) will be conducted by conservatory, grade level, and when applicable, concentration, to determine which students are offered admission.

Before getting started, please make sure that you thoroughly understand the Admissions Guidelines and have gathered all of the necessary materials. You will complete your application online and should be prepared to upload all requested materials along with your application. 

Additional support is available for students, parents, or guardians who require translation in order to best understand our admissions processes, as well as for those who need technology assistance. Applicants who have received or are currently receiving special services are encouraged to request any accommodations needed to support them during the admissions process. 

If you have questions, please read our Admissions FAQ. You may also contact our Admissions Office at admissions@ocsarts.net or 714.560.0900 ext. 5510.

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Conservatory Placement Activities provide applicants with an opportunity to demonstrate their art form. Each conservatory has its own Placement Activity, and applicants must complete the appropriate activity for each conservatory to which they apply. Upon completion, applicants will receive a scored rubric with helpful feedback and a proficiency level from our conservatory staff.

Prospective students should carefully examine the specific Placement Activity Guidelines for each conservatory, as ALL aspects of the guidelines are required for an application to be considered complete. If submissions do not match the Placement Activity Guideline requirements, the final rubric score will be affected. When guidelines specify that materials are to be submitted digitally, those materials should be included when the application is submitted on or before December 30, 2026.  

For in-person Placement Activities, applicants will be scheduled into the first available Conservatory Placement Activity appointment by the Admissions Office. All in-person Placement Activities for the upcoming school year will be conducted in January 2027. Once a Placement Activity appointment is scheduled, changes can only be made due to applicant illness or in the case of emergencies.

Upon completion of the Conservatory Placement Activity, applicants will receive a scored rubric with helpful feedback and a proficiency level from our conservatory staff. 

Applicants may only enter the lottery for a conservatory in which they have completed the appropriate Conservatory Placement Activity and met the minimum proficiency level. The exception is the Arts & Enterprise Conservatory, which has no minimum proficiency requirement. As long as applicants complete the required Arts & Enterprise Conservatory Placement Activity, they may enter the lottery for this conservatory. To apply, Arts & Enterprise applicants must list the conservatory as either their first or second choice on the application.

Each applicant will be given two (2) entries for the admission lottery. The two (2) lottery entries may be placed into one (1) single conservatory admission lottery or can be distributed between two (2) conservatory admission lotteries.

Applicants will not be able to change their lottery conservatory selection(s) after submission (due February 15, 2027). 

In accordance with OCSA’s Board-approved Public Random Lottery Preference Policy, when the number of applicants exceeds the available enrollment capacity, a public lottery will be conducted. The lottery process follows the admission preferences outlined in OCSA’s approved charter, as required by Education Code sections 47605(d)(2)(B)(iv) and 49011, and will determine admission for each conservatory.

For details on the order of lottery preferences for the 2027-2028 school year, please see the section immediately below. These preferences must not discourage or limit enrollment access for students with disabilities; English learners; academically low-achieving students; neglected or delinquent students; homeless students; or those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Each applicant will be randomly assigned an Applicant Number at the time their application is submitted, which will be used as identification in the admission lottery, in order to protect the privacy of prospective students. Once all available spaces are filled for a particular conservatory, Applicant Numbers will continue to be drawn and placed on a waitlist in the order drawn. Mid-year offers of enrollment may be extended to waitlist applicants.

Public Notice Pursuant to Board Policy 6.17.26

For the 2027-2028 admissions session, OCSA has established the following Public Random Lottery Preference Sequence:

1. Students who were previously enrolled at OCSA and are returning from an administrator-approved temporary leave of absence.

2. Children of OCSA staff (defined as current full-time employees of OCSA at the time of the lottery). 

3. Siblings of currently enrolled students or graduates of OCSA.

Important Note: This preference is suspended for the Arts & Enterprise Conservatory pursuant to the Equity and Non-Discrimination Analysis Admissions Lottery Preference Sequencing Clarification that the OCSA Board of Trustees conducted on May 28, 2026.

4. A preference shall be extended to students who reside in the elementary attendance area where OCSA is located because OCSA is located in the attendance area of a public elementary school in which 55 percent or more of the pupil enrollment is eligible for free or reduced-price meals.

5. If a charter school site is physically located in the attendance area of a public elementary school in which 50 percent or more of the pupil enrollment is eligible for free or reduced-price meals, a preference will be given to pupils currently enrolled in that public elementary school and to pupils who reside in the attendance area of that elementary school in accordance with Education Code section 47605.3.

6. Preference shall be extended to pupils who reside in the Santa Ana Unified School District except as provided for in Education Code section 47614.5. 

7. All other students.