High Bluff Academy
Online high school, on your schedule
An accredited American high school you can attend from anywhere — earn the full diploma with us, or take courses for credit alongside your current school.
US high school diploma
Six courses a year. Graduate with an HBA diploma.
Credit electives
One course at a time, for transcript credit.
Rolling admission — both programs start in any term.
Accreditations & partners
Overview
Two ways to study with us
HBA Global Online serves students on a non-traditional schedule: student athletes, artists and performers, international students, and students who learn best at their own pace. Enroll for the full US high school diploma, or take credit electives alongside your current school. Both are taught by credentialed teachers on a WASC-accredited, UC A–G aligned curriculum, and both use rolling admission.
A US diploma
Full WASC accreditation and UC A–G approval. Graduates earn an accredited High Bluff Academy diploma, recognized by universities worldwide.
AP testing seat
Enroll in any AP course and we hold your seat at HBA's official College Board testing site in San Diego. AP Capstone Diploma school.
Global competitions
AMC 10/12, USABO, IBO, Physics Bowl and more. Available as an add-on alongside coursework, with registration handled by the school.
- Courses offered
- 70+
- AP courses offered
- 35
- Students in a live small-group class
- 3–8
- Countries represented in our community
- 15
Who it's for
Built for students whose schedules don't fit a bell schedule
Every HBA Online student gets a plan built around their commitments — not the other way around.
- Student athletes
Training and competition come first
Athletes in year-round training and international competition keep a full college-prep course load. Lessons are recorded, deadlines flex around meets and training camps, and our courses are NCAA-approved, so they count toward eligibility.
Frankie C. '27 — trained with the San Diego Rowing Club, admitted to Harvard College in 11th grade, now competing at the 2026 World Rowing U19 Championships.
- Artists & performers
Studio, rehearsal and audition seasons
Musicians, dancers, actors and visual artists build academics around practice hours, tours and portfolio deadlines. Studio Art, Digital Art, Digital Music, AP Drawing, AP 3D Art & Design, AP Art History and AP Music Theory count for credit.
Benjamin S. '24 — Mathematics & Music double major at Dartmouth, 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar and multi-instrumentalist. Aru K. '26 — theater major at NYU and former lead singer of The Youngsters.
- International students
A US high school record, from home
Students outside the United States earn an accredited American transcript, AP scores and US teacher recommendations without relocating, then apply from a US school profile.
15 nationalities across our community, with ESL and TOEFL preparation available alongside academic courses.
- Accelerated learners
Past the ceiling of a normal schedule
Students who have exhausted their school's math or science sequence continue into university-level work: Multivariable Calculus, Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, Group Theory and Mathematics of Machine Learning.
AP Capstone Diploma school — AP Seminar and AP Research, a College Board credential most high schools do not offer.
- Health & family circumstances
School that keeps up with life
Students managing medical treatment, relocation or family caregiving stay enrolled, stay on pace and graduate on time, with pacing adjusted term by term by their advisor.
Students managing treatment or relocation stay enrolled and graduate on time — ask admissions for examples.
- Credit electives
One course at a time, for credit
Enrolled at another school but need a specific course? Take a single HBA course for transcript credit — an AP your school doesn't offer, a language requirement, a repeat for a stronger grade, or a summer acceleration. You stay at your school; the credit appears on an official HBA transcript.
Rolling admission — start in any term, alongside your current school year.
How you learn
Three ways to take a class — all taught by HBA faculty
1-on-1 live instruction
A private class with a credentialed HBA teacher, scheduled around the student's time zone and training or rehearsal calendar. Fastest pacing, and the strongest option for AP and university-level work.
Small-group live class (3–8)
Live, teacher-led classes with classmates, weekly office hours, discussion groups and seminar speakers. Real classroom discussion at a fraction of 1-on-1 tuition.
Recorded self-paced
Professionally filmed video lessons with graded assignments and teacher feedback. Start any time, work at any hour, finish ahead when the calendar allows. Available as a credit elective.
Support
Nobody studies alone
Online at HBA is not a course library with a login. Every student is assigned a teacher and a dedicated advisor who builds a plan around their schedule. Different from a classroom — not behind one.
- A dedicated advisor who builds a tailor-made plan and adjusts pacing each term
- Weekly teacher office hours plus direct email access to every instructor
- Cognitive abilities assessment for diploma students, used to set instruction levels
- ESL and TOEFL preparation alongside academic coursework for international students
- Progress reports and transcripts maintained in the HBA student information system
- Optional add-ons: tutoring, internships, passion projects, AP and SAT/ACT prep, and global academic competitions — AMC 10/12, USABO, IBO, Physics Bowl and others, registered by the school
Logistics
Scheduling, terms and time zones
- Live classes are scheduled to the student's time zone, including Asia-friendly hours
- Rolling admission for both programs — start in any term
- Six courses per year in the diploma program; credit electives are taken one at a time
- One credit per year-long course — 24 credits earn the diploma
- AP exams taken at HBA's San Diego testing site, with the seat reserved for enrolled students
- Official AP exam and competition registration handled by the school
- In-person graduation in San Diego for online graduates who want to walk
Explore the school
Where to go next
Admission
Tuition for every format, graduation requirements, and the four steps from first email to first class.
Teachers
240 AP-track faculty, 32 College Board certified and 50 with a doctorate. Meet 30 of them by subject.
Courses
70+ courses and 35 AP classes, with 21 available at honors level, across every core department.
Contact us
Reach the global online admissions team, and read the questions families ask us most.
Where our students go
A diploma that opens doors
The 2025–26 class earned offers from 35 universities across the Ivy League, top liberal arts colleges and the University of California system.
- Harvard
- Yale
- Dartmouth
- UC Berkeley
- ETH Zürich
- NYU
- Purdue
- UC San Diego
- UC Davis
- Toronto
- Notre Dame
- Wake Forest
- Smith
- Case Western
- Washington
- George Washington
Get in touch
Ready to learn from anywhere?
Tell us your student's grade, current school and goals. We reply within one business day with a course plan, a transcript evaluation and a written tuition quote.
Start whenever you are ready.
Rolling admission — both programs begin in any term. Tell us the grade, the current school and the goal, and we will come back within one business day.
Replies within one business day, Monday to Friday. · Four terms a year: fall, winter, spring and summer.
- WASC accredited
- UC A–G approved
- NCAA approved
- College Board AP school