What are the characteristics of top private high schools in the US? What is their student-to-teacher ratio? How much is the tuition fee? What is the acceptance rate for the Ivy League schools? How rich are the resources for student clubs and sports teams?

To answer these common questions, Think Academy collected the data of 10 top private high schools in five metro areas in the United States from their official websites and summarized the data in the table below.

The 10 top private high schools covered in this article are: 

• Flintridge Preparatory School (Los Angeles)
• Groton School (Boston)
• Harvard-Westlake School (Los Angeles)
• Horace Mann School (New York)
• Latin School of Chicago (Chicago)
• Phillips Academy Andover (Boston)
• The Harker School (California Bay Area)
• The Nueva School (California Bay Area)
• Trinity School (New York)
• University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (Chicago)

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Important Findings Based on the Data:

• Phillips Academy Andover charges the highest yearly tuition fee among the featured schools. With a comprehensive offering of 70 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and an impressive Ivy League enrollment rate, it is evident that this school provides students with abundant academic resources that effectively prepare them with relevant knowledge for their college journey.

• Groton School boasts an impressive student-teacher ratio of 4:1 and a student-counselor ratio of 24:1. This advantage allows students to receive enhanced individualized attention from both teachers and counselors, providing them with increased opportunities for superior recommendations and highly personalized college application services.

• According to available data and information, Horace Mann School demonstrates the highest rate of Ivy League enrollment of roughly 30% in recent years. This noteworthy achievement potentially indicates a strong affiliation between the school and Ivy League colleges, indicating a shared alignment of educational philosophies.

• Harvard-Westlake‘s abundance of sports resources is truly remarkable, encompassing a total of 90 teams across 28 sports. Whether the variety of sports or the number of teams, it stands far ahead. This aligns with Harvard-Westlake’s reputation as a powerhouse in sports, having produced numerous professional athletes. The sports teams include Freshman Team, Junior Varsity, and Varsity, ensuring that athletes receive ample training and practice at every stage.

• Phillips Academy Andover takes pride in its diverse and abundant collection of over 125 student clubs and organizations, providing a vibrant and inclusive platform for students to engage in various extracurricular interests and foster their personal growth, as well as the opportunities to show their leadership.

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Brief introduction of each school’s history and teaching philosophy/mission.

• Flintridge Preparatory School (Los Angeles): Flintridge Preparatory School is a nationally recognized nonsectarian coed school in La Cañada Flintridge, California, for grades 7 through 12. Founded in 1933, the school is an aspirational and caring community united around a collaborative culture of kindness, humor, and professional commitment to students, faculty, and staff. Their vision is to provide a school environment that values ethical and emotional development as equally important to intellectual development.

• Groton School (Boston): Located in Groton, Massachusetts, Groton School was established in 1884. The school was originally established as a boys’ boarding school and later became coeducational in 1975. Groton School’s mission is to inspire lives of character, scholarship, leadership, and service within a diverse, inclusive, and close-knit community.

• Harvard-Westlake School (Los Angeles): Harvard-Westlake School is a prestigious independent college preparatory school in Los Angeles, California. It was formed in 1989 by merging two renowned institutions: Harvard School for Boys founded in 1900 and Westlake School for Girls founded in 1904. The school has a solid educational philosophy that prioritizes academic excellence, personal growth, and community engagement. It continues to strive to be a diverse and inclusive community united by the joyful pursuit of educational excellence, living and learning with integrity, and purpose beyond ourselves.

• Horace Mann School (New York): Established in 1887, Horace Mann School is a renowned independent college preparatory school located in New York City. They prepare a diverse community of students to lead great and giving lives and strive to maintain a safe, secure, and caring environment in which mutual respect, mature behavior, and the life of the mind can thrive. They also recognize and celebrate individual achievements and contributions to the common good.

• Latin School of Chicago (Chicago): Their 134th year of teaching and learning begins with a sustained commitment to our liberal arts foundation and the promise to continually define excellence in education for the world their students will inhabit. Their vision challenges them to make learning even more personal, inquiry-based, and inclusive for every member of the Latin community–all Latin learners.

• Phillips Academy Andover (Boston): In its 1778 constitution, Phillips Academy is charged with ensuring its students learn “the great end and real business of living.” Inspired by this charge, they seek to cultivate in their students the capacities of analytical rigor, imaginative thought, and nuanced skepticism necessary to identify and attain an excellent and worthy end: human flourishing.

• The Harker School (California Bay Area): Founded in 1893, Harker’s journey from Manzanita Hall in Palo Alto to The Harker School of today in San Jose has been meaningful. They have educated the students of the Valley for 125 years with a deep commitment to academic excellence, personal integrity, and making the world a better place. With the mission of educating students for success at college and beyond, and fostering kindness, respect, and integrity within a safe and nurturing environment, they honor individuality, embrace diversity, and promote leadership and service, preparing students to take their place as global citizens.

• The Nueva School (California Bay Area): Nueva is an independent PreK–12 school where gifted learners discover and develop their passions, and learn to make choices that positively and profoundly impact the world. Since its founding in 1967, Nueva has set the standard for facilitating the growth and development of gifted learners, who demonstrate outstanding levels of academic aptitude (exceptional ability to reason and learn), intellectual engagement, and curiosity.

• Trinity School (New York): It is a college preparatory, coeducational independent day school for Grades K-12, located on the Upper West Side of New York City. Founded as a charity school at Trinity Church in 1709 for 40 students, it moved to its current location in 1895 and now has an average enrollment of 960. Trinity is no longer sponsored by a specific religious body, and the Trinity community is characterized by religious, racial, and ethnic diversity. It encourages conversations between students and teachers, gives students the tools for rigorous and passionate intellectual inquiry and self-expression, builds a diverse and welcoming community, and lets students engage the larger communities of the city, nation, and world.

• University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (Chicago): Founded by the renowned educator John Dewey in 1896 and located in Hyde Park, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools are among the nation’s best. Being part of the University of Chicago means that the importance of intellectual life – of thought and exploration – infuses everything they do across all aspects of our curriculum. Families who choose Lab care deeply about curiosity, inquiry, and creativity. All are attracted to a diverse community and an environment that creates and nurtures the habits of expansive thinking and complex problem-solving which they provide to all the students.