Parents considering a private school must be familiar with these two names: Harker and Neuva. These institutions are widely recognized as two of the most prestigious private schools in the United States. Today, Think Academy will provide you with a comprehensive comparative analysis between Harker and Nueva, delving into five key aspects.

Important Conclusions

Data as of June 1, 2023

• Faculty: Harker School demonstrates a higher proportion of faculty members holding advanced degrees in comparison to Nueva School. On the other hand, Nueva School shines in terms of student-teacher ratio and student-counselor ratio, providing an environment that fosters individualized attention and guidance.

• Academic Scores: While there is a slight difference in SAT Math and ACT scores between Harker School and Nueva School, it is noteworthy that Nueva School significantly outperforms Harker School in terms of SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) scores.

• College Matriculation: While the exact enrollment numbers for Nueva School remain undisclosed, it is evident that Ivy league schools, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, and UCLA consistently attract substantial interest during each application season. Additionally, Harker School consistently maintains a larger senior class size and has witnessed a higher number of students successfully admitted to these prestigious universities compared to Nueva School in the past three years.

• Extracurricular Activities: Both Harker School and Nueva School place a greater emphasis on academic excellence rather than their sports programs, which is reflected in their relatively limited number of sports teams compared to other renowned private institutions.

• Tuition and Other Fees: When considering the cumulative tuition expenses from TK/PK to Grade 12, it is obvious that Nueva School’s cost is higher than that of Harker School. However, it is important to note that both schools’ costs may pose a financial burden for families. 

School Overview

• The Harker School: Founded in 1893, Harker has 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. Even though Harker is not for the gifted and talented only, it still requires parents to submit their kids’ IQ test scores. Typically, applicants with an IQ score exceeding 110 are eligible to progress to the subsequent stages of the application procedure. The institution employs differentiated instruction, grouping students into classes based on their individual learning abilities. Furthermore, Harker is particularly renowned and favored among Asian families due to its substantial investment in STEM curricula.

• The Nueva School: Nueva is an independent PreK–12 school, which has set the standard for facilitating the growth and development of gifted learners. These students exhibit exceptional academic aptitude, possess a remarkable level of emotional intelligence, thrive in interpersonal communication, harbor a diverse array of interests and hobbies, and embody unique attributes. As a quintessential school for the gifted, Nueva also employs a comprehensive evaluation process, including an IQ test, to identify prospective students who meet the criteria for admission. Normally students who are enrolled in Nueva have an IQ score above 140.

Comparison Across 5 Key Aspects

1. Faculty

	Percentage of Instructors with Advanced Degrees	Student-Teacher Ratio	Student-Counselor Ratio	Faculty Situation
Harker	83%	9:1	38:1	427 faculty, 24 of them have Ph.D. (5.6%)
Nueva	80%	6:1	29:1	236 faculty and staff, 79 of them in the upper school, 17 faculty have Ph.D. (7.2%)

• Harker is equipped with highly skilled teachers. 83% of the instructors have advanced degrees and 24 of the faculty hold Ph.D. degrees. Harker offers regular counseling classes every week during the second semester of 11th and 12th grade, with a team of up to five dedicated counselors. Students can get customized college counseling services during those classes which help the students know themselves better and amplify their own strengths during the college application process.

• Nueva School boasts a superior student-teacher ratio and student-counselor ratio compared to most private schools in the US, along with a higher percentage of faculty members holding Ph.D. degrees. The advantage of a lower student-teacher ratio is that it allows for increased individual attention from instructors and counselors. Consequently, students can benefit from more personalized college application services, detailed recommendations, and comprehensive guidance.

2. Academic Scores

	Mean EBRW/Math scores	ACT	AP Scores of 4 and 5	Mean GPA
Harker	EBRW: 737; Math: 761	33	92%	4.12
Nueva	EBRW: 760; Math: 770	34	/	/

3. College Matriculation

From 2020 to 2022, Harker had approximately 192 graduates each year. Based on the college matriculation list and numbers available on its website, we calculated the matriculation rates for the 8 Ivy League schools, as well as MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCLA during these three years. Unfortunately, Nueva only provides information about its roughly 117 seniors annually and does not specify the number of matriculations for the aforementioned 12 schools.

College matriculation rate in Harker from 2020 to 2022:

College Name	Matriculation Rate 2020- 2022
Brown University	0.69%
Columbia University	2.6%
Cornell University	2.3%
Dartmouth College	0.69%
Harvard University	2.1%
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	2.8%
Princeton University	1.2%
Stanford University	4.7%
University of California, Berkeley	3.5%
University of California, Los Angeles	3.1%
University of Pennsylvania	2.3%
Yale University	1.2%

Matriculation number in Nueva from 2018 to 2022:

College Name	Matriculation Number 2018 – 2022
Brown University	10+
Columbia University	10+
Cornell University	5+
Dartmouth College	5+
Harvard University	5+
Massachusetts Institute of Technology	5+
Princeton University	5+
Stanford University	10+
University of California, Berkeley	10+
University of California, Los Angeles	1+
University of Pennsylvania	10+
Yale University	5+

Although specific enrollment numbers for Nueva School are not disclosed, it is apparent that Ivy League institutions, along with Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, consistently generate significant interest among applicants. In contrast, Harker School consistently maintains a larger senior class size and has witnessed a higher rate of successful admissions to these prestigious universities over the past three years.

4. Extracurricular Activities

• Harker has 40 teams across 15 sports but athletics is not Harker’s strength. There are 65 different clubs in Harker. The performing arts program is a major feature of this school. 45% of high school students choose to take performing arts courses, and there are an average of 11 on-campus performances each year.

• Nueva may not excel in terms of sports teams, as it currently offers only 16 teams across 10 sports.. In Nueva, students have 60 different clubs in the Upper School. Also, Nueva holds the “Annual School Trip” in the same period of time every year. Students from various age groups are divided into different destinations for the purpose of allowing each student to experience Nueva’s motto of “Learn by doing. Learn by caring.”

5. Tuition and Other Fees

2023-2024 Harker Tuition:

2023-2024 Nueva Tuition and Trips Fees:

• Harker sets higher tuition fees for students in the TK to Grade 4 and Grade 9 to 12 cohorts compared to Nueva. Conversely, in Grades 5 to 8, attending Nueva requires greater financial investment in comparison to Harker.

• The mean annual tuition at Harker is approximately $51,484, whereas at Nueva, it amounts to roughly $54,719 per year. Moreover, if you choose to enroll your children at Harker for the entirety of their TK to Grade 12 education, the cumulative expense would amount to an estimated total of $669,300. Similarly, opting for Nueva from Pre-K to Grade 12 would result in a projected expenditure of $711,359. Those figures don’t include application fees, IQ test fees, textbooks fees, uniforms fees, or donations. When considering all these fees and tuition, the total cost can approach nearly a million dollars, which may pose a significant financial challenge for many average households, unless they receive financial assistance.

If you are considering applying or transferring your children to top-tier private schools, we encourage you to explore the following past blogs:

1. Ten Great Private Schools for Ivy League Admission
2. 5 Big Findings About 10 Top Private High Schools
3. Stratford and Challenger School Comparison

If you need more insights and guidance to make informed decisions about your children’s educational journey, feel free to contact us: info@thethinkacademy.com.