Best Private Schools in NJ – 2024
January 11, 2024
There are more than 250 private schools within the state of New Jersey. There are also numerous fantastic public options in the Garden State as well. In fact, 8 of the top 100 nationally ranked (by US News) high schools are located in NJ. With no shortage of solid options available, there are numerous factors that will likely guide your decision-making process. Ultimately, you will need to balance your teen’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in NJ will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools fare at sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in NJ
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in New Jersey that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) The Lawrenceville School
2) Blair Academy
3) Newark Academy
4) Delbarton School
5) Dwight-Englewood School
6) Kent Place School
7) Princeton Day School
8) The Pingry School
9) Stuart Country Day School
10) The Peddie School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in New Jersey list is a selective and criteria-based process. However, the order in which the schools appear is not representative of any further ranking; the numbering is solely intended to enhance the ease of navigating this resource. All of the schools profiled below have a history of sending graduates to the top colleges in the country. For each of the best private high schools in NJ, College Transitions will provide you with the:
- Location
- Tuition (9-12)
- Enrollment (9-12)
- Average SAT Score
- Average ACT Score
- Senior Class Size
- College Admissions Highlights
- Academic Highlights
Without further ado, let’s look at the best private high schools in NJ.
The Lawrenceville School – NJ
- 2500 Main St, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
College Admissions Highlights: In the last five years, a sampling of matriculations includes the following amazing results: Brown (22), Carnegie Mellon (13), Duke (23), Cornell (32), Columbia (26), NYU (46), Princeton (39), Tufts (23), Georgetown (41), Harvard (26), UChicago (21), USC (19), Penn (40), and Yale (25).
Academic Highlights: Has 9 scientific research partners and 5 highly-selective summer research programs. 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Incredible 700-acre campus with 18 residential houses. Offers a wealth of experiential learning options. Guided by “Harkness Learning” which involves in-depth discussion, active listening, and valuing multiple perspectives.
Blair Academy – NJ
- 2 Park St, Blairstown, NJ 07825
College Admissions Highlights: Multiple graduates in 2023 went on to enroll at BC (4), Brown (2), Bucknell (2), Columbia (2), Georgetown, NYU (3), Northeastern (3), Princeton (3), Penn (3), Sanford (2), US Naval Academy (3), UMiami (4), USC (3), UVA (5), Villanova (5), and Yale (3).
Academic Highlights: Blair has a 14% acceptance rate. 83% of students are boarding. The average class size is 12 students. 17% are international students. 90% of faculty live on campus. 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio. They offer 56 AP, Honors, and Post-AP courses. 30 varsity teams. Off electives such as film production, architecture, robotics and digital music.
Newark Academy – NJ
- 91 S Orange Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039
College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2023, multiple grads have matriculated into USC (11), UChicago (6), Tufts (6), Tulane (4), BC (8), Cornell (18), NYU (15), Harvard (9), WashU (12), Columbia (9), Yale (4), Duke (14), Georgetown (9), McGill (5), UMich (8), Penn (12), Northwestern (14), and Princeton (3).
Academic Highlights: The average class size is 14. 95% of the Class of 2024 is enrolled in at least one IB course. 63% identify as students of color. 87% of teachers have earned advanced degrees. There are 33 National Merit Commended Scholars and 3 Semifinalists in the Class of 2024. 90% scored a 3 or higher on the AP tests. More than 60 student clubs and activities are available for upper school students.
Delbarton School – NJ
- Trinity Hall, 230 Mendham Rd, Morristown, NJ 07960
College Admissions Highlights: In the last three years, three or more graduates have enrolled at Amherst, BC, Bowdoin, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Hamilton, Michigan, Middlebury, NYU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn, Princeton, USC, Vanderbilt, UVA, William & Mary, Williams, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: This is an all-boys school. 73 faculty members hold advanced degrees. 27% of students identify as people of color. 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 27 AP & Honors courses. 95% of students take one or more AP course. Offer programs for French, Spanish, Latin, Italian, and Arabic. 11 musical and theater performing groups. 85% of students play on interscholastic athletic teams.
Dwight-Englewood School – NJ
- 315 E Palisade Ave, Englewood, NJ 07631
College Admissions Highlights: Large numbers of students from the Classes of 2021-2023 landed at Babson (4), BU (10), Cornell (9), Emory (12), Lehigh (12), NYU (13), Northeastern (18), Purdue (3), Tulane (9), UMich (16), Penn (13), USC (6), Wisconsin (8), WashU (10), and Yale (4).
Academic Highlights: 64% earned 4 or above on the AP exams. 15 members of the Class of 2024 are AP Scholars, 10 are AP Scholars with Honors, and 5 are AP Scholars with Distinction. 77% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 45% are students of color. An integrated Math Modeling and Biology/Chemistry approach is utilized.
Kent Place School – NJ
- 42 Norwood Ave, Summit, NJ 07902
College Admissions Highlights: Looking at the Class of 2023 (77 total students), multiple students went on to enroll at BC (3), Brown, Bucknell (2), Columbia (3), Cornell (3), Duke (4), Hamilton (2), MIT (2), NYU, Northeastern (4), Notre Dame (5), Penn (3), Tufts, Tulane (2), UVA (2), and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Kent Place School is an all-girls institution. 54% of students identify as people of color. 7:1 Student to faculty ratio. 23 Ap Courses are offered at Kent Place. 2 members of the Class of 2023 were National Merit Finalists & 61% were designated AP Scholars. 80% earn a 3 or higher on AP exams. 11 students of the class of 2023 will play athletics in college.
Princeton Day School – NJ
- 650 Great Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2021-2023, Grads from PDS have attended these top schools: Babson (3), Brown (5), Columbia (3), Davidson (3), Hamilton (4), Harvard (4), NYU (10), Pomona (2), Princeton (13), Skidmore (3), Penn (9), Vassar (4), UMiami (5), and WashU (7).
Academic Highlights: 56% identify as students of color. The Research Experience Program allows juniors to gain laboratory experience over the summer. 70% of the 140 faculty members hold advanced degrees. Average class size ranges from 5-17. Those who complete a subject at the highest level are eligible to apply to take courses at Princeton University. 17 AP courses are on the menu.
The Pingry School – NJ
- 131 Martinsville Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020-2023, multiple students attended the following schools: Notre Dame (17), WashU (15), Georgetown (15), Duke (13), Brown (12), Colgate (12), Penn (11), UChicago (9), Northwestern (9), Vanderbilt (7), Yale (7), Dartmouth (7), Johns Hopkins (5), Stanford (5), and Harvard (4).
Academic Highlights: 56% identify as students of color. 78% of faculty members have an advanced degree. 19 AP courses are offered. 30% of the Class of 2024 earned some level of National Merit award. 21 Athletic teams and 5 disciplines in the arts are offered to students. Seniors participate in an Independent Senior Project in a chosen field.
Stuart Country Day School – NJ
- 1200 Stuart Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540
College Admissions Highlights: For the class of 2023, seniors enrolled in the following schools: BU, BU, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Emory, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, UNC Chapel Hill, Northwestern, Purdue, Vanderbilt, UVA. Wake Forest, and Worcester Polytechnic.
Academic Highlights: Stuart Country Day is an all-girls institution. There are 18 AP courses offered. 70% of faculty possess advanced degrees. 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Offer 4 leaderships endorsements in STEM, Arts & Humanities, Social Justice, and Business & Entrepreneurship. 45 Clubs in middle and upper school. 11 interscholastic sports & 25 student performances per year.
The Peddie School – NJ
- 201 S Main St, Hightstown, NJ 08520
College Admissions Highlights: In the classes of 2021-2023, two or more Peddie students have matriculated to BC, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Northeastern, Princeton, Swarthmore, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMich, UPenn, USC, Wake Forest, and WashU.
Academic Highlights: 90% of faculty live on campus. Students come from 19 states and 17 countries. 51% US Students of color. 150 courses are offered. 34 AP and Honors courses are available. 181 AP Scholars in the class of 2023. 94% of students scored a 3 or better on AP Exams. 6:1 student-to-teacher ratio with an average class size of 12.
The Best Private Schools in NJ – Final Thoughts
We hope you found our blog on private schools in NJ to be helpful. All high school students and families may wish to explore further information regarding the college search and admissions process at our Dataverse, Blog, and List-Building Tool.
