Best Private Schools in Atlanta – 2023

January 16, 2023

atlanta private schools, atlanta high schools

Across Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Henry, and Forsyth counties (among others) are more than 100 private high schools as well as a number of terrific public options. It’s quite easy to feel a bit overwhelmed as, with such a wealth of options, finding the best high school for your teen in the Greater Atlanta Area is no easy task. As parents, there are a multitude of considerations guiding your decision of which private schools in Atlanta will be best for your child. Ultimately, your decision 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 Atlanta will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools do at sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.

Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Atlanta 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 our Best Private Schools in Atlanta, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—each school’s:

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 profiled high schools.

#1 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

Fulton Science Academy – Atlanta

3035 Fanfare Way, Alpharetta, GA 30009

College Admissions Highlights: In the last three years, students have enrolled at each of the following colleges: UC Berkeley, Brown, Georgia Tech, UChicago, UMich, Georgetown, UCLA, USC, MIT, Johns Hopkins, NYU, and King’s College London.

Academic Highlights: 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 88:1 counselor-to-teacher ratio. 100% of students participate in AP exams; the pass rate is 91%. There are 19 AP offerings. Fulton had 2 National Merit Finalists in 2021.

Tuition (9-12): $14,250
Enrollment (seniors): 34
Average SAT Score: 1309
Average ACT Score: 29

#2 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

Pace Academy – Atlanta

966 W Paces Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327

College Admissions Highlights: Over the past four years, multiple students have matriculated in: NYU (3), Northwestern (6), Duke (3), Brown (4), Boston College (5), Tulane (16), UMich (10), Notre Dame (4), Vanderbilt (6), Princeton (3), Georgia Tech (20), Yale (2), and Wake Forest (18).

Academic Highlights: The Class of 2021 included 7 National Merit Commended Scholars, five Semifinalists, and five Finalists. 81% of faculty possesses an advanced degree. 83% of students score a 3 or above on AP exams; 53% score a 4 or 5. Students apply to an average of seven colleges and matriculated into 57 different colleges last year.

Tuition (9-12): $34,720
Enrollment (9-12): 475
Average SAT Score: 1341
Average ACT Score: 30

#3 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

The Westminster Schools – Atlanta

1424 W Paces Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327

College Admissions Highlights: Between 2018-2022, multiple students attended highly-selective schools such as: UNC Chapel Hill (28), UMich (16), WashU (20), Penn (24), Georgetown (16), UVA (48), Washington & Lee (21), Wake Forest (20), UT Austin (22), Stanford (16), Dartmouth (18), and Harvard (10).

Academic Highlights: 24 AP courses are offered. 82% participate in athletics; there are 75 total clubs. 43% are students of color. There were 150 AP Scholars in the Class of 2023. The Class of 2023 also contained 20 National Merit Finalists and 21 Semifinalists.

Tuition (9-12): $36,289
Enrollment (Pre-First-12): 1,882
Median SAT Score: 1430
Median ACT Score: 32

#4 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

The Galloway School – Atlanta

215 Chastain Park Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30342

College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, students headed to the following schools in large numbers: WashU (6), UGA (17), Auburn (10), BU (6), George Washington (6), Georgia Tech (23), NYU (7), Emory (12), Alabama (6), UC Boulder (6), UMiami (7), and Wake Forest (8).

Academic Highlights: 75% of the faculty have advanced degrees. 70 zip codes represented. 32% students of color. 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 16 AP courses are available. 17 music ensembles & 11 dedicated arts spaces. 80% of students play at least 1 sport.

Tuition (9-12): $32.725
Enrollment (seniors): 87
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1275-1415 (most recent available)
Mid-50% ACT Score: 25-33 (most recent available)

#5 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

The Lovett School – Atlanta

4075 Paces Ferry Rd NW, Atlanta, GA 30327

College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020-2023, Lovett grads have matriculated into: American, Amherst, BC, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, UVA, GaTech, UNC Chapel Hill, UMich, Cornell, Santa Clara, Auburn, USC, Stanford, and the University of South Carolina.

Academic Highlights: 26% students of color. 91% overall AP pass rate. Lovett has produced 161 AP Scholars. 22 AP courses are offered. Nearly 80% of upper school students participate in interscholastic athletics and take advantage of the fine arts offerings. Lovett has 6 academic distinctions: Global Online Academy, Diploma Distinctions, Senior Project’s, Júnior Internship Program, Studios and Maker Spaces, and Siempre Verde.

Tuition (9-12): $34,950
Enrollment (k-12): 1630
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1260-1440
Mid-50% ACT Score: 27-33

#6 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

The Paideia School – Atlanta

1509 S Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307

College Admissions Highlights: From 2021-2-22, multiple Paideia students have matriculated into: Brown (3), MIT (2), UCLA (3), Barnard (2), Northeastern (5), Colgate (2), NYU (5), USC (3), WashU (5), Georgia Tech (11), Yale (4), Wesleyan (3), and Georgetown (2).

Academic Highlights: 65% of faculty possess advanced degrees. 13-23% of recent classes have earned National Merit distinction. 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. AP courses are offered in biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, calculus AB, and calculus BC. 113 students from the Class of 2022 enrolled in 67 different colleges.

Tuition (9-12): $30,378
Enrollment (seniors): 113
Average SAT Score: Not Reported
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

#7 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

The Walker School – Atlanta

700 Cobb Pkwy N, Marietta, GA 30062

College Admissions Highlights: The class of 2023 had graduates who have attended American, Bowdoin, Case Western, Ga Tech, Mercer, NYU, Northeastern, Penn State, Rice, SCAD, UGA, UColorado, UMass, UNC Chapel Hill, UPenn, Vanderbilt, VaTech, and Washington & Lee.

Academic Highlights: The Walker School runs three international exchange programs. 27 AP courses are offered. 70% of high school students participate in one or more of 24 athletic teams. 70% of faculty have advanced degrees. 18 science and robotics labs. 8 Theatre productions a year & 5 art studios on campus.

Tuition (9-12): $29,210
Enrollment (3-12): 950
Average SAT Score: Not Reported
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

#8 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

Atlanta International School – Atlanta

2890 N Fulton Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30305

College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2022 matriculated into 56 different universities including: Babson College, Boston University, Claremont McKenna, Columbia, Emory, GWU, Georgia Tech, Middlebury, NYU, Northeastern, Tufts, UGA, USC, Wake Forest, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Offers a full IB Diploma Program. Students are matched with industry partners for summer internships. 91% of recent grads earned the IB Diploma. There are 90 nationalities represented within the student community.

Tuition (9-12): $30,510
Enrollment (seniors): 105
Average SAT Score: Not Reported
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

#9 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

Woodward Academy – Atlanta

1662 Rugby Ave, College Park, GA 30337

College Admissions Highlights: Over the past few years, graduates have gone on to attend schools such as Cornell, Columbia, Brown, BC, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, Middlebury, Notre Dame, Rice, Tufts, US Military Academy, UGA, UVA, Wake Forest, Yale, Penn, and Wellesley.

Academic Highlights: 25 AP classes are offered, including AP Japanese, Mandarin Chinese & German. Last year’s grads earned $25 million in scholarships. 60% students of color. Students have the opportunity to pursue a diploma distinction in Global Studies, Service Learning or Sustainability. 7:1 Student to teacher ratio.

Tuition (9-12): $33,950
Enrollment (seniors): 259
Average SAT Score: Not Reported
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

#10 Best Private Schools in Atlanta

Pinecrest Academy – Atlanta

955 Peachtree Pkwy, Cumming, GA 30041

College Admissions Highlights: In the last 15 years, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Grinnell, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, UChicago, Penn, UGA, USC, UVA, Villanova, and WashU.

Academic Highlights: 90% of the 2023 students took at least one AP class. There are 20 AP courses offered. Since 2007, the school has produced 8 National Merit Finalists and 22 Commended Scholars.57% of high school faculty members have advanced degrees. 97% of the 2023 students received the HOPE/Zell Miller Scholarship.

Tuition (9-12): $21,795
Enrollment (seniors): 37
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1040-1350
Mid-50% ACT Score: 20-30

We hope you found our blog on private schools in Atlanta 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.

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Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).