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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.