Best Private Schools in San Diego – 2024
January 12, 2024
San Diego Area parents looking for the right private school for their children are likely interested in assessing the college counseling and college matriculation statistics of all prospective private high schools. This is even relevant information even for parents of an elementary or middle school student as, ideally, your child will continue at the same private institution for the bulk of their K-12 experience. Ultimately, you will need to balance your student’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in San Diego will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the best private schools in San Diego fare at sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in San Diego
Here’s a quick preview of the schools that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) Army and Navy Academy
2) Cathedral Catholic High School
3) Francis Parker School
4) La Jolla Country Day School
5) Pacific Ridge School
6) San Diego Jewish Academy
7) Santa Fe Christian Schools
8) The Bishop’s School
9) The Cambridge School
10) The Grauer School
The following list is not representative of any type of ranking system (the order is alphabetical), but rather, is simply intended to provide prospective students and their parents with a detailed overview of each school. All of the schools profiled below have a history of sending graduates to the top colleges in the country. For each of the 10 schools, College Transitions will provide you with:
- Location
- Tuition (9-12)
- Enrollment (9-12)
- Average SAT Score
- Average ACT Score
- Senior Class Size
- College Admissions Highlights
- Academic Highlights
Now, without further delay, let’s look at the ten best private schools in San Diego.
Army and Navy Academy – San Diego
- 2605 Carlsbad Blvd, Carlsbad, CA 92008
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates have gained acceptance into the US Naval,, Military, Air Force, and Coast Guard Academies plus ROTC universities Norwich, The Citadel, VMI. Graduates have also attended prestigious universities such as UCLA UC Berkeley, Cal Tech, Pomona, Stanford, USC, Purdue, UMichigan, WashU, GaTech, VaTech, BC, BU, Cornell, Columbia, MIT, NYU, Johns Hopkins, and RIT.
Academic Highlights: All boys institution. JROTC program has 5 levels of Leadership Education Training. 19 AP courses are offered. 90% of cadets are boarded on campus. STEM focused core classes, alongside electives like computer science and aviation (students can get pilot’s license while attending high school).
Cathedral Catholic High School – San Diego
- 5555 Del Mar Heights Rd, San Diego, CA 92130
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates in 2023 were accepted at BC, BU, Dartmouth, Davidson, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Pepperdine, Purdue, Stanford, Notre Dame, Oberlin, UMich, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UW Madison, Penn, Vanderbilt, and WashingtonU.
Academic Highlights: Dual enrollment courses are offered through MiraCosta College. 26 AP and 32 honors courses are available. 156 students in 2023 were recognized as AP Scholars. 76% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or higher. Over 100 campus clubs and organizations. Over 30 athletic teams and sports available fore students.
Francis Parker School – Dan Diego
- 6501 Linda Vista Rd, San Diego, CA 92111
College Admissions Highlights: In one recent 4-year stretch, students have matriculated into Amherst, Barnard, Bates, BU, Brown, Claremont McKenna, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, JHU, MIT, Middlebury, NYU, Northwestern, Scripps, Stanford, Swarthmore, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UMich, Penn, UVA, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 86% of AP students earned a 3 or above. The average teacher has 16 years of experience. 88% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 42% students of color.
La Jolla Country Day School – San Diego
- 9490 Genesee Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037
College Admissions Highlights: From 2021-2023, multiple students enrolled at the following highly-selective schools: Barnard (3), BC (3), BU (7), Carnegie Mellon (5), Cornell (4), Johns Hopkins (2), NYU (10), Northeastern (12), Pomona (3), Princeton (2), Stanford (5), Tufts (3), UC Berkeley (9), UCLA (5), UMichigan (3), and Yale (3).
Academic Highlights: Average class size for upper and middle school 16-18. 90 zip codes represented in student body. 62% faculty members with postgraduate degrees. 28 AP classes are offered. 87% students scored a 3 or higher. 17 introductory courses in the arts. 90% of upper school student play one or more of the 38 varsity, JV, or novice athletic teams.
Pacific Ridge School – San Diego
- 6269 El Fuerte St, Carlsbad, CA 92009
College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2023, students from Pacific Ridge enrolled at: Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC, Carleton, Purdue, UMich, Notre Dame, WashU, Carnegie Mellon, Washington & Lee, UMiami, Wake Forest, BC, BU, Northeastern, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Student-teacher ration 7:1. Over 15 AP or post-AP courses are offered. 82 students scored 3 or above on AP exams. 9 recognized by National Merit scholarship corporation. 90% participate in the Global Travel Program. 76% of teachers have advanced degrees. 43 Athletic teams across 19 sports. 45 Arts courses offered. 29 service learning groups.
San Diego Jewish Academy – San Diego
- 11860 Carmel Creek Rd, San Diego, CA 92130
College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2022 went on to enroll at Babson, Bentley, King’s College London, NYU, Northeastern, SMU, UCLA, UMich, USC, the University of Toronto, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Academic Highlights: 59% of AP testers scored a 3 or better. The Class of 2023 included two National Merit Commended Scholars and two National Hispanic Recognition Award Recipients. 75-minute classes meet every other day. 15 AP courses are available. They also run 17 honors courses.
Santa Fe Christian Schools – San Diego
- 838 Academy Dr, Solana Beach, CA 92075
College Admissions Highlights: Students from SFC have enrolled in the following schools: BC, Caltech, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Notre Dame, NYU, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Princeton, Vanderbilt, USC, Rice, Stanford, UVA, Wake Forest, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: There are 19 AP courses offered. Average class size for k-12 is 20 students per class. Over 20 athletic teams. Students can participate in Instrumental, Vocal, Media, Visual, and Theatre Arts.
The Bishop’s School – San Diego
- 7607 La Jolla Blvd, La Jolla, CA 92037
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2019 and 2023, more than 3 students entered: Amherst (5), Case Western (4), Claremont McKenna (6), Cornell (9), Dartmouth (4), Duke (7), Georgetown (10), Harvard (9), MIT (12), Northeastern (14), Stanford (12), Tufts (4), UC Berkeley (14), UCLA (14), UChicago (25), Penn (9), USC (36), and Yale (10).
Academic Highlights: Students of color made up more than 50% of the student population. 80% of students play a varsity or JV sport. Honors courses are offered in place of AP, there are 22 AP-equivalent courses and 14 Advanced Honors equivalent to “post-AP”. Over 70 clubs and affinity space give students the opportunity to engage and serve.
The Cambridge School – San Diego
- 12855 Black Mountain Rd, San Diego, CA 92129
College Admissions Highlights: The graduates of The Cambridge School for 2018-2023 have attended schools such as Claremont McKenna, College of William & Mary, George Washington, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh, Pitzer, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UChicago, Notre Dame, and Wesleyan.
Academic Highlights: Average class size is 19. The class of 2024 had 3 National Merit Semi-Finalists and 4 commended scholars. 90% of faculty hold advanced degrees. Students complete 4 years of Latin. Participation in Debate Team, athletics and house programs are co-curricular distinctions.
The Grauer School – San Diego
- 1500 S El Camino Real, Encinitas, CA 92024
College Admissions Highlights: Recent college acceptances included Amherst, Bates, Barnard, Berklee College of Music, Brown, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Emory, John Hopkins, Kenyon, Macalester, NYU, Pitzer, Rice, Swarthmore, USC, Wellesley, and Williams.
Academic Highlights: 86% of faculty members have an advanced degree. 86% of students take advantage of Grauer’s offerings in the arts. 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Seniors complete a portfolio and then present a Thesis Defense. 70% student body participation in team sports. Students complete a minimum of 50 hours of community service.
Final Thoughts – Best Private High Schools in San Diego
We hope you found our blog on private schools in San Diego 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.
