The Chicago Area is fortunate enough to have some of the best public high schools in the United States. However, if you are unable to access those particular institutions or feel that a private school would be more beneficial to your son or daughter, then you are also in luck. This is due to the fact that Chicago also has a number of fantastic private high school options. Of course, your decision-making process will need to balance your teen’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Chicago 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.

The following list is not representative of any type of ranking system, 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 best private high schools in Chicago, College Transitions will provide you with 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 delay, let’s look at ten of the best private schools in Chicago.

Francis W. Parker School

Location: 330 W Webster Ave

Tuition (9-12): $40,490

Enrollment (Pre-K-12): 945

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2019-2022, multiple students enrolled at the following schools: University of Michigan (19), UIUC (15), Northwestern (14), Tulane (13), UW Madison (12), UChicago (9), Tufts (9), Vanderbilt (9), WashU (7).

Academic Highlights:

  • 86% of staff members possess advanced degrees.
  • 46% identify as students of color.
  • 70% participate in the “no-cut” athletic program.
  • The Upper School has robust arts and Model UN programs.
  • 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Lake Forest Academy

Location: 1500 Kennedy Rd, Lake Forest

Tuition (9-12): $48,500 (Day); $66,570 (Boarding)

Enrollment (9-12): 435

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Median ACT Score: 32

College Admissions Highlights:

The most popular destinations for LFA graduates (2019-22) include: UIUC (16), Northwestern University (15), BU (13), Wake Forest University (11), University of Michigan (10), Duke University (10), and UC Berkeley (8).

Academic Highlights:

  • 71% of faculty have advanced degrees. .
  • 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio
  • The average class size is 12 students.
  • 22 AP courses are offered.
  • 36% of domestic students identify as students of color.

Latin School of Chicago

Location: 59 W North Blvd

Tuition (9-12): $40,970

Enrollment (9-12): 503

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

In one recent five-year stretch, the following number of students enrolled in prominent universities: UMich (34), Northwestern (31), NYU (21), Penn (17), University of Chicago (17), WashU (16), Yale (13), USC (12), Tufts (12), Columbia (11), Brown (11), and Princeton (9).

Academic Highlights:

  • 87% of faculty members hold advanced degrees.
  • 50 clubs and 20 competitive sports teams are available.
  • 39% consider themselves students of color.
  • 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
  • Course offerings include Mandarin, AP Calculus, and AP Chemistry.

Loyola Academy

Location: 1100 Laramie Ave, Wilmette

Tuition (9-12): $18,350

Enrollment (seniors): 478

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 28

College Admissions Highlights:

The Class of 2022 sent students to the following institutions: Amherst, Bates, Boston College, Bowdoin, Colby, Colgate, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, NYU, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Villanova, WashU, and Wellesley.

Academic Highlights:

  • 98% of the Class of 2022 went on to a 4-year college.
  • The Class of 2022 produced 6 National Merit Finalists, 6 Semifinalists, and 10 Commended Scholars.
  • 20% of students participate in one of two distinctive honors programs that emphasize the humanities or math/science.
  • 82% of AP students earned a 3 or better on the exam.
  • 24 AP courses are available.

Morgan Park Academy

Location: 2153 W 111th St

Tuition (9-12): $12,625-$25.250.

Enrollment (9-12): 130

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Over the last five years, students have gone on to enter some of the nation’s top colleges including Amherst, BC, BU, Brown, Carleton, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, John Hopkins, Kenyon, Lehigh, Macalester, NYU, Rice, Union, University of Chicago, Penn, USC, Wake Forest, and Williams.

Academic Highlights:

  • 10 is the average class size.
  • 76% of teachers hold advanced degrees.
  • The average unweighted GPA earned is 3.48.
  • 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
  • 17 AP courses are offered.

North Shore Country Day

Location:  310 Green Bay Rd, Winnetka

Tuition (9-12): $38,305

Enrollment (Upper School): 219

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Two or more students from the Classes of 2018-2022 went on to matriculate into Boston College, Boston University, Colby, Colgate, Davidson, Denison, Emory, Georgetown, Kenyon, UMiami, Middlebury, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Tufts, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, UVA, WashU, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

  • 19 AP courses are offered.
  • 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
  • The average class size is 14.
  • Theater, a Senior Service Project, and Interim Week are among the unique requirements at North Shore.
  • 63% of the faculty possess advanced degrees. .

Rochelle Zell Jewish High School

Location: 1095 Lake Cook Rd, Deerfield

Tuition (9-12): $31,800

Enrollment (9-12): 150

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 29

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent college acceptances include Amherst, Brandeis, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon, Colby, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Grinnell, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins, Macalester, MIT, Middlebury, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Rice, Stanford, Tufts, UCLA, UChicago, USC, Vanderbilt, Wesleyan, Yale, and Yeshiva.

Academic Highlights:

  • Students took 99 AP tests in 2022 and 59% were a 4 or 5.
  • 29 of 42 seniors in the Class of 2023 possess a GPA of 3.7 or better. .
  • Two members of the Class of 2023 were named National Merit Finalists.
  • 85% of the faculty hold advanced degrees.
  • All students study Tanach/Bible, Jewish History, Modern Jewish Thought, and Talmud.

St. Ignatius College Prep

Location: 1076 Roosevelt Rd

Tuition (9-12): $20,900

Enrollment (seniors): 375

Average SAT Score: 1337

Average ACT Score: 29

College Admissions Highlights:

In 2022 alone, more than one graduate enrolled in the following colleges: UW-Madison (16), the University of Michigan (10), Notre Dame (7), UMiami (7), Boston College (7), USC (5), NYU (5), UChicago (4), Wake Forest (4), UCLA (2), and Northwestern (2).

Academic Highlights:

  • The student-to-faculty ratio is 15:1.
  • In the last five years, the school has produced an average of 6 National Merit Finalists and 22 Commended Scholars each year.
  • 77% of students have achieved a 3 or higher on an AP test.
  • The school offers 25 AP courses and 87 honors courses.
  • 82% of faculty members hold advanced degrees.

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools

Location:  1362 E 59th St

Tuition (9-12): $40,488

Enrollment (9-12): 630

Average SAT Score: 1430

Average ACT Score: 31.4

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2019-2022, numerous grads have attended UChicago itself (58) as well as UMich (17), Northwestern (15), Yale (15), WashU (14), Harvard (13), Carnegie Mellon (10), Barnard (10), Macalester (9), Columbia (8), Brown (8), and Penn (8).

Academic Highlights:

  • Affiliated with the University of Chicago.
  • The median GPA is 3.8.
  • 10 AP courses are offered.
  • Over 60 languages are spoken in students’ homes.
  • UChicago professors routinely visit U-High classes.

Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart

Location:  760 E Westleigh Rd, Lake Forest

Tuition (9-12): $31,900 (Day); $63,700 (7-Day Boarding)

Enrollment (seniors): 145

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent college acceptances include Barnard, Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Colgate, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, NYU, Northwestern, UChicago, Notre Dame, Villanova, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Williams.

Academic Highlights:

  • Woodlands Academy is an all-girls institution.
  • The average class size is just 10 students.
  • 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
  • 89% of faculty possess advanced degrees in their fields.
  • 21 AP subjects are offered.

Private Schools in Chicago

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