Best Private Schools in Dallas – 2025

February 23, 2025

If you are raising kids in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area and find yourself considering private school, you are lucky to have dozens of quality options. For the teen in your family, selecting the right private high school will be of particular importance. Are you looking for a boarding school or day school? Are you looking for a school with a religious affiliation? In the end, 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 Dallas 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 Dallas

Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in Dallas that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.

1) Cistercian Preparatory School

2) St. Mark’s School of Texas

3) The Hockaday School

4) Greenhill School

5) Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas

6) Parish Episcopal School

7) Fort Worth Country Day School

8) The Episcopal School of Dallas

9) Trinity Valley School

10) Alcuin School

Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Dallas 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 10 schools, 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 schools in Dallas.

#1 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Cistercian Preparatory School – Dallas

3660 Cistercian Rd, Irving, TX 75039

College Admissions Highlights: A recent 5 year admission sample found students have been admitted to: BU, Bucknell, Case Western, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, GaTech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, Purdue, Rice, Stanford, Trinity, Tufts, US Military Acad, US Naval Academy, UC Berkeley, UChicago, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, USC, UVA, Vanderbilt, Villanova, WashU, William & Mary, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Cistercian Prep is an all boys school. 87% of faculty have master’s degrees; 15% possess doctorates. 45% of students are ethnically diverse. 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students take an all-honors curriculum; no AP courses are offered but many students take AP Exams. Recently, 95% had average score of 3 or higher. Offer 8 sports with 13 teams. Community service is an important part of the learning environment.

Tuition (9-12): $25,700
Enrollment (Seniors): 43
Average SAT Score: 1443
Average ACT Score: 32

#2 Best Private Schools in Dallas

St. Mark’s School of Texas – Dallas

10600 Preston Rd, Dallas, Texas 75230

College Admissions Highlights: A recent three year sample saw students of St. Mark’s enroll at UT Austin (35), SMU (16), Texas A&M (15), Northwestern (9), Brown (9), Harvard (7), Rice (7), Washington U (7), UChicago (6), Johns Hopkins (6), UVA (6), Dartmouth (5), Penn (5), Baylor (4), Georgetown (4), NYU (4), Princeton (4), Purdue (4), Stanford (4), US Military Acad (4), USC (4), Columbia (3), Duke (3), MIT (3), Miami (3), US Air Force (3), Vanderbilt (3), Villanova (3), Wake Forest (3), Washington & Lee (3), and Yale (3).

Academic Highlights: St. Mark’s School of Texas is an all boys day school. 25 AP Courses offered. 99% earned a 3 or higher. 8:1 Student-to-teacher ratio. The average class size is 15. 52% of those enrolled are students of color. 16 sports with 46 teams. 85% of upper school students play at least one sport. 56 fine arts courses.

Tuition (9-12): $40,735
Enrollment (seniors): 102
Median SAT Score (mid 50%): 1400-1570
Median ACT Score (mid 50%): 34-35

#3 Best Private Schools in Dallas

The Hockaday School – Dallas

11600 Welch Rd, Dallas, TX 75229

College Admissions Highlights: A three year sample of Hockaday graduate matriculations include: Amherst, BU, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Claremont McKenna, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Colby, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Middlebury, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Penn State, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, UT Austin, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UChicago, Michigan, Penn, USC, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Villanova, Washington U, Wellesley, William & Mary, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Hockaday is an all-girls school. 64 of 128 teachers possess master’s degrees; 19 hold doctoral degrees. 52% identify as students of color. 17 AP courses. 96% of AP test-takers score a 3 or better. 19 National Merit Finalist. Hockaday has an Institute for Social Impact which offers courses and community service to teach students to lead lives with purpose.

Tuition (9-12): $39,510
Enrollment (9-12): 500
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1410-1560
Mid-50% ACT Score: 30-34

#4 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Greenhill School – Dallas

4141 Spring Valley Rd, Addison, TX 75001

College Admissions Highlights: A recent 4 year sample saw graduates matriculate to American, Baylor, BU, Brown, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Grinell, Harvard, Howard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Middlebury, NYU, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Rice, RIT, Stanford, Tufts, UCLA, U Chicago, U Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Wesleyan, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: 58% self-identified student of color. The average class size is 18 in the upper school. 56.6% of faculty hold advanced degrees. 22 honors/advanced and 15 AP courses are available. Capstone projects provide a small amount of seniors to do a deep dive into an intellectual interest. 24 athletic teams, over 10 art disciplines, and 19+ clubs for students extracurricular involvement.

Tuition (9-12): $39,770
Enrollment (Seniors): 124
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1310-1520
Mid-50% ACT Score: 31-35

#5 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas – Dallas

12345 Inwood Rd, Dallas, TX 75244

College Admissions Highlights: Over the last five years, graduates from Jesuit include: American, Baylor, BC, Brandeis, Brown, Cal Tech, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Middlebury, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Princeton, Rice, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tufts, US Military Acad, UC Berkeley, UCLA, U Chicago, U Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Wake Forest, Washington U, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: This is an all-male institution. 8:1 Student-Teacher ratio. 28 AP courses are offered with nearly 500 students recognized by the College Board in the last 5 years. 100+ Student clubs and extracurricular activities. 20 Varsity sports offerings with 127 state championships since 1954. 100% of student participate in extracurricular activities. 24 consecutive Years Debate has placed top 20 in the state. 22 graduates have received a Congressional appointment o attend on the nations five service academies.

Tuition (9-12): $25,650
Enrollment (9-12): 1140
Average SAT Score: 1264
Average ACT Score: 26

#6 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Parish Episcopal School – Dallas

4101 Sigma Rd, Dallas, TX 75244

College Admissions Highlights: Students from the last three graduating classes went on to matriculate into American, Baylor, Berklee College of Music, BU, Bucknell, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, GaTech, Harvard, Hofstra, Kenyon, Loyola, Marquette, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Princeton, Rice, SCAD, Stanford, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA,U Chicago, U Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, Tennessee, UT Austin, Villanova, Wake Forest, Washington U, Wellesley, WPI, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: 17 AP classes are offered. 89% of students scored a 3 or higher on the AP Exams. 6 National Merit awards. 30% identify as students of color. 15 students will become college athletes. Parish has a 55,000 sq ft performing arts center. There are over 50 teams participating in a wide array of sports from PreK-12.

Tuition (9-12): $37,500
Enrollment (seniors): 116
Mean SAT Score: 1224
Median ACT Score: 27.7

#7 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Fort Worth Country Day School – Dallas

4200 Country Day Ln, Fort Worth, TX 76109

College Admissions Highlights: Students over the last 4 years from Fort Worth Country Day have gone on to attend: Baylor, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Cornell, Colorado School of Mines, Dartmouth, Duke, George Washington, Harvard, Howard, NYU, Northwestern, Purdue, Rice, SMU, Trinity, Tulane, UCLA, UChicago, UGA, U Michigan, Penn, USC, UT Austin, UVA, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, William & Mary, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: 21 AP courses are available. 88% of test takers earned a 3 or above on AP exams. 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Average class size is 12 students. Senior Capstone Project allows an interdisciplinary student with faculty and mentor. 30 JV and varsity athletic teams. Full visual and performing arts program with ISAS arts festival each spring.

Tuition (9-12): $29,510
Enrollment (seniors): 91
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1165-1325
Mid-50% ACT Score: 23-30

#8 Best Private Schools in Dallas

The Episcopal School of Dallas – Dallas

4100 Merrell Rd, Dallas, TX 75229

College Admissions Highlights: In a recent four year sample, The Episcopal School of Dallas students enrolled at the likes of American, Barnard, Boston University, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Hamilton, Harvard, John Hopkins, NYU, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, and Vanderbilt.

Academic Highlights: 84% of students score 3 or better on AP tests. 32 AP Courses offered. No classes are larger than 18 students. Upper school performing arts program has 3-4 performances annually. 21 AP Artists in the class of 2022. 60+ team fielded in 19 sports for grades 7-12 with 7 team championships in the last five years.

Tuition (9-12): $40,600
Enrollment (seniors): ~110
Average SAT Score: Over one-third scored 700 or better on each section of the exam.
Average ACT Score: Roughly 50% of students score 31 or above.

#9 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Trinity Valley School – Dallas

7500 Dutch Branch Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76132

College Admissions Highlights: Over the last four years, Trinity Valley graduates have been accepted into Barnard, BC, BU, Brandeis, Brown, CalPoly, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Ga Tech, Harvard, Hofstra, Howard, Loyola, Middlebury, NYU, Northeastern, Ohio State, Penn State, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Tennessee, Tufts, UC Berkeley, U Chicago, Florida, UMass, Michigan, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Washington U, William & Mary, WPI, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 71% of upper school faculty possess master’s degrees. The average faculty member has been teaching for 21 years. 24 Accelerated, advanced, or AP courses. 92% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. Special Programs include Senior Projects, Trojan Outdoor Experience and Global Ambassadors & Citizens. 20+ varsity sports. 40clubs, academics, & artistic competitions, performance groups & community engagement.

Tuition (9-12): $29,810
Enrollment (seniors): 81
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1200-1380
Mid-50% ACT Score: 28-35

#10 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Alcuin School – Dallas

6144 Churchill Way, Dallas, TX 75230

College Admissions Highlights: In a recent sample of 2 years, college acceptances included BC, BU, Bryn Mawr, Brandeis, Case Western, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, George Washington, GaTech, NYU, Northeastern, Ohio State, Pepperdine, Penn State, Purdue, Rice, Texas A&M, Tufts, USC, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Villanova, and William & Mary.

Academic Highlights: 52 staff members hold advanced degrees, 6 hold doctorates. Alcuin offers the full International Baccalaureate: for 9-10th Middle Years Programme and 11-12th in the Diploma Programme. Average class size is 13 students. 9:1 Student-Faculty ratio. 85% of age-eligible participate in athletics. Alcuin students have the opportunity to travel each year to further investigate their studies.

Tuition (9-12): $36,050
Enrollment (Upper School): 86
Average SAT Score: Not Reported
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

Best Private Schools in Dallas – Additional Resources

We hope you found our blog on private schools in Dallas 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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High School Success

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).