Best Private Schools in Dallas – 2023

January 19, 2023

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. 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.

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 best private high schools in Dallas, 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 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: From 2017-21, students have enrolled at each of the following colleges: Boston University, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, NYU, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, the US Military Academy, the US Naval Academy, Penn, USC, UVA, Vanderbilt, WashU, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: 83% of faculty have master’s degrees; 16% possess doctorates. 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio Students take an all-honors curriculum; no AP courses are offered. 100% of graduates attend 4-year colleges. 45% of students identify as students of color.

Tuition (9-12): $23,800
Enrollment (9-12): 47
Average SAT Score: 1403
Average ACT Score: 31

#2 Best Private Schools in Dallas

St. Mark’s School of Texas – Dallas

10600 Preston Rd, Dallas, Texas 75230

College Admissions Highlights: In one recent five-year stretch, 10 or more students enrolled in Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, UChicago, Penn, USC, UT Austin, and Vanderbilt. More than five entered Brown, Columbia, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, UVA, and Yale. St. Mark’s college matriculation is—in short—jaw-dropping.

Academic Highlights: Students took 730 AP tests in 2022 and 78% earned a 4 or 5. Of 127 teachers, 86 hold master’s degrees and 11 earned doctorates. The average class size is 15. 49% of those enrolled are students of color. 8:1 student-to-teacher ratio.

Tuition (9-12): $35,821
Enrollment (9-12): 413
Median SAT Score: 1530
Median ACT Score: 35

#3 Best Private Schools in Dallas

The Hockaday School – Dallas

11600 Welch Rd, Dallas, TX 75229

College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2022, Hockaday grads have attended Brown, Claremont McKenna Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Colby, Cornell, Duke, Emory, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Rice, Stanford, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UChicago, USC, Vassar, WashU, Wellesley, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights: Hockaday is an all-girls school. 63 of 121 teachers possess master’s degrees; 21 hold doctoral degrees. 49% identify as students of color. 100% of students enroll in 4-year institutions. 91% of AP test-takers score a 3 or better.

Tuition (9-12): $35,465
Enrollment (9-12): 505
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1370-1550
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: The Classes of 2019-2022 sent multiple students to UT Austin (33), WashU (18), UMich (13), Northwestern (12), USC (12), Penn (8), Duke (8), Cornell (6), Barnard (6), Harvard (5), Emory (5), Brown (3), Carnegie Mellon (3), and Georgetown (3).

Academic Highlights: The average class size is 18. 17% of students receive financial aid. 59% of faculty hold advanced degrees. 80% of students enroll in out-of-state colleges. 18 AP courses are available.

Tuition (9-12): $36,240
Enrollment (9-12): 486
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1295-1535
Mid-50% ACT Score: 30-34

#5 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas – Dallas

12345 Inwood Rd, Dallas, TX 75244

College Admissions Highlights: Many students go on to enter some of the nation’s top colleges each year including Jesuit institutions such as Boston College, Georgetown, the College of the Holy Cross, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara University.

Academic Highlights: This is an all-male institution. 64% of teachers hold advanced degrees. 250 students have received National Merit recognition in the last five years. Colleges from all over the country attend their annual College Night. 24 AP courses are offered.

Tuition (9-12): $23,175
Enrollment (9-12): 1,100
Average SAT Score: 300+ points above the national average
Average ACT Score: Not Reported

#6 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Parish Episcopal School – Dallas

4101 Sigma Rd, Dallas, TX 75244

College Admissions Highlights: Students from the Classes of 2018-2022 went on to matriculate into Berklee College of Music, Boston University, Bowdoin, the University of Chicago, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Kenyon, Middlebury, NYU, Pomona Rice, Stanford, Tufts, WashU, and William & Mary.

Academic Highlights: The Class of 2021 attended 64 different colleges. 15 students will become college athletes. 31% identify as students of color. 19% earned a GPA of 4.0 or above; 32% earned between a 3.5 and 3.99. Last year, students collectively netted $8.8 million in scholarship offers.

Tuition (9-12): $34,510
Enrollment (seniors): 110
Mean SAT Score: 1281
Median ACT Score: 28.5

#7 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Fort Worth Country Day School – Dallas

4200 Country Day Ln, Fort Worth, TX 76109

College Admissions Highlights: Multiple members of the 2019-2022 graduating classes are now attendeding UT Austin (32), Tulane (12), UGA (8), Washington & Lee (7), the University of Chicago (5), Yale (4), George Washington (3), Harvard (3), Purdue (3), USC (2), and UMiami.

Academic Highlights: 54% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 21 AP courses are on the menu. 19 members of the Class of 2022 achieved some degree of National Merit status. 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio. Last year’s graduates were awarded $14.2 million in merit-based scholarships.

Tuition (9-12): $27,430
Enrollment (9-12): 362
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1190-1400
Mid-50% ACT Score: 24-31

#8 Best Private Schools in Dallas

The Episcopal School of Dallas – Dallas

4100 Merrell Rd, Dallas, TX 75229

College Admissions Highlights: In one recent four-year span, students enrolled at the likes of Amherst, Babson, Boston University, Bowdoin, Brandeis, Colgate, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Hamilton, Harvard, JHU, NYU, Northeastern, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, and Vanderbilt.

Academic Highlights: 92% of students score 3 or better on AP tests. No classes are larger than 18 students. The school offers an exceptional 32 AP courses. In recent years, the school has averaged 8-10 National Merit award winners. 100% of students attend 4-year colleges.

Tuition (9-12): $35,410
Enrollment (seniors): 108
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: From 2020-2022, multiple grads have matriculated into Barnard, Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Harvard, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, Tufts, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.

Academic Highlights: 81% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. The average weighted GPA for a member of the Class of 2023 was 3.77. 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 43% of faculty possess master’s degrees and 9% hold doctorates. The average faculty member has been teaching for 20 years.

Tuition (9-12): $25,800
Enrollment (seniors): 75
Mid-50% SAT Score: 1140-1410
Mid-50% ACT Score: 25-32

#10 Best Private Schools in Dallas

Alcuin School – Dallas

6144 Churchill Way, Dallas, TX 75230

College Admissions Highlights: Class of 2022 college acceptances included Amherst, Barnard, Claremont McKenna, Columbia, Cornell, Emory, Macalester, NYU, Swarthmore, UChicago, Notre Dame, USC, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Wesleyan.

Academic Highlights: 51 staff members possess advanced degrees. Alcuin offers the full IB Program. The Alcuin Edge Internship Program connects students to hands-on learning opportunities in their field of interest. $250,000 in college scholarships were offered to the Class of 2022. The language program includes Mandarin.

Tuition (9-12): $36,591
Enrollment (Pre-K-12): 575
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 Schools

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).