Best Private Schools in DC – 2024
January 29, 2024
Washington, DC, and the surrounding areas in Maryland and Northern Virginia contain some of the finest private day and boarding schools in the entire United States. Of course, while having loads of quality choices is a “good problem to have”, it doesn’t make your decision of which private schools in DC will be the best choice for your family any easier. As parents, there are a multitude of considerations guiding your selection of which private schools in DC 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 DC will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools does at sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in DC
Here’s a quick preview of the high schools that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) St. Albans School – DC
2) Basis Independent McClean
3) Georgetown Day School
4) Holton-Arms School
5) National Cathedral School
6) Sidwell Friends School
7) The Madeira School
8) The Potomac School
9) Landon School
10) Episcopal High School
Please note that inclusion on our 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 best private high schools in DC, 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.
St. Albans School – DC
- 3001 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
College Admissions Highlights: Over the past five years, the following highly-selective colleges have enrolled the greatest number of St. Albans grads: UChicago (37), Yale (17), Dartmouth (17), Georgetown (13), BC (11), Tulane (10), Harvard (10), Columbia (9), Princeton (9), UVA (9), Wesleyan (9), Davidson (8), Bowdoin (7), Wake Forest (7), Washington & Lee (7), Colgate (6), Cornell (6), UNC Chapel Hill (6), and Duke (6).
Academic Highlights: Albans is an all-boys school. 8% of students are boarding. The student-to-teacher ratio is 7:1 with an average class size of 13. 43% students of color. 80% of faculty have advanced degrees. 13 AP and 8 honors courses. The performing arts program is coordinated with the National Cathedral School (also on our list). 22 athletic teams and a Voyageur outdoor program.
Basis Independent McClean – DC
- 8000 Jones Branch Dr, McLean, VA 22102
College Admissions Highlights: In the last three years, students have gained acceptance to Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, John Hopkins, Middlebury, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, UChicago, UMich, Penn, Vanderbilt, WashU, Williams, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 44% of teachers have advance degrees. 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students begin AP coursework in 9th. 95% AP exam pass rate. In 2023, 42% of students received AP Scholar Distinction. 50+ sports, clubs and activities offered. Nearly 80% of the student body participated in a club, activity or sport; 50% participated in at least two.
Georgetown Day School – DC
- 4200 Davenport St NW, Washington, DC 20016
College Admissions Highlights: Colleges that welcomed three or more graduates from 2021-2023 include the following: BC, Bucknell, William & Mary, Cornell, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, Princeton, Tulane, US Military Academy, UChicago, UMiami, UMichigan, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, Wake Forest, and Villanova.
Academic Highlights: Georgetown Prep is an all boys school with about 24% of student boarding. 87% of teachers possess advanced degrees. 43% students identify as non-white. The average class size is 14, with a 1:8 faculty-student ratio. Must complete 100 community service hours over 4 years. 26 AP and 4 Post-AP courses. 32 team sports are offered.
Holton-Arms School – DC
- 7303 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020 and 2023, three or more students matriculated into the following schools: BU (6), Duke (5), Emory (10), Georgetown (7), Harvard (4), Johns Hopkins (5), Middlebury (4), Northeastern (7), NYU (5), Tulane (12), UChicago (9), UMichigan (11), Penn (10), Vanderbilt (8), UVA (15), and WashU (11).
Academic Highlights: Holton-Arms is an all-girls institution. 5:1 student-to-teacher ratio. The average class size is 15. 83% of teachers earned advanced degrees. 44% students of color. 85% of upper school students enrolled in at least one Fine & Performing Arts class. More than 80% participate in the more than 20 athletic teams.
National Cathedral School – DC
- 3612 Woodley Rd NW, Washington, DC 20016
College Admissions Highlights: Five or more students from 2010-2023 entered the following colleges: BC, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, Stanford, Syracuse, Tulane, UChicago, UMichigan, Penn, University of St Andrews, UVA, and William & Mary.
Academic Highlights: NCS is an all girls school. 81% of faculty hold advanced degrees. Student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1 with an average class size is 12 students. 46% are students of color. Over 15 AP and advanced courses are available. Performing arts and some academic offerings are coordinated with St Albans School (also on our list). 14 seasonal sports with a 50-foot climbing tower.
Sidwell Friends School – DC
- 3825 Wisconsin Ave, Washington, DC 20016
College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2023, the following schools enrolled four or more Sidwell grads: Amherst, Barnard, Bates, BC, BU, Bowdoin, Brown, Carleton, Carnegie Mellon, Colby, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Middlebury, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice, Stanford, Tufts, UMich, UCLA, UVA, Wake Forest, WashU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 57% students of color. 273 full time faculty and staff. 85% of faculty members possess advanced degrees. Curricular offerings include Chinese and a full Computer Science and Engineering program including AI & Game Design and Web Design. 90+ student clubs and 23 varsity athletic teams. 30+ arts performances in the upper school.
The Madeira School – DC
- 8328 VA-193, McLean, VA 22102
College Admissions Highlights: The 80 seniors in the Class of 2022 matriculated into schools such as: BU, Bryn Mawr, Carnegie Mellon (2), Cornell, Georgetown (2), Harvard, Caltech, Northeastern, Northwestern, MIT, Johns Hopkins (2), Trinity College Dublin (2), Tulane (3), Notre Dame, UVA (3), William & Mary (4), Yale, and NYU (2).
Academic Highlights: Madeira is an all-girls school. 4:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 91% of faculty hold advanced degrees. Students come from 38 countries and 19 states. 40% are students of color.
The Potomac School – DC
- 1301 Potomac School Rd, McLean, VA 22101
College Admissions Highlights: 2020-2023 had multiple students attend the following schools: BC (12), BU (7), Brown (7), William & Mary (20), Dartmouth (11), Duke (8), Georgetown (10), Harvard (10), NYU (7), Northwestern (8), Stanford (6), UChicago (8), Penn (10), UVA (21), Wake Forest (13), Washington & Lee (8), and WashU (7).
Academic Highlights: 71% of faculty have advanced degrees. The average class size is 15. 44% students of color. The Class of 2024 had 19 National Merit Commended Scholars and 7 Semifinalists. 34 advanced and 30 honors level courses. 70% of AP test-takers earned a 4 or 5.
Landon School – DC
- 6101 Wilson Ln, Bethesda, MD 20817
College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2023 matriculated into these fine institutions: BC, Bucknell, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon, Colgate, Davidson, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Northwestern, Swarthmore, Tufts, UMiami, UMich, Penn, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Wake Forest, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: The average class size at this all-boys school is 14. 41% identify as students of color. 100% of seniors complete a service or ethics capstone project.. Landon offers 40 clubs and 60 elective courses. 100% of students participate in arts for at least 2 years. 21 athletic options with strength & conditioning all 3 seasons.
Episcopal High School – DC
- 1200 N Quaker Ln, Alexandria, VA 22302
College Admissions Highlights: Large numbers of students from the Classes of 2020 to 2023 have matriculated into: BC (5), Cornell (4), Dartmouth (3), Duke (6), Georgetown (9), NYU (8), Princeton (3), Yale (7), Wake Forest (18), Washington & Lee (20), UVA (31), USC (5), UChicago (5), UNC Chapel Hill (31), US Military Academy (5), and Notre Dame (3).
Academic Highlights: Episcopal is 100% residential – all students are boarded. 90% of faculty live on campus. Offer more than 40 Honors or Advanced classes. 82% of students taking AP exams achieved a score of 3 or better. 48 interscholastic teams including 29 varsity in 17 sports. 80% of student participate in athletics.
Best Private Schools in Washington, DC – Additional Resources
We hope you found our blog on private schools in DC 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.
