Best Private Schools in Denver – 2024
January 17, 2024
When evaluating a prospective private school, the college preparation and counseling offered by each future high school is one important consideration. This forward-thinking lens remains useful even if your child is presently entering private school as an elementary or middle school student. Of course, in addition to that particular angle, you will also need to balance your teen’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. Are you seeking a boarding or day school? Do you want your child’s high school to have a religious affiliation? However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Denver will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools do at sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in Denver
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in Denver that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) Kent Denver School
2) Colorado Academy
3) Dawson School
4) Denver Jewish Day School
5) Regis Jesuit High School
6) St. Mary’s Academy
7) Fountain Valley School
8) Mullen High School
9) Valor Christian High School
10) Holy Family High School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Denver 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 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
Let’s begin our exploration of the best private schools in Denver.
Kent Denver School – Denver
- 4000 E Quincy Ave, Cherry Hills Village, CO 80113
College Admissions Highlights: Since 2020 through 2023, multiple students have matriculated into BC (5), Bucknell (6), Claremont McKenna (5), Cornell (4), Dartmouth (4), Duke (2), Johns Hopkins (7), MIT (2), Northwestern (10), Princeton (3), Stanford (6), Tufts (4), UCLA (6), UMich (15), Penn (7), Vanderbilt (5), and Yale (6).
Academic Highlights: Student to teacher ratio is 8:1, with an average class size of 12. 86% of teaching faculty hold advanced degrees. Students complete 80 hours of community service outside of the school. Offers two AP CS classes as well as other advanced classes in the discipline. 26 AP and 37 Honors courses. 60+ student-led clubs. 18 sports and wellness activities are part of the culture of health.
Colorado Academy – Denver
- 3800 S Pierce St, Denver, CO 80235
College Admissions Highlights: 2019-2023, multiple students have matriculated into: Bates (3), BU (5), Claremont McKenna (4), Colgate (7), Colorado College (15), Cornell (3), Dartmouth (9), Hamilton (3), Harvard (2), Middlebury (3), NYU (4), Northwestern (9), Pomona (4), Stanford (8), Tulane (16), UMichigan (11), Penn (3), UVA (9), WashU (8), and Yale (5).
Academic Highlights: 9:1 student/teacher ratio. 32% identify as students of color. 74% of the faculty have advanced degrees. 10 AP, 11 advanced studies & 2 Post-AP courses. The REDI Lab allows students a chance to research and design innovative projects. 93% play competitive sports. 83% of students exceed the 2-year visual and performing arts requirements.
Dawson School – Denver
- 10455 Dawson Dr, Lafayette, CO 80026
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, Dawson grads enrolled at Babson, Barnard, Berklee College of Music, BC, BU, Brown, Claremont McKenna, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UMich, UNC Chapel Hill, USC, Wake Forest, WashU, Wesleyan, and Williams.
Academic Highlights: The average class size is 15. 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 68% of faculty members possess advanced degrees. Dawson offers 13 AP courses, 70% of the scores were 3+. 3 students were National Merit Finalists and 3 were commended scholars for the class of 2024. 19 interscholastic sports including cyclocross. 18 arts programs are available.
Denver Jewish Day School – Denver
- 2450 S Wabash St, Denver, CO 80231
College Admissions Highlights: DJDS has sent graduates from 2010-2022 on to Barnard, Bowdoin, Caltech, Carleton, Colorado College, Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, NYU, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Swarthmore, Tufts, UCLA, UChicago, UMich, Penn, UVA, Vassar, WashU, and Yeshiva.
Academic Highlights: 12:1 Average instructional ratio. 70% of students play team sports. 10 AP courses are offered. 2 from the class of 2023 received AP Scholars as Juniors. 10-20% of students attend a GAP year program in Israel. 2023 Boys basketball won state championship. Students work the school’s Farmette – a small working farm with food and animals.
Regis Jesuit High School – Denver
- 6300 S Lewiston Way, Aurora, CO 80016
College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2023 enrolled at colleges such as BC, BU, Brown, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Hofstra, Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Purdue, Stanford, US Air Force Academy, UChicago, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and Villanova.
Academic Highlights: The average class size is 21. 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 92% faculty members possess post-graduate degrees. 28 AP classes are on the menu. 70% scored a 3 or higher on the AP tests. 25+ retreats offered each year. 90% of the students participate in 30 Sports and over 85 clubs. 27 AP Courses are on the menu. 75K+ cumulative hours of service immersion in the community per year.
St. Mary’s Academy – Denver
- 4545 S University Blvd, Englewood, CO 80113
College Admissions Highlights: These notable College & Universities have accepted student between 2020-2023: Bates, BC, Brown, Carleton, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, McGill, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Rice, Tufts, UChicago, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, USC, Vanderbilt, and William & Mary.
Academic Highlights: Mary’s is an all-girls school. 14 average class size. 84% of faculty members possess advanced degrees. There are 26 AP courses offered. Students volunteer at least 100 total hours. 75% of students compete in the 13 sports. Many students have been Regional & National Medalists in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Fountain Valley School – Denver
- 6155 Fountain Valley School Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80911
College Admissions Highlights: Multiple students from the Classes of 2020 to 2023 have matriculated into: BC (2), Colgate (3), Colorado College (2), Dartmouth (2), Emory (3), Hamilton (2), Harvard, NYU (4), Northeastern (4), Johns Hopkins, UChicago (2), UCLA (3), UMiami (2), Notre Dame (3), USC (2), Vassar (2), and WashU (2).
Academic Highlights: 70% of students board. 18% International students. 90% of faculty live on campus. 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 63% of teachers hold advanced degrees. 20 advanced courses including 2 Post-AP level courses in math. 11 sports from traditional to mountain sports. 3 semesters of the arts are part of the graduation requirement.
Mullen High School – Denver
- 3601 S Lowell Blvd, Denver, CO 80236
College Admissions Highlights: The classes of 2020-23 earned acceptance into colleges such as Barnard, BC, Carnegie Mellon, Colorado School of Mines, Duke, Fordham, Georgetown, John Hopkins, Northeastern, Purdue, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Boulder, UMich, Notre Dame, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Washington & Lee, and WashU.
Academic Highlights: Average class size is 20, with a teacher to student ratio of 14:1. 17 AP courses are offered. The Class of 2023 earned $30.9 million in merit scholarship offers. Last year’s grads completed 16,900 hours of community service. 26 state-sanctioned sports. 90% of students participate in at least one of the over 30 clubs available on campus. All grade levels have a yearly retreat.
Valor Christian High School – Denver
- 3775 E Grace Blvd, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126
College Admissions Highlights: Recent Valor grads headed to schools such as the Baylor, Stanford, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wheaton, Duke, BU, UT Austin, Ohio State, Yale, Rice, UC Boulder, Pepperdine, Purdue, Colorado School of Mines, Villanova, US Air Force Academy, and UNC Chapel Hill.
Academic Highlights: 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 78 of the 120 faculty members hold advanced degrees. The Class of 2023 included 11 National Merit winners. 85% AP pass rate. 48 Team state championships in athletics with 53 college athletic commits in 2022-23. 115 students enrolled in the conservatory for the Arts Program. 19,271 Service hours through Discovery Program.
Holy Family High School – Denver
- 5195 W 144th Ave, Broomfield, CO 80023
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, HFHS grads matriculated into BC, Bucknell, Cal Poly SLO, Case Western, Colgate, William & Mary, FSU, Haverford, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, US Military Academy, UC Boulder, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, Villanova, Vanderbilt, VaTech, and WashU.
Academic Highlights: 24 AP courses are offered along with 22 honors classes. Nearly 90% of the student population is Catholic. 85% of teachers hold advanced degrees. The average class size is 19 students. 11:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 38% students identify as non-white. 21 sports with 21 state championships in the last 5 years. 16 performing and 24 visual art courses.
Best Private Schools in Denver – Additional Resources
We hope you found our blog on private schools in Denver 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.
