Best Private Schools in Maryland – 2024
January 16, 2024
Are you seeking a boarding or day school? Do you want your child’s high school to have a religious affiliation? College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Maryland will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job each school does of sending their graduates on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools. If you are a Maryland parent actively searching for the best-fit private schools for your child or teen (no matter the current age of your student), you are likely interested in the college preparation and counseling offered by each prospective school. 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.
Best Private Schools in Maryland
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in Maryland that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) Holton-Arms School
2) Georgetown Preparatory School
3) Gilman School
4) Key School
5) Landon School
6) McDonogh School
7) Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
8) The Bryn Mawr School
9) The Park School of Baltimore
10) Bullis 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 Maryland, 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 delay, let’s look at the best private schools in Maryland.
Holton-Arms School – Maryland
- 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.
Georgetown Preparatory School – Maryland
- 10900 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, MD 20852
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.
Gilman School – Maryland
- 5407 Roland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21210
College Admissions Highlights: The institutions saw 5 or more members of the Classes of 2019-2023 enroll: BC (14), Brown (6), Bucknell (16), Carnegie Mellon (5), Cornell (9), Dartmouth (9), Georgetown (7), Harvard (7), Johns Hopkins (20), Notre Dame (10), Northwestern (7), Penn (10), US Naval Academy (5), Vanderbilt (7), UVA (13), Wake Forest (26), WashU (14), William & Mary (7), and Yale (6).
Academic Highlights: Gilman is an all boys school. The average class size is 15. 7:1 student-faculty ratio. 41% of students identify as people of color. 67% of faculty members possess advanced degrees. For the class of 2023, National Merit commended 21 students, with 2 semifinalists and 2 finalists. Over 30 interscholastic athletic teams in the upper school.
Key School – Maryland
- 534 Hillsmere Dr, Annapolis, MD 21403
College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2023 went on to enroll in the following schools: Bucknell, Case Western, Colby, Drexel, George Washington, Hamilton, Lafayette, Middlebury, Pratt, Purdue, Swarthmore, UC Boulder, University of St Andrews – Scotland, UVA, Vanderbilt, and William & Mary.
Academic Highlights: 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The average class size is 16 students. 75% of faculty have advanced degrees. 14 advanced courses are offered. 39% are students of color. 84% of graduates earned college merit scholarships. 40 Interscholastic teams. Over 60 clubs and activities. More than 35 visual and performing arts opportunities.
Landon School – Maryland
- 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.
McDonogh School – Maryland
- 8600 McDonogh Rd, Owings Mills, MD 21117
College Admissions Highlights: In 2023, McDonogh students matriculated to these prestigious college and universities: BC (4), Brown (3), Bucknell (3), Columbia (2), Davidson, Duke, Georgetown, John Hopkins (3), NYU, Northeastern (4), Tulane (4), US Naval Academy (3), UMiami (4), UMichigan (2), Penn, UVA (2), Wake Forest (5), and Williams (2).
Academic Highlights: 67% of faculty hold advanced degrees. Average of 16 students per class. 7:1 Student-teacher ratio. 33 Advanced level courses for students interested in AP level courses. 24 members of the Class of 2023 received National Scholarship Recognition. About 75 upper school students live on campus. 31 Varsity athletic teams winning 21 championships in the last 5 years.
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart – Maryland
- 9101 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814
College Admissions Highlights: Three or more members of the last three senior classes (collectively) have gone on to matriculate into the following colleges: BC, Bucknell, Colgate, William & Mary, Dartmouth, Denison, Duke, Georgetown, Northeastern, Princeton, UMichigan, Notre Dame, UVA, Wake Forest, and University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Academic Highlights: Stone Ridge is an all-girls school. 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio. The average teacher has 16 years of experience. Of 57 faculty members, 43 have master’s & 12 have doctoral degrees. 36% diversity represented in the upper school. 22 AP courses. 85% scored a #+ on exam. There are 8 performing art opportunities like Step Team & A Cappella. 26 Varsity and JV athletic teams in the upper school.
The Bryn Mawr School – Maryland
- 109 W Melrose Ave, Baltimore, MD 21210
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020-2023, more than one headed to schools such as BC (8), BU (7), Carnegie Mellon (5), Case Western (6), William & Mary (5), Davidson (7), Georgetown (9), Johns Hopkins (12), MIT (3), NYU (7), Princeton (3), Tufts (5), Penn (4), USC (3), WashU (6), Wellesley (3), and Yale (4).
Academic Highlights: Bryn Mawr is an all-girls school. There are 22 AP and 6 Post-AP courses offered. The Class of 2023 had 13 National Merit Commended Scholars and 3 Finalists. 7 world language options including Russian, Arabic and Greek. Seniors have an opportunity to be a part of the Edith Hamilton Scholars ending with a convocation speech.
The Park School of Baltimore – Maryland
- 2425 Old Court Rd, Baltimore, MD 21208
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, more than one graduate matriculated into: Barnard, BC, Bowdoin, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Cornell, Emory, Hamilton, Howard, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, NYU, Princeton, Northwestern, Tufts, UNC Chapel Hill, Penn, UMichigan, UVA, Vassar, VaTech, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio. The average class size is 15. 108 of the 123 faculty hold advanced degrees. The average amount of teaching experience is 20 years. 87% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. 22 athletic teams in the upper school. Arts include a string ensemble and a jazz collective.
Bullis School – Maryland
- 10601 Falls Rd, Potomac, MD 20854
College Admissions Highlights: In the last five years, four or more students have enrolled at each of the following schools: BC, UC Berkeley, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Howard, Johns Hopkins, UMiami, UMich, Northwestern, NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Rice, USC, US Naval Academy, UVA, William & Mary, Tufts, University of Richmond, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Average class size 15. 1:7 faculty to student ratio. 9% international students. 23 AP courses are offered. Offers signature programs in Entrepreneurship, STEM, and Visual & Performing Arts. 63 Interscholastic sports teams. Over 40 opportunities for clubs and leadership within the upper school.
Best Private Schools in Maryland – Additional Resources
We hope you found our blog on private schools in Maryland 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.
