Best Private Schools in Memphis – 2023

As a parent in the Memphis metropolitan area searching for the best private school for your son or daughter, you’re faced with a challenging task. Ultimately, there are many factors influencing your selection of which of the Memphis private schools will be best for your child. However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Memphis 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.

Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Memphis 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 our highlighted institutions, College Transitions will provide you with—when available—the school’s:

• Location
• Tuition (9-12)
• Enrollment (9-12)
• Average SAT Score
• Average ACT Score
• Senior Class Size
• College Admissions Highlights
• Academic Highlights

Now, let’s dive in and examine the profiled high schools.

Best Private Schools in Memphis

1) Hutchinson School

Location: 1740 Ridgeway Rd, Memphis, TN 38119

Tuition (9-12): $25,950

Enrollment (k-12): 810

Average SAT Score: 1325

Average ACT Score: 29

College Admissions Highlights:

Members of the Class of 2021 gained acceptance into BU, Bryn Mawr, UCLA, Davidson, Duke, Fordham, Georgetown, Howard, Macalester, University Miami, UMich, NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, Northeastern, Northwestern, University of Richmond, Spelman, USC, UT Austin, UVA, WashU, Wellesley, Wake Forest, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• One of the best private schools in Memphis, Hutchinson is all-girls institution.
• 36% identify as students of color.
• 80% of teachers possess advanced degrees.
• 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
• There are 21 AP courses available.

2) St. Mary’s Episcopal School

Location:  60 Perkins Extended Memphis, TN 38117

Tuition (9-12): $25,425

Enrollment (seniors): 72

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1220-1420

Mid-50% ACT Score: 27-32

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2018 to 2021, the following schools matriculated at least one student: Barnard, Brandeis, Colgate, William and Mary, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, NYU, Rice, UT Austin, Tufts, US Air Force Academy, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UGA, UMiami, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, UVA, Wake Forest, WashU, Wellesley, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• One of the best private schools in Memphis, St. Mary’s in an all-girls institution.
• 34 of 47 faculty members have master’s degrees and 6 have doctoral degrees.
• 14% of students were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program.
• 85% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or higher.
• 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

3) St. George’s Independent School

Location: 3749 Kimball Ave, Memphis, TN 38111

Tuition (9-12): $24,395

Enrollment (seniors): 79

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 30

College Admissions Highlights:

In the past four years, at least one students enrolled at the following schools: Bard, Baylor, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Emerson, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Skidmore, Tulane, UGA, University of Miami, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Wake Forest, WashU, and Williams & Mary.

Academic Highlights:

• There are 56 service and specialty clubs.
• 80 students have been recognized by the National Merit Program.
• 77% attend out-of-state colleges.
• 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
• 17 AP courses are offered.

Best Private Schools in Memphis (Continued)

4) Christian Brothers High School

Location: 5900 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TN 38120

Tuition (9-12): $18,675

Enrollment (9-12): 830

Top SAT Score: Not Reported

Top 10% ACT Score: 33.4

College Admissions Highlights:

Over the past four years, students have matriculated into United States Naval Academy, the United States Air Force Academy, the United States Military Academy, Duke University, the University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, New York University, Stanford University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Southern California, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Tulane University, Washington and Lee University, Rhodes College, and Sewanee.

Academic Highlights:

• Christian Brothers in an all-boys institution.
• 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
• 100% of students are accepted into 4-year institutions.
• 9 students have earned perfect SAT scores over the past three years.
• The average class size is 21 students.

5) Collegiate School of Memphis

Location: 3353 Faxon Ave, Memphis, TN 38122

Tuition (9-12): $13,000

Enrollment (6-12): 328

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 22.7

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent graduates have been enrolled in schools such as Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Howard, Trinity University, Pomona, Embry-Riddle, Vanderbilt, the University of Tennessee, Rhodes College, and Notre Dame.

Academic Highlights:

• 11:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
• $12 million in scholarships awarded to seniors each year.
• The student body contributed more than 5,000 volunteer hours per year.
• 100% of grads are admitted into a 4-year university.
• 25 zip codes are represented in the student body.

Best Private Schools in Memphis (Continued)

6) Harding Academy of Memphis  

Location:  1100 Cherry Rd, Memphis, TN 38117

Tuition (9-12): $17,595

Enrollment (seniors): 53

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 25

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2017 to 2022, students gained acceptance into BU, Columbia, Cornell, Colgate, Emory, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Howard, MIT, Tulane, NC State, Northeastern, Pepperdine, SMU, UC Berkeley, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, and Vanderbilt.

Academic Highlights:

• 86% participate in athletics and 82% are involved in fine arts.
• The student-to-faculty ratio is 4:1.
• 7 graduates were named AP Scholars last year.
• The average amount of teaching experience among faculty is 16 years.
• 60% of teachers possess advanced degrees.

7) Briarcrest Christian School

Location: 76 S Houston Levee Rd, Eads, TN 38028

Tuition (K-12): $18,400

Enrollment (K-12): 1,750

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

In a single recent year, seniors were accepted into New York University, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, Baylor University, Yale, Texas Christian University, LUS, Auburn University and King’s College

Academic Highlights:

• 100% of the student body to colleges and universities nationwide, including Ivy League schools
• The faculty averages 16 years of teaching experience.
• Seniors were awarded $20 million in scholarship offers last year, among the best private schools in Memphis.
• 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
• Offers a number of AP and dual enrollment options.

8) Lausanne Collegiate School

Location:  1381 W Massey Rd, Memphis, TN 38120

Tuition (9-12): $29,038

Enrollment (seniors): 86

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1200-1390

Mid-50% ACT Score: 21-30

College Admissions Highlights:

Between 2017 and 2022, graduates went to enroll in the following highly-selective schools: Barnard, Bates, Boston College, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Northeastern, Rice, Juilliard, UC Berkeley, UMich, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, Wake Forest, WashU, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• 5,000-sqaure foot STEAM & Design Lab.
• Average class size of 14 students.
• Lausanne is an IB World School.
• 48% are students of color.
• 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

Best Private Schools in Memphis (Continued)

9) Memphis University School

Location: 6191 Park Ave, Memphis, TN 38119

Tuition (9-12): $22,900

Enrollment (seniors): 114

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1430-1500

Mid-50% ACT Score: 26-32

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent college matriculations included BU, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Macalester, Northeastern, Tulane, UChicago, the University of Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, Vanderbilt, Washington & Lee, WashU, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• MUS in an all-boys school.
• 73% of teacher hold advanced degrees.
• Average class size of 15.
• 20 AP classes offered and the AP pass rate is 90%.
• There were 71 AP Scholars in 2022.

10) St. Agnes Academy

Location: 4830 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TN 38117

Tuition (9-12): $19,240

Enrollment (k-12): 846

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: 25

College Admissions Highlights:

In the last five years, students have been admitted into the following institutions: Boston College, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Colgate, Emerson, Emory, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Stanford, US Air Force Academy, US Naval Academy, University of Florida, UGA, UMich, UNC Chapel Hill, UT Austin, University of Toronto, UVA, Vanderbilt, Villanova, and Wake Forest.

Academic Highlights:

• Agnes, one of the best private schools in Memphis, is an all-girls academy.
• Students completed 16,700 hours of community service last year.
• 16 AP courses are offered.
• Class of 2022 grads earned $8 million in college scholarship offers.
• The GPA range is 2.72-5.33.

Final Thoughts – Best Private Schools in Memphis

We hope you found our blog on private schools in Memphis 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.