Best Private Schools in Orlando – 2024
January 30, 2024
The Orlando area boasts entertainment venues like Disney World and Universal Studios that draw children from all over the globe. For the children that reside in Greater Orlando, those theme parks are a normal part of their childhood, just like going to school. Yet, choosing the right public or private school is a higher stakes game than deciding whether to spend the day at Magic Kingdom or Epcot. There are a multitude of considerations guiding your decision of which private schools in Orlando will be best for your child. However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Orlando 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 Orlando
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) Trinity Preparatory School
2) Windermere Preparatory School
3) Central Florida Preparatory School
4) Lake Highland Preparatory School
5) Lake Mary Preparatory School
6) Montverde Academy
7) Orangewood Christian School
8) The First Academy
9) The Geneva School
10) The Master’s Academy
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Orlando 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 top institutions, 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
Now, let’s dive in and examine the profiled high schools.
Trinity Preparatory School – Orlando
- 5700 Trinity Prep Ln, Winter Park, FL 32792
College Admissions Highlights: The Class of 2022 entered a number of prestigious institutions including: BU, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Davidson, Duke, Emory, FSU, Georgetown, GaTech, Northwestern, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UF, UMiami, UMichigan, Notre Dame, Penn, UVA, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Villanova, Wake Forest, WashingtonU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Student to faculty ratio is 11:1. 70% of faculty have advanced degrees. The school offers 36 AP and 39 honors classes. 80% scored 3 or higher on AP exams. 13,820 hours of community service 2022-23. 15 sports with 54 teams in middle and high school. A robust art program receiving awards for visual arts, band, orchestra, and theatre.
Windermere Preparatory School – Orlando
- 6189 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Windermere, FL 34786
College Admissions Highlights: Members of the Class of 2022 entered the following schools: Babson, BU, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Pepperdine, Princeton, SCAD, UCLA, Penn, USC, Wake Forest, and Washington University in St. Louis.
Academic Highlights: 55+ nationalities. Teacher to student ratio 1:15, with an average class size of 20. Offers an IB Diploma and the IBDP pass rate for the class of 2022 was 95% with an average total score of 32.5. Host 26 clubs, honor societies and student organizations. Home of 22 varsity athletic teams. Part of the Nord Anglia global education network, partnering them with Julliard, MIT and UNICEF.
Central Florida Preparatory School – Orlando
- 1800 Marden Rd, Apopka, FL 32703
College Admissions Highlights: Recent graduates have gone on to matriculate into highly-selective schools such as: Columbia University, University of Miami, The Citadel, Stanford University, and Duke University.
Academic Highlights: HS has a maximum of 20 students per class. Dual enrollment opportunities through Valencia and Seminole State Colleges. Has an 1,100-square-foot STEM lab. AP courses offered in Biology, Chemistry, U.S Government, Environmental Science, English, and more. Students have won recognition in national competitions in the areas of Robotics, Coding, and Aeronautical Flight Simulation.
Lake Highland Preparatory School – Orlando
- 901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803
College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2023, Lake Highland grads entered the following schools: Amherst, Barnard, BC, BU, Brown, Case Western, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, FSU, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Princeton, Stanford, UF, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, WashU, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Over 125 faculty members with advance degrees. 80+ honors and 31+ AP courses are offered. 15 National Merit commended scholars & 18 Finalists. 17 Varsity sports which have earned 138 Individual and Team Athletic State Championships. Top 30 Nationally for speech and debate. 70+ student-run clubs and organizations.
Lake Mary Preparatory School – Orlando
- 650 Rantoul Ln, Lake Mary, FL 32746
College Admissions Highlights: The class of 2022 & 2023, saw students matriculate into the following schools: Auburn, Babson, Case Western, Dartmouth, Furman, George Mason, George Washington, Harvard, Indiana University, Northeastern, Penn State, Tufts, UC Davis, UF, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech, and WPI.
Academic Highlights: 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 40% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 25% of HS student body are international representing 38 countries.21 honors and 20 AP courses are offered. 86% pass rate on AP exams. In 2023, 1 student was named National Merit Semifinalist. 24 sports teams with approximately 26% of seniors recruited to play in college.
Montverde Academy – Orlando
- 17235 7th St, Montverde, FL 34756
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2019-2023, students have matriculated into American, Barnard College, BC, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, FSU, Georgetown, GaTech, John Hopkins, NYU, Pepperdine, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UChicago, UF, UMiami, UMichigan, Penn, UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, Wake Forest, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 70% of faculty possess an advanced degree. About 25% of students are boarding. Students come from over 75 different nations. 31 AP and 20 Honors courses are offered. 75% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. 41 clubs and societies. 19 athletic opportunities. 63 superior ratings at district solo and Ensemble since 2019.
Orangewood Christian School – Orlando
- 1300 West Maitland Blvd, Maitland, FL 32751
College Admissions Highlights: From 2020-2023, students have been accepted in American, Baylor, Colorado School of Mines, Drexel, Embry-Riddle, FSU, Furman, JMU, Mercer, NYU, NC State, Purdue, Stetson, UF, UMass, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, USF, Vanderbilt, Wheaton, and WPI.
Academic Highlights: 20,197 Total collective community service hours. 14 AP and 42 honors courses are offered. AP pass rate is 23% higher than the national average and 29% higher than the Florida average. 70% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 14 Sports with multiple teams for the upper school students. Instrumental music program offers traditional and contemporary options.
The First Academy – Orlando
- 2667 Bruton Blvd, Orlando, FL 32805
College Admissions Highlights: College acceptances over the last four years have included: American, BC, BU, Bucknell, Columbia, Duke, Emory, FSU, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Pepperdine, Princeton, William & Mary, UCLA, UF, UGA, UMiami, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Williams, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 15-1 student to teacher ratio. 15k hours of mission trips and community service. 90% of seniors are part of extracurricular activities in art, athletics, or leadership. The Class of 2023 included 22 AP Scholars. Over 20 AP classes are run at this school. Seniors take a multi-day retreat before the start of the school year.
The Geneva School – Orlando
- 1775 Seminola Blvd, Casselberry, FL 32707
College Admissions Highlights: Recent grads have matriculated into Auburn, Baylor, Case Western, William & Mary, Davidson, FSU, Furman, George Washington, Kenyon, NYU, Northwestern, Purdue, Stetson, Texas A&M, US Naval Academy, UF, UCF, UMiami, USF, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Wheaton, and Washington U.
Academic Highlights: 23 of the 39 faculty in the upper school have master’s degrees, 5 have a doctorate. There were 2 National Merit Semifinalists and 4 Commended Students among the 35 members of the Class of 2023. 81% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. 165 Community service hours per student. 12 fine & performing arts opportunities. 19 Varsity sports.
The Master’s Academy – Orlando
- 1500 Lukas Ln, Oviedo, FL 32765
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates frequently gain acceptance to and enroll in schools such as the American, Baylor, BC, Brown, Cornell, William & Mary, Duke, UChicago, UFlorida, FSU, UCF, Georgetown, Harvard, UMichigan, Stetson, VaTech, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Mich State, Bucknell, and Washington & Lee.
Academic Highlights: 20:1 student to teacher ratio. Average rate of 86% of AP testers scored a 3 or better. Unique among Orlando private schools in that it offers a J-Term in January that allows for unique internships and travel opportunities. Dual enrollment courses with Palm Beach Atlantic University or Southeastern University are available. 16 sports with 40+ teams. 11,927 community service hours.
Final Thoughts – Best Private Schools in Orlando
We hope you found our blog on Orlando private schools 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.
