Best Private Schools in Orlando – 2023

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.

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.

Best Private Schools in Orlando

1) Trinity Preparatory School

Location:  5700 Trinity Prep Ln, Winter Park, FL 32792

Tuition (9-12): $26,375

Enrollment (9-12): 561

Average SAT Score: 1314

Average ACT Score: 28

College Admissions Highlights:

The Class of 2022 entered a number of prestigious institutions including: Brown, Yale, UCLA, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Miami, Duke, NYU, Penn, Bates, Notre Dame, UMich, WashU, Northwestern, Vassar Rice, FSU, University of Florida, and Emory.

Academic Highlights:

• The school offers 31 AP classes and 49 honors classes.
• Language offerings include Chinese, Latin, and Ancient Greek.
• Admission is highly-selective.
• There are 3 full-time college counselors.
• Trinity has robotics classes, young adult literature courses and clubs, experiential education class field trips, and independent study projects.

2) Windermere Preparatory School

Location:  6189 Winter Garden Vineland Rd, Windermere, FL 34786

Tuition (9-12): $27,195

Enrollment (Upper School): 176

Average SAT Score: 1240

Average ACT Score: 31

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:

• Dual enrollment opportunities through the University of Florida.
• The Class of 2022 had 5 National Merit Commended Scholars and 2 National Merit Finalists.
• Offers an IB Diploma and students have a 98% IB pass rate with an average total score of 32.5.
• The average GPA is 3.83.
• All students must complete 100 hours of community service.

3) Central Florida Preparatory School

Location: 1800 Marden Rd, Apopka, FL 32703

Tuition (K-12): $12,175

Enrollment (seniors): 108

Average SAT Score: 1280

Average ACT Score: 29

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:

• 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.
• 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Students have won recognition in national competitions in the areas of Robotics, Coding, and Aeronautical Flight Simulation.

4) Lake Highland Preparatory School

Location: 901 Highland Ave, Orlando, FL 32803

Tuition (9-12): $27,900

Enrollment (seniors): 198

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1180-1440

Mid-50% ACT Score: 24-32

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2019-2022, Lake Highland grads entered the following schools: Amherst, Barnard, Brown, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, WashU, Vanderbilt, Wesleyan, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• The Class of 2022 were accepted into 237 different colleges.
• 97% went on to a 4-year school.
• An astounding 31 AP courses are offered.
• Students that maintain a 3.75 GPA are eligible for the Merit Studies Program.
• Language offerings include Mandarin, Latin, and American Sign Language.

Best Private Schools in Orlando (Continued)

5) Lake Mary Preparatory School

Location: 650 Rantoul Ln, Lake Mary, FL 32746

Tuition (9-12): $18,700

Enrollment (seniors): 60

Average SAT Score: 1150

Average ACT Score: 23

College Admissions Highlights:

One recent class saw students matriculate into the following schools: Baylor, Catholic University, Florida State, Howard, NYU, Tulane, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, University of Florida, Penn State, and Virginia Tech.

Academic Highlights:

• 7:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
• Situated on a 48-acre campus.
• 41% of faculty members hold advanced degrees.
• 57 countries are represented in the student body.
• 20 AP courses are offered.

6) Montverde Academy

Location: 17235 7th St, Montverde, FL 34756

Tuition (9-12): $21,745 (Day); $55,980 (Boarding)

Enrollment (9-12): 235

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Over the past five years, students have matriculated into Barnard College, Boston College, Colgate, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Hamilton, UChicago, University of Miami, University of Michigan, New York University, Northeastern, Northwestern, University of Pennsylvania, Tufts, Oxford, UNC Chapel Hill UVA, UCLA, William and Mary, Wesleyan, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• 73% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better.
• 70% of faculty possess an advanced degree.
• Students come from 75+ different nations, the highest among private schools in Orlando.
• 31 AP courses are offered.
• The median GPA earned was 3.07.

7) Orangewood Christian School

Location: 1300 West Maitland Blvd, Maitland, FL 32751

Tuition (9-12): $16,650

Enrollment (9-12): 232

Average SAT Score: 1156

Average ACT Score: 25

College Admissions Highlights:

In the last four years, students have been accepted in Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Davidson, Duke, Purdue, UChicago, University of Miami, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, Washington & Lee, and WashU.

Academic Highlights:

• Students complete 14,000 collective community service hours each year.
• 81% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better.
• Over the past 5 years, students have been offered over $17 million in college scholarships.
• 11 AP courses are offered.
• 50% of faculty members hold advanced degrees.

Best Private Schools in Orlando (Continued)

8) The First Academy

Location:  2667 Bruton Blvd, Orlando, FL 32805

Tuition (9-12): $23,190

Enrollment (seniors): 74

Average SAT Score: 1100-1200

Average ACT Score: 22-28

College Admissions Highlights:

College acceptances over the last four years have included: Boston College, BU, Bucknell, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Pepperdine, Princeton, William & Mary, UCLA, UGA, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• 90% of seniors are part of at least one extracurricular sport or activity.
• The Class of 2022 included 21 AP Scholars.
• On a 5.0 scale, 94% of students earned a 4.0 or higher.
• $5.2 million in scholarship offers were earned by last year’s graduating class.
• 21 AP classes are run at this school.

9) The Geneva School

Location: 1775 Seminola Blvd, Casselberry, FL 32707

Tuition (9-12): $18,700

Enrollment (seniors): 35

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1160-1345

Mid-50% ACT Score: 24-30

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent grads have matriculated into Case Western, William & Mary, Davidson, FSU, Kenyon, NYU, US Naval Academy, University of Florida, University of Miami, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Academic Highlights:

• 23 of the 39 faculty members have master’s degrees; 5 possess a doctoral degree.
• The mid-50% unweighted GPA range is 3.29-3.91.
• 9 AP courses are offered.
• 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.

10) The Master’s Academy

Location: 1500 Lukas Ln, Oviedo, FL 32765

Tuition (9-12): $16,250

Enrollment (Pre-K-12): 1,172

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Graduates frequently gain acceptance to and enroll in schools such as the University of Florida, FSU, Rollins, Stetson, UCF, Duke, UChicago, Michigan State, American, Cornell, Villanova, LSU, Brown, Boston College, Syracuse, and UNC Chapel Hill.

Academic Highlights:

• 73% of AP testers scored a 3 or better; 43% scored a 4 or 5.
• Unique among  Orlando private schools in that it offers a J-Term in January that allows for unique learning and travel opportunities.
• Dual enrollment courses with Palm Beach Atlantic University or Southeastern University are available.
• Set on a 33-acre campus.
• The graduation rate is 100%.

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.