Best Tampa Private Schools – 2024
February 6, 2024
If you are a parent residing in Tampa or one of the surrounding counties, and you are considering private school options for your children, then you have a difficult decision before you. Undoubtedly, there are countless considerations influencing your selection of which of the Tampa private schools will be best for your child. Are you seeking a boarding or day school? Do you want your child’s private high school to have a religious affiliation? However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Tampa 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 and nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Tampa Private Schools
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) Berkeley Preparatory School
2) Carrollwood Day School
3) Academy at the Lakes
4) Academy of the Holy Names
5) Admiral Farragut Academy
6) Calvary Christian High School
7) Canterbury School of Florida
8) Jesuit High School
9) Shorecrest Preparatory School
10) Tampa Preparatory School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Tampa 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 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.
Berkeley Preparatory School – Tampa
- 4811 Kelly Rd, Tampa, FL 33615
College Admissions Highlights: Classes of 2019-2023 have had more than 8 graduates attend Cornell, Duke, Emory, FSU, GaTech, Georgetown, NYU, Northeastern, Tufts, UF, UGA, UMiami, UMichigan, Notre Dame, USF, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and WashingtonU. Between 5 and 7 students enrolled at BU, Dartmouth, Davidson, Furman, Harvard, Northwestern, UChicago, Penn, UVA and Villanova.
Academic Highlights: There are 36 honors, 29 AP and 10 Post-AP courses available. 87% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better. 24% of the Class of 2023 earned National Merit recognition. Graduates have at least 76 hours of service. 70% of students compete on at least one of the 40 athletic teams. Award winning art program has unique opportunities in bagpipes, ceramics and wood-working.
Carrollwood Day School – Tampa
- 1515 W Bearss Ave, Tampa, FL 33613
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from the last five years have been accepted into schools such as Barnard, BC, BU, Case Western, Colby, Dartmouth, Duke, FSU, Hamilton, Middlebury, NYU, Pepperdine, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UF, UGA, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, USC, UVA, William & Mary, Wake Forest, and Wesleyan.
Academic Highlights: 48% of the faculty have advanced degrees. Offers an IB Diploma & 2023 students have a 90% IB pass rate. 92% of students scored 3 or higher on AP exams. 3 students were named National Merit Finalists in 2023. 80% of students play at least 1 sport; 21 competitive sports in upper school. 65 clubs & student activities. 18 honors societies.
Academy at the Lakes – Tampa
- 2331 Collier Pkwy, Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2020, seniors were accepted into Amherst, Belmont, BC, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, FSU, GaTech, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Kenyon, NYU, Northwestern, Penn, Rhodes, SCAD, UCLA, UF, UMiami, UT Austin, UCF, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Average class size is 14 students with a 7:1 student/teacher ratio. Seniors complete a 1 week Senior Externship with local businesses. Each graduate has 150 community service hours. Outstanding fine arts program including chorus, orchestra, band, theater, & visual arts. 80% of students 6-12 participate in the 39 athletic teams.
Academy of the Holy Names – Tampa
- 3319 Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629
College Admissions Highlights: Over the past four years, students have matriculated into American, Bates, BC, BU, Claremont McKenna, William & Mary, Dartmouth, Emory, FSU, Georgetown, Howard, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Northeastern, Purdue, Tufts, UCLA, UF, UMiami, UMichigan, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: High School is a girls school. 24 AP Courses are offered. Of 659 AP exams taken, 72% scored a 3 or higher. 124 students were AP Scholars. Last year’s class included 5 National Merit Scholars. Students can graduate is a transcript distinction in STEM, Humanities, Fine Arts and World Languages. 95% participate in interest and service clubs. 12 HS sports with 15 teams.
Admiral Farragut Academy – Tampa
- 501 Park St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710
College Admissions Highlights: Recent graduates have gone on to these fine universities and colleges: American, BC, BU, Citadel, Cornell, Duke, FSU, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, Michigan State, NYU, Princeton, Purdue, Stanford, Tufts, UF, USF, UC Berkeley, US Air Force, US Coast Guard, US Naval, and US Merchant Marine Academy.
Academic Highlights: Boarding is an option, with a 5 or 7 day program. There are 18 AP courses and 28 dual enrollment credits available. Signature programs include AP Capstone Diploma, Aviation courses, Marine Science with Scuba certifications, sailing, and Engineering classes. 78% of students participate in the 12 sports opportunities. Students graduate with 80 hours of community service.
Calvary Christian High School – Tampa
- 110 McMullen Booth Rd, Clearwater, FL 33759
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020 and 2023, graduates went to enroll in the following highly-selective schools: Barnard, Davidson. Duke, Fordham, FSU, Lafayette, NYU, SMU, UT Austin, UF, UGA, UMiami, Notre Dame, UVA, USF, US Air Force Academy, West Point, UVA, Washington & Lee, and WashingtonU.
Academic Highlights: 12:1 student to faculty ratio. 56% of teachers hold advanced degrees. 24% Multicultural diversity. 20 AP courses are offered. 71% of students passed AP exams with 3 or higher. All graduates complete 100 community service hours. 36 athletic teams with 3 state championships in 2022-23. Extensive art program with choral, band, dance, theatre, visual, and digital.
Canterbury School of Florida – Tampa
- 990 62nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
College Admissions Highlights: Recent college acceptances included Barnard, Brown, BC, BU, UCLA, Colgate, Columbia, Duke, Emory, FSU, GaTech, Hamilton, Johns Hopkins, NYU, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane, Vanderbilt, UVA, UF, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, WashingtonU, and UW Madison.
Academic Highlights: The average class size is 12 students. Over the last two years, students have completed 7300 hours of community service. 20 AP courses are offered. In the last two years, they have had 17 AP Scholars with 1 National Merit Finalist. 54 seniors played the 13 different sports. Over 15 art courses including guitar and songwriting. 11th grade students do an intensive Marine Studies week long trip.
Jesuit High School – Tampa
- 4701 N Himes Ave, Tampa, FL 33614
College Admissions Highlights: In the last five years, students have been admitted into the following institutions: BC, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Colby, Columbia, Duke, Emory, FSU, GaTech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, Stanford, USAir Force, USMilitary Acad, UCLA, UF, Notre Dame, Penn, UMich, Vanderbilt, WashU, Williams, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: This is an all boys high school. 35% of students identify as students of color. 28 AP courses are offered. The AP exam pass rate is 84.1%. Among the Class of 2023, there were 81 AP Scholars with Distinction, 32 with Honor, & 73 AP Scholars. 12 athletic teams, in the past 9 years, Jesuit has finished #1 statewide 4 times in All-Sports rankings. Over 40 clubs.
Shorecrest Preparatory School – Tampa
- 5101 1st St NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33703
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2019-2023, graduates been accepted at these fine institutions: BC, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, Duke, Emory, FSU, GaTech, Hamilton, MIT, NYU, Northeastern, Princeton, Stanford, UCLA, UChicago, UF, UMiami, UMighigan, Notre Dame, USF, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and WashingtonU.
Academic Highlights: 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The average class size is 14 students. 23% students of color. 24 AP courses. 4 students in the Class of 2022 were recognized by the National Merit Program. The average graduate completes 100+ community service hours. 60% students participate in the 30 athletic teams. 30+ performing/visual arts course offerings.
Tampa Preparatory School – Tampa
- 727 W Cass St, Tampa, FL 33606
College Admissions Highlights: Class of 2023 have been accepted to a number of prestigious institutions including: Amherst, BU, Bowdoin, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Dartmouth, Emory, FSU, Georgetown, GaTech, Harvard, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, Purdue, UC Berkeley, UF, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, USF, USC, Vanderbilt, and Wesleyan.
Academic Highlights: 4 National Merit Semifinalists for the class of 2024. Tampa Prep offers 23 AP classes. There are more than 60 clubs and activities. 18 athletic teams with 9 facilities around downtown Tampa.
Final Thoughts – Best Tampa Private Schools
We hope you found our blog on private schools in Tampa 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.
