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. 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/nation’s premier 4-year schools.

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.

Best Tampa Private Schools

1) Berkeley Preparatory School

Location: 4811 Kelly Rd, Tampa, FL 33615

Tuition (9-12): $31,360

Enrollment (seniors): 155

Average SAT Score: 1325

Average ACT Score: 29

College Admissions Highlights:

More than 8 recent graduates went on to attend Brown, UChicago, Emory, University of Florida, UGA, University of Miami, UMich, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Tufts, Vanderbilt, UVA, and Wake Forest. Between 5 and 7 students enrolled at Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Penn, WashU, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

  • 85% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better, among the highest figure at any of the best Tampa private schools.
  • 36% identify as students of color.
  • 22% of the Class of 2022 earned National Merit recognition.
  • 99% go on from Berkeley, one of the best private schools in Tampa, to attend 4-year colleges.
  • There are 26 AP courses and 36 honors courses available.

2) Carrollwood Day School

Location: 1515 W Bearss Ave, Tampa, FL 33613

Tuition (9-12): $27,000

Enrollment (seniors): 98

Average SAT Score: 1269

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent graduates have been accepted into schools such as Barnard, Boston College, BU, Case Western, Colby, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Middlebury, NYU, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UGA, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Richmond, USC, UVA, William & Mary, Wake Forest, and Wesleyan.

Academic Highlights:

  • Offers an IB Diploma and students have a 98% IB pass rate.
  • 76% receive a Florida Bright Futures or Medallion award.
  • 89% receive a 3 or higher on an AP test.
  • 100% of grads are admitted into a 4-year university.
  • 41% earn a weighted GPA of 4.0 or above.

3) Academy at the Lakes

Location: 2331 Collier Pkwy, Land O’ Lakes, FL 34639

Tuition (K-12): $27,600

Enrollment (Pre-K-12): 475

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

In a single recent year, seniors were accepted into Duke, Penn, Dartmouth, University of Miami, Northwestern, Georgetown, Kenyon, Yale, NYU, UCLA, Wake Forest, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Emory, Johns Hopkins, SCAD, Bryn Mawr, and Amherst.

Academic Highlights:

  • Average class size is 14 students.
  • Each senior completes a one-week Senior Externship with a local business.
  • 150 community service hours are required.
  • 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, among the best at any of the Tampa private schools.
  • 80% who apply to the University of Florida are accepted.

Best Tampa Private Schools (Continued)

4) Academy of the Holy Names

Location: 3319 Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629

Tuition (9-12): $22,900

Enrollment (seniors): 108

Average SAT Score: 1205

Average ACT Score: 25

College Admissions Highlights:

Over the past four years, students have matriculated into American, Bates, BC, BU, Claremont McKenna, William & Mary, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, Howard, LMU, Middlebury, NYU, Tufts, Tulane, UC Berkeley, University of Florida, University of Miami, Notre Dame, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

  • Of 583 AP exams taken, 64 were 5s and 124 were 4s.
  • 37% of Class of 2022 grads were AP Scholars with Distinction.
  • Last year’s class included 5 National Merit Scholars.
  • 29% identify as students of color.
  • Students completing the STEM Pathway take 3 STEM electives and complete a 12-hour internship in the field.

5) Admiral Farragut Academy

Location:  501 Park St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710

Tuition (9-12): $26,100 (Day); $59,900 (Boarding)

Enrollment (seniors): 63

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

In the Class of 2021, two students were admitted to West Point and one was accepted into the US Air Force Academy. Additional acceptances included: Notre Dame University, Vanderbilt University, Wellesley College, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Rice University, Georgetown University, North Carolina University, University of Miami, Georgia Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Duke University.

Academic Highlights:

  • Students must complete 80 hours of community service.
  • There are 29 honors and 18 AP courses available.
  • 13 graduates were named AP Scholars last year.
  • The average GPA is 3.62.
  • 23 of 30 teachers possess advanced degrees.

6) Calvary Christian High School

Location:  110 McMullen Booth Rd, Clearwater, FL 33759

Tuition (9-12): $16,150

Enrollment (seniors): 161

Average SAT Score: 1131

Average ACT Score: 23

College Admissions Highlights:

Between 2019 and 2022, graduates went to enroll in the following highly-selective schools: Barnard, Duke, Fordham, Georgia Tech, Lafayette, NYU, Northwestern, SMU, UT Austin, University of Florida, UGA, University of Miami, Notre Dame, UVA, US Air Force Academy, West Point, Wake Forest, and Washington University of St. Louis.

Academic Highlights:

  • 57% of teachers hold advanced degrees.
  • The average AP score received is 3.39.
  • Over the last four years, graduates have been awarded $12.7 million in scholarship offers.
  • 99% go on to attend 4-year colleges.
  • 25% of students receive financial assistance.

Best Tampa Private Schools (Continued)

7) Canterbury School of Florida

Location: 990 62nd Ave NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33702

Tuition (9-12): $23,500

Enrollment (seniors): 490

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent college acceptances included Barnard, Brown, Boston College, Boston University, UCLA, Colgate, Columbia, Duke, Emory, FSU, Georgia Tech, Hamilton, Johns Hopkins, UMiami, UNC Chapel Hill, Tulane, Vanderbilt, UVA, Wake Forest, Washington & Lee, Washington University in St. Louis, and UW Madison.

Academic Highlights:

  • The average class size is 12 students.
  • Each senior class contributes over 5,000 hours of community service.
  • 100% of students are accepted into a 4-year university.
  • The AP pass rate is 78%.
  • 20 AP courses are offered.

8) Jesuit High School

Location: 4701 N Himes Ave, Tampa, FL 33614

Tuition (9-12): $19,240

Enrollment (seniors): 198

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1190-1390

Mid-50% ACT Score: 23-30

College Admissions Highlights:

In the last five years, students have been admitted into the following institutions: Boston College, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Colby, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, Stanford, US Air Force Academy, US Military Academy, UCLA, Notre Dame, Penn, UMich, University of Richmond, Vanderbilt, WashU, Williams, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

  • The AP exam pass rate is 79%.
  • Among the Class of 2022, there were 66 AP Scholars with Distinction, 30 AP Scholars with Honor, and 88 AP Scholars.
  • 28 AP courses are offered.
  • There were 31 National Merit Semifinalists in the last four years.
  • 35% of students identify as students of color.

Best Tampa Private Schools (Continued)

9) Shorecrest Preparatory School

Location: 5101 1st St NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33703

Tuition (9-12): $31,670

Enrollment (seniors): 87

Average SAT Score: 1238

Average ACT Score: 25.4

College Admissions Highlights:

Two or more graduates in the past five years have enrolled in Boston College, Columbia, Miami University, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Brown, Georgia Tech, Bates, Emory, NYU, Wake Forest, FSU, University of Florida, and the University of Chicago.

Academic Highlights:

  • 100% of students are accepted to 4-year colleges.
  • 4 students in the Class of 2022 were recognized by the National Merit Program.
  • The average graduate completes 116 community service hours.
  • 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
  • The average class size is 14 students.

10) Tampa Preparatory School

Location:  727 W Cass St, Tampa, FL 33606

Tuition (9-12): $28,595

Enrollment (seniors): 111

Average SAT Score: 1254

Average ACT Score: 25.2

College Admissions Highlights:

Recent grads have entered a number of prestigious institutions including: Amherst, BU, Bowdoin, Berklee College of Music, Davidson, Columbia, Emory, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Macalester, Middlebury, Northwestern, University of Florida, University of Miami, University of Toronto, Vanderbilt, Villanova. And Wesleyan.

Academic Highlights:

  • There have been 9 National Merit Semifinalists and 14 Commended Scholars in the last two years.
  • Tampa Prep offers 26 AP classes.
  • The 111 students in the Class of 2021 enrolled in 63 different colleges.
  • There are more than 60 clubs and activities.
  • 286 AP exams out of 459 were passed with a score of 3 or higher.

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.