Best Private Schools in Houston – 2024
November 30, 2023
With 100+ private schools to choose from in the Houston area, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed as a consumer. And, it goes without saying that this is more of a high-stakes decision than other scenarios in which you are overwhelmed by an absurd number of options (e.g. the toothpaste aisle of the grocery store). As parents, there are a multitude of considerations guiding your decision of which private schools in Houston will be best for your child. Ultimately, your decision will need to balance your teen’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. However, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Houston will focus primarily on our area of expertise—college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools do at sending their graduates to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in Houston
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in Houston that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) Strake Jesuit College Preparatory High School
2) Agnes Academy
3) John’s School
4) The Awty International School
5) The John Cooper School
6) The Kincaid School
7) Thomas High School
8) The Emery/Weiner School
9) Duchesne Academy of Sacred Heart
10) The Village School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Houston 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 private schools, 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
Without further ado, let’s look at college-related details for each school.
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School – Houston
- 8900 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
College Admissions Highlights: In the last seven years, multiple students have enrolled at each of the following colleges: Boston College, Case Western, Colorado College, Davidson, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Middlebury, NYU, Rice, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, WashU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 72% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or higher; 41% scored a 4 or 5. 36 members of the Class of 2023 earned National Merit recognition at some level. 99% of students were involved in extracurricular activities. This is a highly diverse school as 50% of students identify as minorities. 10:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
St. Agnes Academy – Houston
- 9000 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036
College Admissions Highlights: Over the past five years, students have gained admission into: Boston College, Bowdoin, Carnegie Mellon, Colorado College, College of William & Mary, Columbia, Dartmouth, Emory, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Middlebury, Smith, Penn, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: All-girls school. 77% of faculty possesses an advanced degree. The average class size is 17 students. 18 AP courses are offered. 86% of students scored 3 or above on AP Exams. 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio. All students participate in a community service project.
St. John’s School – Houston
- 2401 Claremont Ln, Houston, TX 77019
College Admissions Highlights: In the last four years, an astounding number of students have gone on to elite colleges. This includes Rice (30+), UChicago (30+), Duke (18-26), Vanderbilt (18-26), Yale (18-26), Cornell (13-16), Dartmouth (13-16), Harvard (10-12), and Brown (10-12). St. John’s results are truly incredible from an admissions standpoint.
Academic Highlights: 100% of students take at least one AP class. 97% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or above; 83% scored a 4 or 5. There were 40 AP Scholars in the most recent senior class. The Class of 2024 included 28 National Merit Semifinalists and 44 Commended Scholars. There are 96 faculty members and 57 hold master’s degrees; 14 possess doctoral degrees. 73% of students participate in athletics.
The Awty International School – Houston
- 7455 Awty School Ln, Houston, TX 77055
College Admissions Highlights: Students from the Class of 2022 matriculated into: Imperial College London, McGill University, Oxford, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Northwestern, Pomona, Tufts, UCLA, UMich, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Wellesley, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: The Class of 2024 saw 25 National Merit Commended Scholars and 5 Semifinalists. 64% of students are multilingual. Offers a full International Baccalaureate Diploma and a French Baccalaureate Diploma. The IB pass rate was 93.6% and the mean score by exam was 5.33. The French Bac pass rate was 100%. Offers 18 Varsity Sports.
The John Cooper School – Houston
- 1 John Cooper Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77381
College Admissions Highlights: Colleges attended by multiple 2019-2023 graduates include: UT Austin (46), USC (14), Rice (12), NYU (9), Tulane (9), BU (7), Vanderbilt (8), Notre Dame (4), Penn (4), Johns Hopkins (4), and UC Berkeley (3).
Academic Highlights: 71% of faculty members hold advanced degrees. 22 AP courses are offered; the average student takes 6 APs. 100% of graduates attend college. 89% of AP exam-takers scored a 3 or higher. 50% of students identify as multiracial or non-white. Offers an independent study program with a capstone project.
The Kinkaid School – Houston
- 201 Kinkaid School Dr, Houston, TX 77024
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2021-2023, students entered the following schools: Babson, Case Western, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Hamilton, Harvard, MIT, Northwestern, Pomona, Princeton, UChicago, Penn, USC, UVA, WashU, and Washington & Lee.
Academic Highlights: 64% of the Class of 2023 scored 4 or higher on an AP exam. 234 students earned AP Scholar with Distinction Status over the past three years. The Class of 2024 included 14 National Merit Semifinalists and 15 Commended Students. 104 of 164 teachers have advanced degrees. The school offers the option to complete an independent study and has a three week interim term.
St. Thomas High School – Houston
- 4500 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77007
College Admissions Highlights: Between 2020-2023, students have headed to the following schools: Texas A&M, UT Austin, TCU, Loyola Marymount, Rhodes, Notre Dame, Boston College, Harvard, NYU, Purdue, Yale, the US Military Academy & the US Naval Academy.
Academic Highlights: The mean weighted GPA for the Class of 2023 was 3.64. 85% of the faculty have advanced degrees. The average faculty tenure is ten years. 9:1 student-to-teacher ratio. 19 AP courses are available. All-male school.
The Emery/Weiner School – Houston
- 9825 Stella Link Rd, Houston, TX 77025
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, multiple Emery/Weiner students have matriculated into: UT Austin (37), Tulane (12), University of Wisconsin (7), University of Michigan (8), Boston University (3), UC Boulder (12), Brandies (5), Northwestern (4), Emory (5), and Rice (5).
Academic Highlights: The school is framed by Jewish identity and values but welcome students of all faiths. All students complete at least 30 community service hours. Average class size is 13 students. 19 Advanced courses are offered. The average GPA was 3.68. Seniors have the opportunity to participate in a Capstone Program which includes a public presentation. Each grade level takes an extended spring trip aligned to curriculum.
Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart – Houston
- 10202 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77024
College Admissions Highlights: From 2023, students matriculated into Boston College, Claremont McKenna, Colorado School of the Mines, Cornell, John Hopkins, NYU, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Occidental, Pepperdine, RPI, Rice, Tulane, UT Austin, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.
Academic Highlights: All girls school. 20 AP courses are offered. 37 full time teachers possess a total of 44 advanced degrees. 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The median GPA earned was 3.886. All upper school students participate in Global and Social Awareness Program with a service learning requirement. Over 15 Fine Arts Performances annually.
The Village School – Houston
- 13051 Whittington Dr. Houston, TX 77077
College Admissions Highlights: In recent years, Village School graduates have gone on to attend schools such as Cornell, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Rice, Princeton, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Offers a full IB Diploma as well as pathways in Entrepreneurship and Pre-Medical Science. 16 IB students earned 40+ points last year. 98% of the class of 2022 went onto a higher education institution. 96.7% of students chose to pursue at least 1 IB Certificate in a field of their choice. 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio. k-12 student body represents 40 different countries across six continents.
We hope you found our blog on private schools in Houston 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.
