Best Private Schools in Houston – 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.

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 the profiled high schools.

1) Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School

Location: 8900 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036

Tuition (9-12): $24,465

Enrollment (seniors): 304

Average SAT Score: 1301

Average ACT Score: 28

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:

• 66% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or higher; 36% scored a 4 or 5.
• 34 members of the Class of 2022 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.

2) St. Agnes Academy

Location: 9000 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77036

Tuition (9-12): $24,000

Enrollment (9-12): 932

Average SAT Score: 1301

Average ACT Score: 28

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, King’s College London, MIT, Middlebury, Smith, Penn, Vanderbilt, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• All-girls school.
• 81% of faculty possesses an advanced degree.
• The average class size is 18 students.
• 18 AP courses are offered.
• 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio

3) St. John’s School

Location: 2401 Claremont Ln, Houston, TX 77019.

Tuition (9-12): $32,540

Enrollment (seniors): 166

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1410-1550

Mid-50% ACT Score: 31-34

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 (18-27), Vanderbilt (18-27), Cornell (13-16), Yale (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.
• 99% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or above; 88% scored a 4 or 5.
• There were 45 AP Scholars in the most recent senior class.
• The Class of 2023 included 32 National Merit Semifinalists and 50 Commended Scholars.
• There are 96 faculty members and 64 hold master’s degrees; 15 possess doctoral degrees.

4) The Awty International School

Location: 7455 Awty School Ln, Houston, TX 77055

Tuition (9-12): $32,230

Enrollment (senior): 133

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1250-1480

Mid-50% ACT Score: 26-34

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 2023 saw 20 National Merit Commended Scholars and 4 Semifinalists.
• The IB pass rate was 90% and the mean score by exam was 5.59.
• 61% of students are multilingual.
• Offers a full International Baccalaureate Diploma.

5) The John Cooper School

Location: 1 John Cooper Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77381

Tuition (9-12): $30,250

Enrollment (9-12): 510

Average SAT Score: 1341

Average ACT Score: 30

College Admissions Highlights:

Colleges attended by multiple 2018-2022 graduates include: UT Austin (33), USC (15), Rice (10), NYU (9), Tulane (7), BU (6), Vanderbilt (6), Notre Dame (4), Penn (4), Johns Hopkins (4), and UC Berkeley (4).

Academic Highlights:

• 71% of faculty members hold advanced degrees.
• 21 AP courses are offered; the average student takes 6 APs.
• 100% of graduates attend college.
• 93% of AP exam-takers scored a 3 or higher.
• 47% of students identify as students of color.

6) The Kinkaid School

Location: 201 Kinkaid School Dr, Houston, TX 77024

Tuition (9-12): $32,050

Enrollment (Upper School): 616

Mid-50% SAT Score: 1270-1480.

Mid-50%ACT Score: 28.5-34

College Admissions Highlights:

Between 2020-2022, 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 2022 scored 4 or higher on an AP exam.
• 291 students earned AP Scholar with Distinction status over the past three years.
• The Class of 2023 included 15 National Merit Semifinalists and 17 Commended Students.
• 135 of 217 teachers have advanced degrees.
• The school offers the option to complete an independent study.

7) St. Thomas High School

Location: 4500 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77007

Tuition (9-12): $23,750

Enrollment (seniors): 185

Average SAT Score: 1251

Average ACT Score: 26

College Admissions Highlights:

The Class of 2022 headed to the following schools in the largest numbers: Texas A&M (12), UT Austin (8), and TCU (5). Other 2022 grads earned admission at Loyola Marymount, Rhodes, Notre Dame, Boston College, and Yale.

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.

8) The Emery/Weiner School

Location: 9825 Stella Link Rd, Houston, TX 77025

Tuition (9-12): $30,595.00

Enrollment (seniors): 77

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2018-2022, multiple Emery/Weiner students have matriculated into: UT Austin (53), Tulane (14), University of Wisconsin (12), University of Michigan (10), Boston University (5), Brandies (4), Northwestern (4), Emory (4), and Rice (3).

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.
• 12 Advanced courses are offered.
• The average GPA was 3.71.
• Students take four years of Jewish studies and 2-3 years of foreign language.

9) Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart

Location: 10202 Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77024

Tuition (9-12): $28,850

Enrollment (seniors): 79

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

Average ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

From 2019-2022, students matriculated into Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Macalester, NYU, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Occidental, Stanford, Tulane, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:

• 13 AP courses are offered.
• 87% of AP test-takers scored a 3 or better.
• 37 full time teachers possess a total of 44 advanced degrees.
• 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• The median GPA earned was 3.886.

10) The Village School

Location:  13051 Whittington Dr. Houston, TX 77077

Tuition (9-12): $36,126

Enrollment (seniors): ~120

Average SAT Score: Not Reported

ACT Score: Not Reported

College Admissions Highlights:

In recent years, Village School graduates have gone on to attend schools such as Cornell, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, McGill, MIT, Rice, RISD, UT Austin, Vanderbilt, Wellesley, 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.
• Students earn millions in scholarships each year.
• 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

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.