Best Private Schools in Sacramento – 2024
March 19, 2024
If you’re a Sacramento-based parent searching for the best-fit private schools for your child or teen, you can rest assured knowing that a number of top-notch options reside in your geographical range. Yet, picking from those excellent choices will not be an easy task. No matter the current age of your student, you are likely interested in the college preparation and counseling offered by each prospective school. Of course, in addition to that particular angle, you will also need to balance your teen’s academic, emotional, and social needs with financial and logistical considerations. To assist, College Transitions’ list of the Best Private Schools in Sacramento 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 on to the region/nation’s premier 4-year schools.
Best Private Schools in Sacramento
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in Sacramento that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1) Sacramento Country Day School
2) Jesuit High School
3) Sacramento Waldorf School
4) Christian Brothers High School
5) St. Francis Catholic High School
6) Capital Christian School
7) Woodland Christian School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Sacramento 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 the high schools, College Transitions will provide you with:
- 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 best private schools in Sacramento.
Sacramento Country Day School – Sacramento
- 2636 Latham Drive Sacramento, CA 95864
College Admissions Highlights: The class of 2023 was accepted to many fine colleges and universities: American, Bard, Bates, BU, Cal Tech, Cal State, Case Western, Drexel, Duke, Emory, Kenyon, Loyola Marymount, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, Oberlin, Pepperdine, Pitzer, Skidmore, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, Penn, USC, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Wesleyan, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: 8:1 Student to teacher ratio. 57% self-identified students of color. 65% faculty with advanced degrees. 11 acres of learning spaces. 25 AP & 6 advanced topic courses. 5 National merit commended or semifinalists. 30 student clubs and affinity groups. 80% of high and middle school students participate in the 30+ teams in 14 sports.
Jesuit High School – Sacramento
- 4660 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95864
College Admissions Highlights: 2019-2023 has seen Jesuit students accepted to these prestigious institutions: Baylor, BC, CalPoly, Case Western, Columbia, Duke, Embry-Riddle, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Purdue, SMU, Tennessee, US Military Acad, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Notre Dame, VaTech, Washington State, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Jesuit is an all boys high school. 14:1 student to faculty ratio. 60% of professional & certified staff hold a Master’s degree or higher. 37 Honors & AP courses. 75% of AP exam takers scored a 3 or higher. Each graduate has 72+ hours of community service. 1 in 3 students are enrolled in the over 20 art offerings. 14 sports with 31 state or regional ranking.
Sacramento Waldorf School – Sacramento
- 3750 Bannister Road, Fair Oaks, CA 95628
College Admissions Highlights: The class of 2023 was accepted to many fine colleges and universities: Allegheny, Cal State Sonoma, Carleton, Chapman, Colby, Gonzaga, Haverford, Kenyon, Macalester, Middlebury, Oberlin, Occidental, Pomona, Saint Mary’s of California, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Boulder, U San Francisco, UWashington, Wesleyan, Whitman, and Willamette.
Academic Highlights: 22-acre campus; including a 3.5 acre farm. Integrates experiential learning into the arts, science, technology, engineering and math. ‘No Cut’ athletic policy for 7+ high school sports opportunities. Student clubs and student council provide opportunities for volunteering, leadership, exploration and connection.
Christian Brothers High School – Sacramento
- 4315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95820
College Admissions Highlights: Recent graduates were offered admission to the following colleges and universities: American, Baylor, BC, BU, CalTech, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, Drexel, Emory, Georgetown, UGA, UMass, MIT, NYU, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pepperdine, Purdue, USC, Stanford, Swarthmore, Temple, Villanova, UWashington, and UWisconsin.
Academic Highlights: 60% identify as non-white. 30 honors & AP courses. More than half the student body participates in the art programs. Two-thirds students participate in one or more of the schools 15 interscholastic sports. 65 student athletes committed in the past 5 years to play at the collegiate level. 50+ student clubs & organizations. 4 year programs in visual & performing arts and engineering are an option.
St. Francis Catholic High School – Sacramento
- 5900 Elvas Avenue Sacramento, CA 95819-2108
College Admissions Highlights: In most years, 99% of our student attend college. Graduates from the class of 2023 will attend 85 different colleges and universities in 26 states and countries. In 2020 students attended these fine institutions: Baylor, BC, BU, Cal Poly, Cornell, Harvard, Howard, Macalester, NYU, Pepperdine, Saint Mary’s, TCU, Tennessee, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UGA, USC, Villanova, and Washington State.
Academic Highlights: 14.7:1 Student to teacher ratio with an average class size of 21.4. 47.51% Non-white students. 84% staff with advanced degrees. 25,285 service hours for 2022-23. 34 honors and AP classes. 4 levels of Italian offered. 5 computer science courses in STEM program. Robotics team placed 1st in the Marine adv tech ed ROV at world championship in CO for 2023.
Capital Christian School – Sacramento
- 3401 Mayhew Road Sacramento CA 95827
College Admissions Highlights: Colleges and Universities attended by recent graduates: American, Baylor, BU, Cal State, Cal Tech, Claremont McKenna, Cornell, Gonzaga, Harvard, IndianaU, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Pepperdine, Princeton, Texas A&M, TCU, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, UWisconsin, Vanderbilt, VaTech, and West Point (US Military Acad).
Academic Highlights: 11:1 Student to teacher ratio with an average class size of 13. 64% self-identified students of color. 20 honors, advanced, and AP courses. 16 sports offered with 27 athletes currently playing in college. Over 8 visual and performing arts courses with opportunities for do contests, festivals, and presentations. Home school students can join Capital Christian through TEP program.
Woodland Christian School – Sacramento
- 1787 Matmor Road, Woodland, CA 95776
College Admissions Highlights: From 2021-2022, students were accepted into these 4 year universities & colleges: UC Berkeley, UCLA, Baylor, Cal Poly, Claremont McKenna, Cornell College, CSU, Embry Riddle, Emory, Gonzaga, Loyola, Northeastern, Penn State, Pepperdine, Purdue, Seton Hall, USC, St Mary’s, TCU, UMichigan, Wheaton, and Willamette.
Academic Highlights: 43% non-white students. 10 Honors & AP Courses. 11 athletic programs. 90% of students go on to college after graduation. Some electives offered at Woodland include wood shop. sustainable agriculture, floral design, and chemistry & agriscience. They are one of two private schools with a FFA chapter.
Best Colleges in Sacramento – Additional Resources
We hope you found our blog on private schools in Sacramento (and the surrounding area) 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.
