Best Private Schools in St. Louis – 2024
April 3, 2024
If you are raising kids in the St. Louis Area and find yourself considering private school, you are lucky to have a fair number of quality options. For the teen in your family, selecting the right private high school will be of particular importance. Are you looking for a boarding school or day school? Are you looking for a school with a religious affiliation? How long of a commute will your teen have to and from school each day? In the end, 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 St. Louis 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.
Best Private Schools in St. Louis
Here’s a quick preview of the best private schools in St. Louis that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
1. John Burroughs School
2. MICDS – Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School
3. Whitfield School
4. Saint Louis Priory School
5. Crossroads College Preparatory School
6. Saint Louis University High School
7. Principia School
8. De Smet Jesuit High School
9. Christian Brothers College High School
Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in St. Louis 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 schools, College Transitions will provide you with the:
- Location
- Tuition (9-12)
- Enrollment (9-12)
- Average SAT Score
- Average ACT Score
- Senior Class Size
- College Admissions Highlights
- Academic Highlights
John Burroughs School – St. Louis
- 755 South Price Road St. Louis, MO 63124
College Admissions Highlights: From 2019-2023, students have matriculated to these fine institutions: Washington U (47), IndianaU (21), USC (11), UChicago (11), BC (11), Brown (10), Bucknell (10), Vanderbilt (9), Notre Dame (9), Wake Forest (8), Yale (8), Georgetown (8), UCLA (7), UMichigan (7), Duke (7), Princeton (6), Columbia (6), NYU (6), Northwestern (6), MIT (5), Tufts, (5), Johns Hopkins (5), Cornell (5), UVA (4), Harvard (4), and Penn (4).
Academic Highlights: Average class size of 13 students with a 6:1 student to teacher ratio. Students from 59 zip codes. 78% of faculty have advanced degrees. 48% students of color. 82% of AP test takers scored a 3 or better. 15 National Merit semifinalists & 13 commended in the class of 2024. 34 sports offerings in upper school with 100% participation. Computer Science, Family & Consumer Science, & IT & Engineering are elective programs.
Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School (MICDS) – St. Louis
- 101 NORTH WARSON ROAD, ST. LOUIS, MO 63124
College Admissions Highlights: In the last 5 years, MICDS Alumni have matriculated to the following prestigious institutions: BC, BU, Bowdoin, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Princeton, Stanford, UNC Chapel Hill, US Military Academy, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UChicago, UMichigan, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, UVA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, WashingtonU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: Average class size of 16. 42% self identify students of color. 70+ zip codes represented. 76% faculty have advanced degrees. 83% of students taking AP exams scored a 3 or higher. 30 sports in grades 9-12. 76 state championships in the last 10 years. Over 7500 community service hours in 2022-23. 100+ clubs & student organizations.
Whitfield School – St. Louis
- 175 SOUTH MASON ROAD ST. LOUIS, MO 63141
College Admissions Highlights: The class of 2023 were accepted into these colleges and universities: Alabama, Bates, BU, Case Western, UC Boulder, Cornell, Drexel, Embry Riddle, UF, Fordham, Grinnell, Howard, IndianaU, UMass, UMissouri, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Purdue, SMU, George Washington, Wake Forest, WashingtonU, Wheaton, William & Mary, and UWisconsin.
Academic Highlights: 8:1 Student to teacher ratio. 60 zip codes represented. 75% of faculty with advanced degrees. 12 AP & accelerated course offerings. 80% of students participate in the 20 Athletic teams in upper school. 30+ student clubs & affinity groups. Visual & performing arts include instrumental music, theater, visual, and vocal.
Saint Louis Priory School – St. Louis
- 500 South Mason Road St. Louis, MO 63141
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from the classes of 2021-23 were admitted into these colleges & universities: American, Baylor, BC, Case Western, William & Mary, Cornell, Davidson, Georgetown, Harvard, Kenyon, Northeastern, Purdue, Texas A&M, Tufts, US Military Acad, UCLA, UChicago, UMiami, Notre Dame, USC, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Wake Forest, WashingtonU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: St. Louis Priory is an all boys school. 6:1 student to teacher ratio. 12 AP courses and 21% of the seniors on average are recognized by the National Merit Scholarship corporation. Students have the opportunity to take Medieval Arts which includes stained glass, mosaics and calligraphy. 100% participation in 12 athletic teams. 30+ clubs & organizations. All seniors complete a thesis: a product of scholarly, scientific or artistic work.
Crossroads College Preparatory School – St. Louis
- 500 DeBaliviere Ave., St. Louis, MO 63112
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from 2018-2022 matriculated to the following colleges and universities: American, Barnard, BC, CU, CalPoly, Case Western, Denison, Drexel, Embry-Riddle, Grinnell, Howard, Loyola, Macalester, NYU, Princeton, Purdue, Sarah Lawrence, TCU, UChicago, UF, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, USC, Vassar, WashingtonU, and William & Mary.
Academic Highlights: 6:1 student to teacher ratio. 96% of faculty have advanced degrees. 10+ AP classes offered. 57% scored a 3 of higher on AP exams. 70% of students play on our of our sports teams. A wide array of art classes and clubs are available in visual, theatre, dance, and music. Chess team placed 3rd at nationals. Every Wednesday, students participate in ‘5th Day’ – an educational laboratory for innovation for students and teachers.
Saint Louis University High School – St. Louis
- 4970 Oakland Avenue St. Louis, MO 63110
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from 2019-2023 have attended these fine institutions: American, Belmont, BW, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Dartmouth, Emory, Georgetown, GaTech, Howard, IUPUI, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Northwestern, Pomona, Stanford, UNC Chapel Hill, US Air Force Acad, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, Notre Dame, Penn, USC, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, WashingtonU, and Yale.
Academic Highlights: St. Louis University High is an all boys school. 95% faculty with advanced degrees. 21 AP courses, 85% scored a 3 or higher. 23 National Merit scholars. 45,000+ service hours each year. 91 zip codes represented. 75+ clubs & co-curriculars. 21 interscholastic sports including esports. 227 students participated in the global education. Students participate in sustainability program through waste, farm to table, and energy.
Principia School – St. Louis
- 13201 Clayton Road St. Louis, MO 63131
College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from the class of 2022 were accepted into these prestigious universities and colleges: BU, Cal Tech, Clemson, Colorado School of Mines, Fordham, FSU, George Washington, GaTech, Indiana Bloomington, Loyola Chicago, Santa Clara, UT Austin, Tufts, US Naval Acad, UC San Diego, UMiami, UMighigan, Mizzou, UWashington, and WashingtonU.
Academic Highlights: 8:1 student to teacher ratio. 23 states & 14 foreign countries represented in student body. 25% of students are boarders. 89% of faculty hold advanced degrees in upper school. 12 AP & college credit courses offered. 20+ performing-arts opportunities each year. 100% of students participate in community service projects. 11 national/international trip opportunities. 20+ sports offerings with 16 interscholastic athletic teams.
De Smet Jesuit High School – St. Louis
- 233 N New Ballas Rd. St. Louis, MO 63141
College Admissions Highlights: Students of De Smet Jesuit have been accepted in the last 2 years to these fine institutions: American, Baylor, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Depaul, Embry-Riddle, Fordham, Gonzaga, Howard, Loyola Chicago, Penn State, Purdue, SMU, Tennessee, Trinity, US Air Force, US Navel Acad, UC Boulder, UF, UMiami, Notre Dame, Valpraiso, and Washington U.
Academic Highlights: De Smet Jesuit is an all boys school. 130+ college credit hours offered in 7 out of 8 departments. 60+ zip codes. 150 service hours each year. 74% of the students play at least 1 sport of the 50+ teams in 19 sports. Over 55 clubs, groups and teams for students to become involved. Students can explore music production, music appreciation and film appreciation in the art department.
Christian Brothers College High School – St. Louis
- 1850 De La Salle Dr., St. Louis, MO 63141
College Admissions Highlights: In the past 5 years, CBC classes have been accepted to these fine institutions: American, Bellarmine, BU, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Colby, William & Mary, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, Drexel, George Mason, Kenyon, NYU, Northeastern, Northwestern, Pepperdine, Rice, US Air Force Acad, West Point, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UMichigan, Notre Dame, VaTech, Wake Forest, and WashingtonU.
Academic Highlights: Christian Brothers College HS is an all boys school. Student to teacher ratio of 10:1 with an average class size of 19. 100 zip codes represented. 78% of faculty with advanced degrees. 152 courses & electives with 14 AP courses. 74% of AP tests received a 3 or higher. All graduates complete at least 114 hours of service. 16 sports with 4 athletic program of the year awards since 2010. Over 40 clubs & activities.
Best Private Schools in St. Louis – Additional Resources
We hope you found our blog on private schools in St. Louis 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.
