These secondary schools really cost more than some of the most costly university fees, so forget about saving for college. The nation’s priciest high schools are officially ranked every year by 24/7 Wall Street. Here are the schools that made our list based on their price tags and what precisely it is about those institutions that makes them so sought.
25. St. Thomas More School – $53,900
Basketball is king at St. Thomas More School in Oakdale, Connecticut. And it’s understandable why: roughly 20 past students from St. Thomas More School went on to play professionally in the NBA. Because of this, many of the students that attend this institution do so in the hopes of improving their prospects of being selected on a collegiate basketball team competing at the NCAA Division I level.
The cost of realizing this lofty ideal is high—nearly $54,000 year, to be exact. However, that cost includes certain benefits like first-rate gyms, a beach, pier, and boathouse. Additionally, there are approximately 40 distinct academic course options, five sporting fields, tennis courts, and a track.
24. Linden Hall – $54,200 Yearly Tuition
The oldest all-girls residential school in continuous existence in the United States, Linden Hall was established in 1746. The beautiful campus, which is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is well-known for its world-class equestrian team and facilities.
On the grounds of Linden Hall, there are 20 horses and an indoor riding arena for competitions with a “large observation deck and cozy lounge.” There is also a sizable outside ring and a heated tack room, but that’s not all. The institution provides year-round training opportunities. Both on-campus horse exhibitions and prestigious national contests feature student competitors. In addition, the school provides training for students to earn a genuine pilot’s license if riding is not their thing.
23. The MacDuffie School – $55,450 Yearly Tuition
The MacDuffie School, which is based in Granby, Massachusetts, describes itself as a “international community.” Half of the 266 students are international, hailing from more than 25 different nations. And it seems sense that students from all around the world would want to attend this pricey private high school.
Students may find a full salad bar, soup bar, deli bar, fresh cut fruits and vegetables, rotating hot entrées, and handmade desserts in the cafeteria at this high school, which costs $55,450. Aside from having several tennis courts, the 50-acre school also has a crew team, a renowned dance department, a student center with comfortable sofas and charging stations, as well as dorms for the 50% of students who stay over.
22. Grier School – $55,900 Yearly Tuition
Young ladies who enroll at Pennsylvania’s Grier School, an all-girls residential school, pay $55,900 a year to enjoy life’s better luxuries. And by “finer things,” we refer to a dance curriculum and theater school that hires industry professionals to instruct aspiring Broadway dancers in their craft.
If dancing isn’t one’s thing, there are plenty more lavish benefits available. Grier’s equestrian team has more than 40 horses, two indoor rings, and two outdoor rings among the 50 activities available at the school. All students reside on site in “cottages,” which are supervised by housemothers.
21. Avenues: The World School – $56,400 Yearly Tuition
Parents of Avenues pupils include billionaires in technology and even famous people. The daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Suri Cruise, allegedly went to Avenues. Avenues: The World School in New York City offers perks to its pupils in exchange for its staggering $56,400 annual tuition.
First off, each and every kid is given a MacBook and an iPad, and the school has a cafeteria that would rival most buffet restaurants. Additionally, every graduate is a native speaker of either Mandarin or Spanish. Additionally, black town cars with private drivers typically line the street at the conclusion of a lengthy school day to transport pupils back to their opulent residences.
20. Woodberry Forest School – $57,250 Yearly Tuition
Only 395 young men enroll in the exclusive, all-male residential school Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. But anybody might infer from the campus’ appearance that it was designed to house thousands of people. A ropes course, a skeet shooting range, an outdoor pool, a lake, and even a golf course are on the school’s grounds.
A weekly dinner menu that seems like it belongs on a luxury restaurant is only one of the many benefits that come with the exorbitant $57,250 price tag. Students will be served meals including roast beef au jus, pork tenderloin, and chicken florentine in a single week. Yes, there are schools that don’t serve terrible cafeteria food, but they are quite expensive.
19. Kent School – $58,450 Yearly Tuition
The Kent School, located in Kent, Connecticut, has charming brick buildings surrounded by immaculately kept fields, changing fall foliage, and the Housatonic River. Additionally, these stunning grounds have baseball and football fields, squash courts, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and even a boathouse and rowing house.
All of these amenities are available to students at this private, co-ed boarding school for a staggering $58,450 annual tuition, which is more than some students pay for their private institutions. The 172 courses and 56 clubs that are offered to students are made possible thanks to the sizable check. The Kent School offers a cafeteria with a pizza station, sandwich bar, salad bar, pasta bar, dessert bar, and even a cereal bar, in case that isn’t enough.
18. Midland School – $58,600 Yearly Tuition
Half a school, half a functioning farm, Midland School is located on California’s Central Coast. In addition to completing high school-level classes, students who pay $58,600 year can cut wood, take care of the farm’s animals, maintain the property, clean windows, and cultivate and select their own food. The pupils handle everything. In truth, there is no maintenance or janitorial personnel at Midland School.
Additionally, there is another feature of this 10-acre farm that sets it apart from other high schools. Once they enroll at Midland, students must give up their telephones until the conclusion of the term. Each student is also instructed to bring an axe, a knife, and a lighter to class on the first day instead of the usual book load.
17. The Hill School – $59,050 Yearly Tuition
Business Insider named The Hill School, which is located only 40 miles outside of Philadelphia, as one of the top boarding schools in the nation. And that makes sense. Several senators, a secretary of state and treasury, the current governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, and even President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., are Hill School alums.
Visitors to The Hill School will see pupils dressed according to the “formal academic dress code.” Girls must wear a blazer and a “appropriate collared Oxford shirt,” while boys must wear a coat and tie. All day long, even during chapel services, sit-down dinners, and “mandatory evening performances,” these outfits must be worn.
16. Northwood School – $59,920 Yearly Tuition
Hearing the phrase “private boarding school in Lake Placid, New York” gives us a hint that this is probably a rather posh institution. In addition to providing college-level coursework to its students, the school makes every effort to capitalize on its advantageous location midway between the Adirondack Mountains and Mirror Lake.
Students are encouraged to use the hiking trails that are accessible from Northwood University’s campus, and every year they participate in “Mountain Day,” an all-day hiking excursion. This school’s athletic department features whitewater kayaking, alpine skiing, rock climbing, and snowboarding, all of which are location-specific activities.
15. Episcopal High School – $60,900 Yearly Tuition
We wouldn’t be shocked if someone mistook Episcopal High School for a college campus after seeing it. Virginia’s first high school covers 130 beautifully landscaped acres and has elegant brick buildings and pathways. In the school’s cutting-edge classrooms, enormous gyms, squash courts, or on-campus chapel, pupils can be found.
What this institution offers outside of its campus is also exceptionally unique. Every student participates in the “Washington Program,” which takes them to neighboring Washington, D.C., and requires all seniors to complete an on-site internship there.
14. Salisbury School – $61,000 Yearly Tuition
Anyone who wants to attend Salisbury School in Connecticut will have to pay $61,000 a year to do so. The private, all-boys, 725-acre institution has a gymnasium that is 110,000 square feet in size. Isn’t it not enough? How about a hockey rink the size of the Olympic Stadium? Additionally, there are two basketball courts, eight squash courts, a wrestling room, two gyms, and a 500-seat turf field arena.
The academic curriculum of Salisbury School covers a wide range of topics, from digital media and entrepreneurship studies to boat building and the design and construction of tiny houses. Students visit the dining hall after a long day of classes to take advantage of Milkshake Mondays, farm-to-table alternatives, a “Asian Pho bar,” cookouts, and themed dinners.
13. The Storm King School – $61,700 Yearly Tuition
The Storm King School is one of New York’s oldest boarding schools, and has been recognized inside the top 50 boarding schools in North America. And any of the 195 fortunate students who are allowed to attend get to sit in classes with, on average, only eight other people.
The 55-acre campus was characterized as “big and cozy at the same time” by a student at the institution. We are unsure of which properties have tennis courts, fencing teams, or modest “cottage”-style dormitories, though. Additionally, the school employs private chefs who prepare food for the noodle bar, sandwich bar, pasta bar, and vegetable bar.
12. St. Paul’s School – $62,000 Yearly Tuition
In Concord, New Hampshire, a $62,000 boarding school promotes itself as “extremely selective” in terms of the high school students who are allowed to enroll and live on the 2,000-acre campus. As one of the eight most prestigious private schools in the nation, St. Paul’s School is a member of the Eight Schools Association.
Additionally, this institution places equal value on academics and athletics. Not only must everyone of the 500+ students participate in at least one athletic team, but the school is also the location of the first hockey match played in the United States. Another impressive feature is that the first squash court ever constructed in the nation was situated on the property.
11. Trinity-Pawling School – $62,000 Yearly Tuition
The all-boys boarding school Trinity-Pawling School, located 60 miles north of New York City, prides itself on being “where lads find their greatness.” However, success also has a hefty $62,000 annual tuition cost. The 400-seat theater, greenhouse, modern arts center, and several sporting fields are all available to the 300 students for that fee.
Students at Trinity-Pawling School must also follow a rigid dress code. The “Blues and Grays” uniform for males consists of a Trinity-Pawling navy blue blazer, gray dress slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a blue and gold tie, typically in the shape of a bow tie.
10. St. Andrew’s School – $62,280 Yearly Tuition
All 300+ students at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware, are obligated to board and reside on campus. This school is situated on a 2,200-acre property, so there is space for everyone. A scene from an episode of The West Wing featured the campus, which was portrayed as the boarding school attended by young President Bartlet, in addition to being enormous and evocative of a New England boarding school.
A six-lane crew course, a boathouse, 14 tennis courts, five soccer fields, four lacrosse fields, an indoor rowing facility, and nine regulation squash courts are all located on the St. Andrew’s campus. Erin Burnett, a CNN anchor, and singer Maggie Rogers are notable St. Andrew’s School alums. They join a group of graduates that also includes Pulitzer Prize-winning writers, ambassadors from the United States, professional athletes, and gold medalists from the Olympics.
9. Wasatch Academy – $62,300 Yearly Tuition
“America’s boarding school for Generation Z,” claims Wasatch Academy. Additionally, this school in Utah offers an after-school ski club, equestrian club, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, and mountain biking in order to cater to this specific demographic. The site also has state-of-the-art classrooms, as well as lovely and welcoming theaters and art studios.
In addition, the school offers lessons in sewing, video production, 3-D animation, and pottery throwing. The campus also has a sizable weightlifting gym, an indoor pool, and indoor basketball courts for individuals who prefer after-school athletics. The fact that Wasatch Academy boasts one of the top high school basketball teams in the nation also helps.
8. IMG Academy – $63,000 Yearly Tuition
The infamously enormous Olympic training facilities look just like IMG Academy. And the reason for it is that IMG Academy is just that. This exclusive boarding school also serves as a sports camp. They provide year-round, intensive instruction in track & field, cross country, baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis.
This campus is one where seeing is believing. IMG Academy’s immaculate facilities, huge fields, apparently mile-long weightlifting rooms, and top-notch training facilities are easily seen online. Sports and weight training are included into the pupils’ instructional schedules because they are all quite serious athletes.
7. The Berkshire School – $64,200 Yearly Tuition
The Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts has magnificent white buildings and emerald green quads. On its 400-acre site, Nike has some of the greatest sports facilities in New England, so it makes sense that they choose to host their annual Running Camp there each year.
This institution has “acres of unspoiled woodland lined with pathways that climb behind the school,” “tastefully proportioned ivy-covered buildings,” and has been dubbed “one of the loveliest campuses in Massachusetts, if not anywhere” by The Boston Globe. Students may participate in after-school activities like a croquet club, a dog walking club, a bagpipes group, and more on that spotless campus.
6. The Lang School – $65,000 Yearly Tuition
The Lang School in New York City has some rather high standards for its students. The Lang School’s website states that in addition to fulfilling the prerequisites for college, students “beyond taking college entry requirements, choose electives, develop a portfolio, acquire mentors, apply for competitive internships, and choose their college majors — typically by their junior year.”
All upper school students at this talented school are required to complete an independent study on a subject they are enthusiastic about in addition to paying a whopping tuition of $65,000 per student. For instance, the school advises “learning to disassemble and reassemble a Porsche” and “studying the history of surgical knots.”
5. The Oxford Academy – $67,000 Yearly Tuition
A name like The Oxford Academy practically begs the question of how much tuition anybody enrolling will be expected to pay. This exclusive all-boys boarding school is situated in Westbrook, Connecticut, one of the wealthiest communities in the United States, and tuition is an eye-opening $67,000 a year.
For that much, this school promises its 48 pupils “individualized one-on-one lessons” that are “an alternative to the usual classroom format”. Some students take advantage of their proximity to the water outside of the classroom by joining the sailing club at their school. Others benefit from the school’s overseas excursions, such its regular eight-day visit to Italy.
4. The Woodhall School – $74,500 Yearly Tuition
The Woodhall School promotes its “unconventional learning” programs and attracts “unconventional learners” with its personalised instruction and small class sizes. Small classrooms are exactly that—small. Since there are often only 2–5 students each session, everyone has a private high school tutor. Because of this, there are never more than 42 kids registered at one time in the whole institution.
Students could be eating breakfast with an omelette chef when they aren’t in their specialized classes. Or, of course, they may be participating in one of the school’s organizations like a cappella, astronomy, investing, or social media. In addition, there are 25 acres of forests, sand volleyball courts, and a campus pond to explore.
3. The Quad Preparatory School – $74,850 Yearly Tuition
The Quad Preparatory School, which is located in Manhattan’s financial district, specializes on instructing youngsters who are regarded as outstanding students. A high school student at The Quad could attend advanced math or language classes on a typical day in addition to the obligatory foreign language course, counseling, and health and wellness classes. Additionally, there are electives taught by students, including cooking or streaming video news.
The Quad School is committed to placing its students in the top universities in the nation. By the eleventh and twelfth grades, every student is required to go to weekly individual college counseling sessions and biweekly check-ins with academic advisers. That seems to be a lot of strain. It makes sense that the school’s grounds include a “Zen Zone” area.
2. Forman School – $78,600 Yearly Tuition
The Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut, specializes on serving adolescents with ADD and ADHD and offers courses that are thought to provide them with the skills necessary for success as they head toward college. The annual tuition for those “college keys” is $78,600, which is more than some institutions themselves cost.
The 125-acre rural campus has a large dining hall, a robotics lab, many dorms, tennis fields, and sporting facilities. The majority of the food served on campus is produced locally, and the Lion’s Den Bistro provides cooking lessons so that even lunch may be informative. Several pupils have the option of skipping a sport in favor of working in the school kitchen six days per week.
1. Shortridge Academy – $85,000 Yearly Tuition
As a therapeutic academy, Shortridge Academy describes itself. The school claims that in addition to its academic offerings, it places a strong emphasis on students’ emotional and behavioral health as they attempt to navigate the perplexing period of adolescence. Each student really has a counselor they can talk to about their issues with, and counselors collaborate with parents to create tailored treatment plans.
In addition to this, students can participate in several creative arts and music programs, as well as sports like jiu jitsu, weightlifting, and mountaineering. Many of these kids continue on to one of their top-choice institutions after graduating from Shortridge.