25. Head-Royce School—Oakland, Calif.
Academics: A
Student Culture & Diversity: A+
Former students say: "At the Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA, many of the students are welcoming and kind. You will rarely see a student not involved in anything on campus. A majority of the student body is involved in either sports, clubs, or the arts, or even all three. Head-Royce encourages their students to be individuals while being a part of a whole.
Peer pressure was not an issue when I went to school here and in my experience, we practiced acceptance of any individuals and their differences. As a private school, we had a small student body and we mostly knew everyone. So when the "ally" campaign to support the coming out of LGBTQ individuals, we were all very supportive of each other and there was a no tolerance rule for rude and insensitive comments."
24. Chadwick School—Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "I've had lots of opportunities and have had great experiences at this school. I would definitely do it all over again. This school has shaped me into the person I am today."
"They're [teachers] understanding and very approachable. They help make the Chadwick experience worth it."
23. Menlo School—Atherton, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "Academics are top-priority. The pressure to succeed is prevalent, and `being in the top quintile of students is a formidable accomplishment."
"I really enjoyed Menlo. It gave me the opportunity to meet lot of new people and do different things. I liked most of my teachers and classmates. I made lifelong friends. I would definitely recommend this school if you want to be exposed to new and different things in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. People like to participate in sports, drama, dancing shows, go to dance, travel, etc."
22. Polytechnic School—Pasadena, Calif
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "The teachers at poly are the best. All of them teach because they love to teach, they love their subject, and they love the students. They are always open to extra tutoring, to helping you with any problems you have anywhere in your life, and even to a casual conversation. The teachers will kick your butt in class sometimes, but always have the student in mind and will make sure every student is learning and feeling comfortable."
"The best. Great class options, great teacher. Hard classes and lots of homework."
21. Flintridge Preparatory School—La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "Each teacher cares deeply about the success and well being of each individual student, even to the point of forming close friendships after high school."
"The buildings are constantly being remodeled to fit newer standards of learning, with updated technology and campus-wide wireless internet connection. Our college counselors are incredible and were able to get every single person in my graduating class into a university they like. Teachers are always available to tutor when necessary, as are senior students. Parent involvement during events is exceptionally high."
20. St. Paul's School—Concord, NH
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: "The campus is beautiful! My favorite part of the school year was looking forward to all the exciting traditions on campus."
"Students tend to be very successful after graduation like John Kerry and Robert Mueller. Everyone is very smart, and SPS gives them the extra stepping stone to succeed afterwards."
19. Lick-Wilmerding High School—San Francisco, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "When searching for a high school, one major criteria I looked for was diversity. Having attended a private school on financial aid for my middle school years, I felt ostracized from people who where ethnically like myself. As a high school, Lick was an exception. I found here not only ethnic diversity, but socioeconomic, religious, and political diversity as well.
This diverse community has contributed greatly to my learning process due to the variety of world-understandings I am exposed to in the classroom everyday. My friends come from all different walks of life, giving me insight into my life that I would not have had I not come to Lick. If I were to do if all over again, undoubtedly, I would choose Lick."
18. Southwestern Academy—San Marino, Calif.
Academics: A
Student Culture & Diversity: A+
Former students say: "My school has many good teachers, and the classes are always difficult and have a balanced workload."
17. The Harker School—San Jose, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: B
Former students say: "You can't really complain about academics here because there are many kinds of classes with different levels from intro up to post-AP curricula. The workload is heavy, if you load up on lots of APs. The popular classes tend to be the more challenging ones, and class sizes are small, so you get personal attention from teachers. The teachers are very accommodating with the business of students, but they also want you to be independent learners."
"Teachers are informative without being authoritarian. They love teaching, and that's why they come here."
16. Harvard-Westlake School—Los Angeles, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: B+
Former students say: "Counselors truly are available for anything. It's up to the student to go up to the counselor or anyone and ask for help. But they have tons of resources to help out with anything."
"This school is top-notch and has fantastic programs in every department that make me very confident in almost every subject. Every teacher really puts in a lot of effort to turn even the worst kids into critical thinkers."
15. Deerfield Academy—Deerfield, Mass.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: B+
Former students say: "My school is an amazing place to spend four years because the people in the community, the devoted teacher and the moments that will never be forgotten. My favorite experiences are spending hours in the hall talking and fooling around with my hall mates, that when friendship become true. I also love the games days against our rival school when the whole school comes out to support. The energy and school spirit is bursting out of the gym or when ever the game is."
14. Sidwell Friends School—Washington, D.C.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "We have great teacher and faculty they are all attentive and available."
"I've had a lot of [good experiences] and learned a lot and the school even makes it easy for students to go abroad and graduate on time."
13. Oregon Episcopal School—Raleigh Hills, Ore.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "I have been incredibly impressed with the college counselors at my school. They have been proactive and very involved, leading us carefully through every step of the process and making sure we are headed down a path that is just right for each student."
"The technology is great and all advisors and counselors are very willing and able to assist!"
12. The Lawrenceville School—Lawrenceville, N.J.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "Lawrenceville teachers cultivate life of the mind by example as well as by instruction. More than 90 percent of our faculty hold advanced degrees, and many make direct contributions to their disciplines of teaching as published scholars, scientific researchers, textbook authors, novelists and playwrights, professional musicians and artists, Advanced Placement exam developers, and leading innovators in education.
Four are faculty in professional development programs at the collegiate level (Middlebury College, Rutgers University, and Columbia University) and in any given year close to a dozen of our teachers present their work at regional and national conferences. The School encourages our faculty to keep current in their fields and improve their courses; this past summer, half of our faculty received funding for conference attendance, advanced study, and course design work in the summer."
11. Milton Academy—Milton, Mass.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: "Upon entrance to spring of your Junior year, you begin meeting with the college counseling department, there to ensure you are prepared for the applications that follow the next fall. You work closely with these counselors, some of who could even be your dorm parents. They know you and it makes the whole process easier and much more personalized."
"[The teachers are] Diverse, smart, driven, helpful, caring, open."
10. Dalton School—New York, NY
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: "Excellent relationship with professors. Love classes."
"The teachers are more like college professors."
9. Lakeside School—Seattle, Wash.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say:"Lakeside is one of the best schools in the country for academics. We have incredible teachers and amazing resources, including computers for everyone and Smartboards in almost every classroom. Our curriculum was frustrating, only because you were not given much choice in terms of classes until 11th grade. Schedules were great because (depending on your number of classes), you would have one to four free periods every day, and that would be a time to eat lunch, do homework, meet with teachers, work out, or just relax."
8. San Francisco University High School—San Francisco, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A+
Former students say: "Very rigorous academically. Challenging athletics. My school pushed me to be the best I could. I felt very accomplished with the work that I put in."
7. The Hotchkiss School—Lakeville, Conn.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: "I felt extremely prepared for college."
"The dorms are all very close to the main building, where most of my classes are. Dorms are cleaned daily by a cleaning crew, who are the most amazing humans on this plant. Always smiling and saying hello."
6. Trinity School—New York, NY
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: "The teachers are some of the best money has to buy and this is evident through their lectures and classes."
5. Castilleja School—Palo Alto, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: B
Former students say:: "This school really cares about the students and puts them first. They aren't always able to get everything right, but Castilleja always tries to improve and change with the times. I appreciated the all-girls environment and the supportive community."
4. Horace Mann School—New York, NY
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A-
Former students say: " It's an incredible experience because there are such a wide variety of classes, an amazing amount of diversity among the students, and lot of options for extracurriculars. My school does a great job at catering to the interests of its students as well as providing new opportunities. It's such a stimulating environment. I can't imagine myself at any other school."
3. The College Preparatory School—Oakland, Calif.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A
Former students say: "Upon graduation, I felt extremely well-prepared for college and the "real world." Every student from my graduating class went on to attend some sort of higher education institution, and most students will tell you that college was a comparatively easy experience for them after attending College Prep."
2. Ransom Everglades School—Miami, Fla.
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A+
Former students say: "The faculty members were for the most part fantastic, and really quite helpful and wonderfully unique people. I can't think of a single teacher of mine that I did not like. The facilities and materials we had at our disposal were also phenomenal and greatly helped in the learning process for the classes I took there, especially the science-oriented ones."
1. Phillips Exeter Academy—Exeter, NH
Academics: A+
Student Culture & Diversity: A+
Former students say: " Really challenging, and often stressful, but it pushed me to grow in so many ways, as student and as a human being."
"It's been great. There are so many different ways to get involved. I've volunteered and played sports to keep me sane with the tough workload."