Whether you live in New Haven, Greenwich, Stamford, Hartford, Fairfield, or elsewhere in Connecticut, you may be interested in some of the state’s best prep schools.
Without a doubt, several Connecticut prep schools rank among the best in the country. As parents, you have a variety of factors to consider when deciding which prep schools in CT are ideal for your child. Finally, you will need to weigh your teen’s academic, emotional, and social demands against financial and practical issues.
However, our list of the best prep schools in CT will be primarily focused on our area of expertise—college admissions. As a result, we will emphasize each school’s success in sending graduates to the region’s top four-year institutions.
Top Prep Schools in CT
1. St. Joseph High School
Make the most of your transition from high school to higher education at St. Joseph High School, a Catholic College Preparatory School that provides young men and women with unique opportunities to pursue their gifts, strive for greatness, serve the common good, and live with confidence.
With a St. Joes education, you may make the most of your four years by trying new things, challenging your abilities, expanding your thinking, never accepting the status quo, devoting your time and talents to assisting those in need, and laying an ethical basis for your future success.
2. Trinity School
Trinity School, founded in 1709, is an independent, co-educational school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Trinity is frequently ranked as the top prep school in the country, and with good reason: more than 80% of its instructors possess advanced degrees, and the school sends kids to the greatest colleges in the country.
In addition to a full Classics department, Trinity provides a wide range of special programs to help students explore their interests outside of the classroom.
3. Roxbury Latin School
Roxbury Latin School, an all-male school in southwest Boston, is well-known for producing National Merit Scholars and Ivy League students.
Roxbury Latin, founded in 1645, is one of the country’s oldest continuously operating private schools. Its rankings reflect its rigorous academic preparation and exceptional faculty.
For a tiny school, the musical groups on campus are impressive: a glee club, an a cappella group, a junior chorus, a jazz band, and a variety of chamber ensembles are open to student involvement.
4. Brearley School
The Brearley institution, an all-women’s, non-denominational institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, promotes diversity. Students of color account for 44% of the total student body.
Brearley’s 37% Ivy League/MIT/Stanford placement percentage demonstrates the school’s intellectual concentration.
The school encourages students to participate in its numerous study abroad and exchange programs, which include countries such as India, China, and Vietnam, in addition to the more conventional European study abroad destinations. The school also has a robust arts program.
5. Horace Mann School
The Horace Mann School, located on an 18-acre campus in the Riverdale district of the Bronx, is recognized as one of the top feeder schools to the Ivies.
Horace Mann strives to educate the whole person both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to offering a variety of co-curricular activities, students must pass a swim test, acquire CPR, and complete community service hours as part of their graduation requirements.
6. Winsor School
The Winsor School, founded in 1886, is one of the country’s leading all-female prep schools. Its intellectual excellence is demonstrated by a high average combined SAT score of 2100 and a 35% Ivy League/MIT/Stanford enrollment rate.
Winsor serves around 430 pupils from various cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. For additional enrichment, the school provides off-campus programs, exchanges to China and France, and semesters at the Mountain School in Vermont.
7. College Preparatory School
College Prep of Oakland, a coeducational private school, is one of the most selective private day schools in the US, with a student body of only 320.
The very selective admissions procedure ensures that a high-caliber student is admitted, which often leads to these students becoming freshman at the nation’s premier colleges—22 students from College Prep have graduated from Stanford in the last five years.
Every year, students participate in Intraterm, a specialized enrichment program that takes place the week before Spring Break.
8. Collegiate School
Collegiate School, an all-male private school on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, dates back to 1628, making it one of the oldest institutions in the United States.
In addition to having a superb average combined SAT score (2195) and an Ivy League/MIT/Stanford acceptance rate (41%), Collegiate is known for having the state’s finest private school soccer team.
Students are also encouraged to take advantage of the school’s exceptional New York City location by participating in CITYterm, which employs the Manhattan skyline as a teaching setting.
9. Spence School
The Spence School, an all-women’s school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, provides a global learning community on campus.
More than 33% of the student body at Spence is made up of kids of color, and the curriculum is designed such that a student can identify herself while also seeing her culture and ethnicity reflected in her studies. The English Department provides a variety of classes centered on literature from many parts of the world. Upper School students can select from 40 clubs and activities.
10. Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall
Lauralton Hall Catholic, a prep school in Connecticut, is an outstanding alternative for families looking to raise empowered, well-rounded young ladies. The educational programs promote spiritual and academic development, good sportsmanship and athletics, freedom, and personal responsibility.
Students participate in a range of activities and clubs, including literary publications, field trips, dances, and prayer. This private high school strives to assist young women to “pursue their highest potential through lifelong learning, compassionate service, and responsible leadership in a global society.”
11. Chapin School
The Chapin School is a women-only institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. To foster a sense of continuity and community, all students attend school under the same roof.
Chapin has a large network of collaborations to help students accomplish summer internships, including one with the Foreign Policy Association.
Students can also take an elective service-learning course, which combines meaningful community involvement with civic responsibility and social issue education.
12. Avon Old Farms School
This all-boys private high school in Connecticut created its curriculum and residential program to “guide and challenge boys to find their niche and passion in life.” Students roam around and actively participate in class, which improves excitement and understanding.
The school’s four-pillar ideology of fraternity, scholarship, honesty, and sportsmanship unites both boarding and day students.
Twenty-four sub-varsity teams and intramurals prepare student-athletes for prestigious university programs, while extracurricular groups, ranging from the Rubik’s cube club to the investment club, allow students to connect via common interests.
13. Germantown Friends School
Germantown Friends School is a coeducational private day school in Philadelphia’s historic Germantown district. The school has significant ties to the Society of Friends. Germantown Friends is well-known for its excellent academic preparation, with 10-20% of its graduates attending the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.
The school maintains its ideals both within and outside of the classroom, resulting in a rich education for the growth of individual students.
In accordance with its spiritual ideals, Germantown Friends does not compute GPA for class rank and does not recognize a Valedictorian or Salutatorian. Instead, graduating classes choose a faculty member and a classmate to give ceremonial addresses.
14. National Cathedral School
The National Cathedral School (NCS) is a private Episcopal day school for girls in Washington, D.C.’s McLean Gardens neighborhood.
NCS was built before the National Cathedral and continues to honor its past through weekly chapel services per school division and ecumenical, thematic Friday services. Students of color account for 35% of the total student body.
All students must participate in athletic activities such as dancing and yoga programs, as well as outdoor recreation.
15. University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
The Lab School (as it is commonly referred as) is a private, co-educational day school located on the University of Chicago campus in the city’s Hyde Park district. It takes pride in its diverse campus culture.
Professor John Dewey, a leading philosopher, educator, and public intellectual in American history, founded the school in 1896.
Students study cultural, communication, and civility education, as well as take part in an excellent World Languages program.
The Lab School’s students are also noted for their excellence in scholastic journalism.
16. Brunswick School
The Brunswick School, an all-boys private high school in Connecticut, has an A+ rating on Niche.com. Past students praise the lessons learned at Brunswick, both in and out of the classroom, and delight about the first-rate sporting facilities. In addition to top-quality academics, athletics, and arts classes, this Greenwich private high school has hallmark programs in character development, wilderness training, and foreign languages.
Brunswick students are encouraged to engage in community service projects. All juniors receive college placement counseling.
17. Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is not only one of the best prep schools in Connecticut; Niche.com ranks it as the third-best in the United States. This diversified high school gives students an academic advantage by offering eight hallmark programs, STEM-focused learning tracks, and one-of-a-kind academic facilities such as the Kohler Environmental Center.
Over 150 positive reviews on Niche.com list these and other reasons why students and families believe Choate Rosemary Hall is the greatest option for their education.
Conclusion
High school is a time for intellectual engagement, social growth, and college preparation, and if your teen is approaching freshman year, you’re probably looking into the best high schools in Connecticut.
Connecticut is home to numerous private high schools, each with its own set of academics, extracurricular activities, hallmark programs, and beliefs. Whether you’re looking for a private Catholic high school that takes athletics as seriously as the Gospel, a school that values art as much as reading, or a school that emphasizes personal responsibility alongside STEM, you’ll most likely find the ideal private high school in Connecticut here.
