Blog · Who feeds which college · October 2, 2026
The high school that sends the most students to Southern Methodist University is Prestonwood Christian Academy
- Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, Texas sends 15.0 students per class year to Southern Methodist University. That is first of 155 schools whose published lists name Southern Methodist University, and the school labels that list "Class of 2025."
- Four of the top 10 schools are in Texas, the university's own state. Loyola High School in Los Angeles is second, at 8.8 students per class year.
- On the acceptances side, a separate list, Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California shows 40.0 admissions per class year.
Prestonwood Christian Academy printed 15 for Southern Methodist University. A matriculation list is where a school says its graduates enrolled. The school's own words for the years covered are "Class of 2025." That is one class year. So the count per class year is 15.0. Per class year means the school's printed count divided by the class years its list covers. One school prints a single graduating class. Another prints five classes at once. Dividing by the class years lets both lists sit on the same page. It also means a long five-year total does not sit above a one-year count on size alone.
| Rank | High school | City, State | Type | Students per class year | Count as printed | Class years (the school's words) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prestonwood Christian Academy | Plano, TX | private | 15.0 | 15 | Class of 2025 |
| 2 | Loyola High School | Los Angeles, CA | private | 8.8 | 44 | 2020-24 |
| 3 | Santa Margarita Catholic High School | Rancho Santa Margarita, CA | private | 8.0 | 8 | Class of 2025 |
| 4 | New Trier Township H S Winnetka | Winnetka, IL | public | 7.0 | 7 | Class of 2025 |
| 5 | Greenhill School | Addison, TX | private | 5.0 | 20 | 2022 - 2025 |
| 6 | St. Mark's School of Texas | Dallas, TX | private | 5.0 | 15 | Classes of 2023-2025 |
| 7 | Mira Costa High School | Manhattan Beach, CA | public | 5.0 | 5 | Class of 2026 |
| 8 | Ransom Everglades School | Miami, FL | private | 4.8 | 24 | Classes of 2020-24 |
| 9 | The Taft School | Watertown, CT | private | 4.2 | 21 | past five years (2020-2024) |
| 10 | St. John's School | Houston, TX | private | 4.0 | 20 | Over the past five (2022-2026) graduating classes |
Texas is the biggest group in this top 10. Four of the ten schools here are in Texas, the university's own state. Loyola High School in Los Angeles is second, at 8.8 students per class year. That figure comes from 44 printed across the years the school calls "2020-24." Those are five class years, so the per class year figure is 8.8. Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita is third, at 8.0 students per class year. Its 8 students were printed for one class year, the "Class of 2025." So the second and third schools land close together from very different lists. One covers five graduating classes. The other covers one.
Acceptances are a different published list, and the two are never mixed here. An enrollment list counts the graduates who went to a college. An acceptances list counts every college that admitted them. On that separate list, Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California shows 40.0 admissions per class year, from 40 printed.
A school that is not on the list did not publish a numbered matriculation list we could read. That is all absence means. It is never a statement about a school's graduates.
The full board carries the top 25 plus the acceptances section: high schools sending students to Southern Methodist University. The college page is here: Southern Methodist University.
Boards as of October 2, 2026. Schools publish new lists every fall, so the live board is the current ranking.