Best private high schools in the Chicago area, ranked by published college outcomes

Which private high schools in the Chicago area have the strongest published college outcomes?

Among the 6 private high schools in the Chicago area with a counted college list, University of Chicago Lab School sends the most graduates to the Ivy+ twelve, 38.5 per class year (154 over 4 class years), followed by St Ignatius College Prep (6) and North Shore Country Day School (3.8).

How many private high schools in the Chicago area publish a college list?

6 of the 116 private high schools in the Chicago area publish a college list with counts, 9 publish a list without counts, and 101 publish no list we have read.

Which private high schools in the Chicago area are boarding schools?

2 of the 116 private high schools in the Chicago area are listed as boarding schools by the TABS member directory: Lake Forest Academy and Woodlands Academy Of The Sacred Heart.

Which private high schools in the Chicago area are religiously affiliated?

On the federal Private School Survey, 30 of the 116 private high schools in the Chicago area are Catholic, 35 have another religious affiliation and 51 are nonsectarian.

What families are also choosing at a private school

Parents are not only shopping for college outcomes. The tables above count where graduates enrolled, and a high school is also four years of a teenager's days: who they spend them with, what the school asks them to value, and whether the adults know them.

• Community and values fit. A private school sets its own mission and expectations, and the application, the entrance exam and the interview work as a fit signal in both directions. On the federal Private School Survey, 30 of these schools are Catholic, 35 have another religious affiliation and 51 are nonsectarian.
• Residential life. 2 of these schools offer boarding, per the TABS member directory, so living on campus is part of what they offer.
• Class size. Class size is a fair question for each school's admissions office; we hold no student–teacher ratio for the schools listed here.
• Advising. Each private school builds its own college-advising model, so the useful question is how many students each counselor carries and how early the work starts.
• Arts and athletics access. A smaller school can mean more students on each team and in each production; ask each school what participation looks like.

Public schools are a great choice when a family cannot afford a private school, and a published college list is one of the few outcome measures a private school and a public school can be read on side by side.

Every other private high school in the Chicago area with a page on Reach (101)

Listed alphabetically. These schools publish no college list we have read; that is all their absence from the tables above means.

School	City	Grades	Affiliation
Abraxas Naperville Bridge	Woodridge	9–12	Nonsectarian
Acacia Academy	Burr Ridge	4–12	Nonsectarian
American School	Lansing	6–12	Nonsectarian
Arlyn Day School	Highland Park	5–12	Nonsectarian
Austin Career Education Center	Chicago	10–12	Nonsectarian
Br Rice High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Carra Academy	Matteson	—	Nonsectarian
Centerview Therapeutic School	Northbrook	5–12	Nonsectarian
Changing Oasis, Inc	Berwyn	9–12	Other religious
Chesterton Academy Of The Holy Family	Lisle	9–12	Catholic
Chicago Christian High School	Palos Heights	9–12	Other religious
Chicago Hope Academy	Chicago	9–12	Other religious
Chicago Lighthouse	Chicago	—	Nonsectarian
Chicago Waldorf School	Chicago	—	Nonsectarian
Christ The King Jesuit College Preparatory School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Christian Heritage Academy	Northfield	—	Other religious
Clare Woods Academy	Wheaton	—	Nonsectarian
College Preparatory School Of America	Lombard	—	Other religious
Cornerstone Academy	Oak Park	9–12	Other religious
Cove School	Northbrook	2–12	Nonsectarian
Cs Academy	Chicago	—	Other religious
Cs Academy College Prep	Chicago	—	Other religious
De La Salle Institute - Institute Campus	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Elim Christian School	Crestwood	10–12	Other religious
Esperanza Therapeutic School	Chicago	1–12	Nonsectarian
Fasman Yeshiva High School	Skokie	9–12	Other religious
Fusion Academy Ev: Evanston	Evanston	6–12	Nonsectarian
Fusion Academy Lp: Chicago- Lincoln Park	Chicago	6–12	Nonsectarian
Fusion Academy Ob: Chicago- Oak Brook	Oak Brook	8–12	Nonsectarian
Gce Lab School	Chicago	9–12	Nonsectarian
Gems World Academy Chicago	Chicago	—	Nonsectarian
Giant Steps Illinois	Lisle	—	Nonsectarian
Glenoaks Hospital Medical School Programs	Glendale Heights	4–12	Other religious
Greenfields Academy	Chicago	—	Nonsectarian
Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School	Chicago	9–12	Other religious
Hinsdale Adventist Academy	Hinsdale	—	Other religious
Holy Trinity High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Ic Catholic Prep	Elmhurst	9–12	Catholic
Ida Crown Jewish Academy	Skokie	9–12	Other religious
Innovations Academy Therapeutic Day School	Streamwood	3–12	Nonsectarian
Islamic Foundation School	Villa Park	—	Other religious
Joseph Academy	Des Plaines	8–12	Nonsectarian
Joseph Academy	Melrose Park	4–12	Nonsectarian
Joseph Academy-Melrose Park	Melrose Park	4–12	Nonsectarian
Josephinum Academy Of The Sacred Heart	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Keshet High School	Northbrook	9–12	Other religious
Knapp School And Yeshiva	Chicago	1–12	Other religious
Lawrence Hall School	Chicago	4–12	Nonsectarian
Leo Catholic High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Logos Christian Academy	Niles	—	Other religious
Lt Joseph P Kennedy Jr School	Tinley Park	3–12	Nonsectarian
Lubavitch Girls High School	Chicago	9–12	Other religious
Marian Catholic High School	Chicago Heights	9–12	Catholic
Marquette Manor Baptist Academy	Downers Grove	—	Other religious
Maryville Jen School	Des Plaines	9–12	Nonsectarian
Mcc Academy College Prep	Morton Grove	3–12	Other religious
Mcc Academy-Elementary	Skokie	—	Other religious
Mckinley Lakeside Leadership Academy	Chicago	10–12	Nonsectarian
Mesivta Shaarei Adirim	Skokie	9–12	Other religious
Montessori Academy Of North Hoffman	Hoffman Estates	—	Nonsectarian
Montini Catholic High School	Lombard	9–12	Catholic
Mother Mcauley Liberal Arts High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Mount Carmel High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Naperville Christian Academy	Naperville	—	Other religious
Nazareth Academy	La Grange Park	9–12	Catholic
Newhope Academy	Arlington Heights	6–12	Nonsectarian
Northridge Preparatory School	Niles	6–12	Catholic
Notre Dame College Prep	Niles	9–12	Catholic
One School Global Chicago Campus	Elk Grove Village	3–12	Nonsectarian
Our Lady Of Tepeyac High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Pactt Learning Center	Chicago	3–12	Nonsectarian
Providence St. Mel School	Chicago	—	Nonsectarian
Resurrection College Prep High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Rochelle Zell Jewish High School	Deerfield	9–12	Other religious
Roycemore School	Evanston	—	Nonsectarian
Schaumburg Christian School	Schaumburg	—	Other religious
School Of Expressive Arts And Learning (Seal)	Lombard	1–12	Nonsectarian
South Campus	Palatine	1–12	Nonsectarian
South Central Community Services - South Shore	Chicago	9–12	Nonsectarian
St Francis De Sales High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
St Francis High School	Wheaton	9–12	Catholic
St Laurence H.S.	Burbank	9–12	Catholic
St Viator High School	Arlington Heights	9–12	Catholic
Standberry Christian Academy	Harvey	12–12	Other religious
Standberry Christian Academy	South Holland	12–12	Other religious
Telshe High School	Chicago	9–12	Other religious
The Winston Knolls School	Hoffman Estates	2–12	Nonsectarian
Thresholds	Chicago	9–12	Nonsectarian
Timothy Christian Schools	Elmhurst	9–12	Other religious
Treland Academy	Wheaton	8–12	Nonsectarian
Trinity High School	Chicago	9–12	Catholic
Trinity Services -Trinity School	New Lenox	5–12	Nonsectarian
Turning Pointe Cn Day School	Naperville	1–12	Nonsectarian
Ucan Academy	Chicago	3–12	Nonsectarian
Unity Christian Academy	South Holland	9–12	Other religious
Universal School	Bridgeview	—	Other religious
Vine Academy	Burr Ridge	—	Nonsectarian
Walther Christian Academy	Melrose Park	6–12	Other religious
Willows Academy	Des Plaines	6–12	Catholic
Wolcott School	Chicago	9–12	Nonsectarian
Yeshivas Meor Hatorah Of Chicago	Chicago	9–12	Other religious

Other metros are on the private high schools by metro index. The same arithmetic across every state is the Ivy+ enrollment board; for one college at a time, see which private schools send the most students to each college.

Ivy+ means these twelve: Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Columbia University in the City of New York, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Duke University. A graduate is counted once, at the college the school says they enrolled at; the per-class-year figure is the published total divided by the class years the school's own document covers, and both are shown. A school that is not on this page did not publish a numbered matriculation list we could read — that is all absence means here. It is never a statement about a school's graduates. Lists of acceptances (where students were admitted, not where they enrolled) are never counted in this ranking: an acceptances list runs about three times an enrollment list, so counting the two together would compare different things. Those lists are ranked on their own, separately. Grades and religious affiliation are from the National Center for Education Statistics' Private School Survey. Boarding is read from the TABS member directory — The Association of Boarding Schools' 2026 list of its US member schools — matched onto our school pages by exact or town-confirmed name (173 of them). A school that directory does not list is not called a boarding school on a guess, so it waits for the next directory pass rather than appearing here. A school is listed here when its NCES coordinates fall within 30 miles of the metro's center and it is in IL.