Private high schools

Best private high schools in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley, ranked by college outcomes

39 private high schools in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have a profile page on Reach, and 23 of them have a UC Reach Score for 2025. The highest score is 194, at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, from 175 UC admits counted at each campus for 90 seniors. Tuition runs from $9,395 to $68,600 among the 18 that publish it. 7 publish a college list with counts.

Home › Private high schools by metro › the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley

Which private high schools in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley have the best college outcomes?

Among the 23 private high schools in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties with a 2025 UC Reach Score, BASIS Independent Silicon Valley ranks first at 194, followed by The Harker School (126) and Castilleja School (114).

# School City Grades Tuition Entrance exam Application deadline UC Reach Score UC admits 2025 Seniors Publishes a counted college list Top 3 named colleges
1 BASIS Independent Silicon Valley San Jose TK–12 $36,380
2026-27
 ISEE or SSAT Jan 27, 2027 194 175 90 No —
2 The Harker School San Jose TK–12 — ISEE or SSAT Jan 5, 2027 126 245 195 Yes Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, New York University
3 Castilleja School Palo Alto 6–12 — None required Jan 5, 2027 114 58 51 No —
4 Valley Christian High School San Jose 9–12 $37,640
2026-27
 None posted Dec 7, 2026 96 397 415 Yes University of California, Berkeley, Santa Clara University, San Jose State University
5 Notre Dame High School San Jose 9–12 $28,880
2026-27
 Optional Dec 11, 2026 94 155 165 No —
6 Pacific Bay Christian School Pacifica 9–12 — None posted Jan 15, 2027 77 17 22 No —
7 Pinewood School Los Altos Hills K–12 — None posted Jan 5, 2027 72 39 54 No —
8 Woodside Priory School Portola Valley 6–12 — School's own test Jan 5, 2027 70 52 74 Yes UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Cornell University
9 Oakwood School Morgan Hill Preschool–12 — ISEE or school's own assessment Jan 4, 2027 68 27 40 No —
10 Archbishop Mitty High School San Jose 9–12 $33,860
2026-27
 HSPT Dec 11, 2026 65 275 420 No —
11 The King's Academy Sunnyvale K–12 $28,900
2026-27
 SSAT Feb 6, 2027 65 105 162 No —
12 The Nueva School San Mateo PreK–12 $65,065
2026-27
 None required Jan 5, 2027 65 70 108 Yes Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of California-Berkeley
13 Crystal Springs Uplands School Hillsborough 6–12 $68,600
2026-27
 None required Jan 5, 2027 64 51 80 No —
14 Menlo School Atherton 6–12 $67,792
2026-27
 School's own test Jan 5, 2027 62 93 149 Yes Stanford University, University of California (Berkeley), University of Chicago
15 Presentation High School San Jose 9–12 $33,870
2026-27
 HSPT Dec 11, 2026 43 61 143 No —
16 Bellarmine College Preparatory San Jose 9–12 $33,575
2026-27
 HSPT — 42 169 407 No —
17 Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School San Jose 9–12 — None posted Jan 15, 2027 35 31 88 No —
18 Junipero Serra High School San Mateo 9–12 $30,800
2026-27
 HSPT Nov 20, 2026 34 74 215 No —
19 Saint Francis High School Mountain View 9–12 $30,550
2026-27
 HSPT Dec 11, 2026 34 146 426 No —
20 Sacred Heart Preparatory School Atherton 9–12 $59,565
2026-27
 None required Jan 5, 2027 33 51 154 No —
21 Notre Dame High School Belmont 9–12 $33,730
2026-27
 HSPT Dec 11, 2026 32 25 79 No —
22 Eastside College Prep School East Palo Alto 9–12 — None posted Dec 11, 2026 26 15 57 No —
23 Mercy High School Burlingame 9–12 $30,328
2026-27
 HSPT Jan 15, 2027 25 20 81 No —

Also in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley

16 more private high schools have a page here but no 2025 UC Reach Score, listed alphabetically.

School City Grades Tuition Entrance exam Application deadline UC Reach Score UC admits 2025 Seniors Publishes a counted college list Top 3 named colleges
Apostles Lutheran School San Jose — — — — — — — No —
Cambrian Academy San Jose — — — — — — — No —
Fusion Academy Cupertino Cupertino 4–12 — None posted — — 5 — No —
Fusion Academy-Los Gatos Los Gatos 4–12 — None posted — — — — No —
German International School Silicon Vlly Mountain View Preschool–12 — School's own test — — — — No —
Granada Islamic School Santa Clara — — — — — 4 — No —
Kehillah Jewish High School Palo Alto 9–12 — — — — — — No —
Khan Lab School Mountain View TK–12 $38,850
2026-27
 None posted Jan 15, 2027 — 12 — Yes University of Chicago, Northeastern University, University of Washington
Live Oak Academy Santa Clara K–12 $9,395
2026-27
 School's own test — — — — Yes West Valley Community College, CA, Santa Clara University, UCLA (acceptances)
Lydian Academy Llc Menlo Park — — — — — — — No —
Mid Peninsula High School Menlo Park 9–12 — — — — — — No —
Mountain View Academy Mountain View 9–12 — None posted — — — — No —
Rise Academy San Jose 9–12 — School's own test — — — — No —
School for Independent Learner Los Altos — — — — — — — No —
Silicon Valley International School Menlo Park Preschool–12 $49,130
2027-28
 None posted Jan 13, 2027 — — — No —
Waldorf School of the Peninsula Mountain View 6–12 — — — — — — No —

What does tuition cost at private high schools in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley?

18 of the 39 private high schools publish tuition: the lowest is $9,395 at Live Oak Academy and the highest is $68,600 at Crystal Springs Uplands School, with a median of $33,865.

The five lowest and five highest of 18 published tuitions; every school's figure is in the table above.

Which entrance exam do private high schools in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley require?

31 of the 39 private high schools have an entrance-exam entry on file; by exam: None posted, 10; HSPT, 7; School's own test, 5; None required, 4; ISEE or SSAT, 2; ISEE or school's own assessment, 1; Optional, 1; SSAT, 1. Each school's exam, test dates and source page are on the entrance exams in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley page.

When are applications due at private high schools in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley?

24 of the 39 private high schools have an upcoming application deadline on file: the earliest is Junipero Serra High School on Nov 20, 2026 and the latest is The King's Academy on Feb 6, 2027.

The earliest 10 of 24 upcoming deadlines.

Other metros are on the private high schools by metro index, and every California private school's tuition is ranked on the tuition page. For public and charter schools too, use the county index or the California high school rankings. To compare private and public schools, see San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, or is a private school worth the tuition?

UC Reach Score is top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in 2025, counted at each campus, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each; a dash means the University of California published no admit counts for that school. Tuition, entrance exam, grades and application deadline come from each school's own admissions pages and are shown only where the school publishes them; deadlines already past are omitted. A school "publishes a counted college list" when its own published list carries a count beside each college; the three colleges shown are the three with the largest counts on that list. The list excludes nonclassroom-based online schools and schools the California Department of Education records with no 12th grade.