Private HS's in LA

[Anonymous]

Possibly moving to LA. DD would be applying in the middle of 9th grade, or maybe 10th, depending when we move. Should this be moved to the LA forum?

[Anonymous]

The two best private high schools in Los Angeles are probably Harvard-Westlake School (Bel Air, tuition $37,100, plus fees, about 290 students per class)) and Polytechnic School (Pasadena, tuition $36,100, about 119 students per class).

Polytechnic School had classes of only 98-105 students until the Class of 2018 (when they were increased to about 119-120). And yet even with those small classes between 2012-2016 "the school sent 18 students to Harvard, [and] 29 to Stanford." (Admirable by Big 3 standards.)

Other very good private high schools include Archer
School for Girls (girls only), Crossroads, Loyola (boys only), Flintridge Prep, Marlborough (girls only), Westridge School (girls only). The Catholic high schools (Loyola is one) are also very well respected and attended in Los Angeles.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/hollywood-insiders-guide-la-private-schools-1029445/item/hollywood-guide-la-schools-viewpoint-school-1029438

[Anonymous]

Brentwood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brentwood.

Yes, I forgot Brentwood, also very good. The West side, obviously in Brentwood.

[Anonymous]

Post this in the LA forum! My sister had two kid who went to Harvard Westlake. Both were in the top 10% of the class, but the most competitive colleges only took the top 3%. I can’t remember but there was something about the state schools not taking many private school kids. Both said they would have been better off going to a less competitive or public high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Post this in the LA forum! My sister had two kid who went to Harvard Westlake. Both were in the top 10% of the class, but the most competitive colleges only took the top 3%. I can’t remember but there was something about the state schools not taking many private school kids. Both said they would have been better off going to a less competitive or public high school.

In 2015, 11 of the 99 students in Poly's senior class went to Harvard or Stanford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The two best private high schools in Los Angeles are probably Harvard-Westlake School (Bel Air, tuition $37,100, plus fees, about 290 students per class)) and Polytechnic School (Pasadena, tuition $36,100, about 119 students per class).

Polytechnic School had classes of only 98-105 students until the Class of 2018 (when they were increased to about 119-120). And yet even with those small classes between 2012-2016 "the school sent 18 students to Harvard, [and] 29 to Stanford." (Admirable by Big 3 standards.)

Other very good private high schools include Archer
School for Girls (girls only), Crossroads, Loyola (boys only), Flintridge Prep, Marlborough (girls only), Westridge School (girls only). The Catholic high schools (Loyola is one) are also very well respected and attended in Los Angeles.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/hollywood-insiders-guide-la-private-schools-1029445/item/hollywood-guide-la-schools-viewpoint-school-1029438

Thanks! What's HW's acceptance rate like?

[Anonymous]

Very competitive, but they like out-of-State diversity in an applicant. If your DD has very good grades and strong standardized test scores, she will an attractive candidate. Give L.A. one year to get used to it, after that you will love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very competitive, but they like out-of-State diversity in an applicant. If your DD has very good grades and strong standardized test scores, she will an attractive candidate. Give L.A. one year to get used to it, after that you will love it.

Thanks again, DD is actually very excited about the potential move. Are schools in general there easier to get into than dc?

[Anonymous]

Greater metropolitan L.A. has a population of about 10 million people. If anything the very best private schools are more difficult to get into. However there are many more very strong private schools options than we have here in DC.

My advice to you: (1) find out where your office is located; (2) buy/rent a house/apartment within a relatively easy commute of your workplace (e.g., do not live in Santa Monica if you work at Caltech); and (3) cast a wide net for schools within walking distance or a 20 minute drive, max, of where your house/apartment is located.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Post this in the LA forum! My sister had two kid who went to Harvard Westlake. Both were in the top 10% of the class, but the most competitive colleges only took the top 3%. I can’t remember but there was something about the state schools not taking many private school kids. Both said they would have been better off going to a less competitive or public high school.

In 2015, 11 of the 99 students in Poly's senior class went to Harvard or Stanford.

Really? Class size is about 300...maybe your other info is wrong also?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Post this in the LA forum! My sister had two kid who went to Harvard Westlake. Both were in the top 10% of the class, but the most competitive colleges only took the top 3%. I can’t remember but there was something about the state schools not taking many private school kids. Both said they would have been better off going to a less competitive or public high school.

In 2015, 11 of the 99 students in Poly's senior class went to Harvard or Stanford.

Really? Class size is about 300...maybe your other info is wrong also?

Polytechnic School's class size is most definitely not 300! It is a K-12 school. I just called the Admissions Office over there to verify, and they said their high school class sizes are between 90-100 students right now. The other information is correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Post this in the LA forum! My sister had two kid who went to Harvard Westlake. Both were in the top 10% of the class, but the most competitive colleges only took the top 3%. I can’t remember but there was something about the state schools not taking many private school kids. Both said they would have been better off going to a less competitive or public high school.

In 2015, 11 of the 99 students in Poly's senior class went to Harvard or Stanford.

Really? Class size is about 300...maybe your other info is wrong also?

The 860 students referred to in The Hollywood Reporter article are distributed among grades k-12.

[Anonymous]

Do you know what part of LA you'll be in?

[Anonymous]

Crossroads has a massive, MASSIVE drug problem and flakey academics.

If you are looking at Brentwood and Harvard Westlake they are the best.

Also strong are Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles in Century City / Culver City and in Pasadena, The Waverly School

If you are considering publics, Malibu High, Palisades High and Santa Monica High are all excellent. South Pasadena High is also very high ranking (but about 80% Asian if that matters).