Two California private high schools have cracked the top 10 list for Niche’s annual rankings, taking up space in a field historically dominated by East Coast prep academies.
Harvard-Westlake Schooland Stanford Online High School placed No. 7 and No. 10, respectively, in the “2027 Best Private High Schools in America”list by Niche.
Harvard-Westlake is an independent and co-ed college preparatory school that serves about 1,600 students from grades 7 through 12. The school has two separate campuses for middle school (7th to 9th) and high school (10th to 12th)
Its middle school campus is located in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles while the high school is located at Studio City, around seven miles away.
Stanford Online High School also offers classes to about 1,000 students from grades 7 through 12. The school is highly selective and operates strictly under Stanford University.
Though online, students are able to join clubs and be a part of student government organizations. Stanford also hosts in-person social events like Homecoming in Palo Alto at the university’s main campus or at other major cities.
Tuition for Harvard Westlake is $54,900 for the 2026-2027 school year while Stanford’s is $31,900 for full-time students.
Number one on the list was Phillips Academy Andoverlocated in Andover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1778, the prep school is the oldest incorporated academy in the whole country.
Despite being ranked 7th on the list, the Southern California school has been subject to major controversy this year.
A Harvard-Westlake water polo player allegedly told a Jewish peer to “die in an oven” while using antisemitic slurs, according to court documents in June. The player was accused of racism and sexually assaulting a teammate as well.
Lucca van der Woude –– the son of a Hollywood director –– was accused of sexually assaulting two teammates while also reportedly calling his black teammate the “N-word.”
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