Best Private Schools in Columbia, SC

Best Private Schools in Columbia, SC – 2025

February 28, 2025

As a parent in Columbia, South Carolina鈥攐r the surrounding suburbs such as Lexington, Cayce, Forest Acres, St. Andrew’s, or Seven Oaks鈥攜ou have a wealth of excellent private schools to choose from. Of course, having a ton of terrific options doesn鈥檛 make your selection any easier. After all, there are a multitude of considerations guiding your decision of which private schools in Columbia, South Carolina will be best for your child. Are you seeking a boarding or day school? Do you want your child鈥檚 private high school to have a religious affiliation? How long of a commute is right for your teen鈥檚 lifestyle? However, 国产第一福利影院草草鈥� list of the Best Private Schools in Columbia, SC will focus primarily on our area of expertise鈥�college admissions. As such, we will highlight the job that each of the schools does at sending their graduates on to the region/nation鈥檚 premier 4-year schools.

Here鈥檚 a quick preview of the high schools that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.

Hammond School
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Cardinal Newman School
Ben Lippen School
Camden Military Academy

Please note that inclusion on our Best Private Schools in Columbia, SC list is a selective and criteria-based process. However, the order in which the schools appear is not representative of any further ranking; the numbering is solely intended to enhance the ease of navigating this resource. All of the schools profiled below have a history of sending graduates to the top colleges in the country. For each of our top institutions, 国产第一福利影院草草 will provide you with鈥攚hen available鈥攅ach school鈥檚:

Location
Tuition (9-12)
Enrollment (9-12)
Average听厂肠辞谤别
础惫别谤补驳别听听厂肠辞谤别
Senior Class Size
College Admissions Highlights
Academic Highlights

Now, let鈥檚 dive in and examine the profiled Columbia, South Carolina private schools.

#1 Best Private High School in Columbia, SC

Hammond School – Columbia

854 Galway Ln, Columbia, SC 29209

College Admissions Highlights: Graduates from the last four years have been accepted to these prestigious colleges and universities:聽 American, Baylor, BU, Brandeis, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western, Citadel, Columbia, Cornell, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Ga Tech, Harvard, Howard, MIT, NYU, Northeastern, Princeton, Purdue, RIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UGA, UMass, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Tennessee, UVA, US Air Force, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:聽 9:1 Student to teacher ratio. 20% minority. 16 years average teacher experience. 15 AP & 2 post AP courses offered. 93% of students complete AP courses & they have a 87% pass rate on exams.聽 24 varsity teams including equestrian & sporting clays. 5 fine arts studios. Signature programs include global studies, experiential education, and public policy & social change.

Tuition (9-12): $22,840
Enrollment (seniors): 68
Mean SAT Score: 1278
Mean ACT Score: 27.6

#2 Best Private High School in Columbia, SC

Heathwood Hall Episcopal School – Columbia

3000 S Beltline Blvd, Columbia, SC 29201

College Admissions Highlights: Heathwood Hall students over the last five years have been accepted at these fine institutions: American, BC, Brown, Bucknell, Clemson, William & Mary, Cornell, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Howard, Kenyon, Macalester, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, PRinceton, Swarthmore, Texas A&M, Tufts, UC Berkeley, UMass, UMichigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Notre Dame, UVA, Villanova, Wake Forest, Wellesley, and Yale.

Academic Highlights:聽 Student to teacher ratio 8:1.聽 +95% student retention rate. 9 SC independent schools teachers of the year awards since 2004. 19 AP courses. 88% AP exam of 3 or higher. 46 teams across 23 sports. The PEAK program offers hand-on opportunities for wilderness, environmental and leadership education.

Tuition (9-12): $23,965
Enrollment (seniors): 63
Middle 50% SAT Score: 1140-1390
Middle 50% ACT Score: 22-30

#3 Best Private High School in Columbia, SC

Cardinal Newman School – Columbia

2945 Alpine Rd, Columbia, SC 29223

College Admissions Highlights: 99% of graduates from Cardinal Newman attend college, the class of 2023 was accepted at these colleges and institutions: Baylor, BC, BU, Citadel, Clemson, Columbia, William & Mary, Cornell, Denison, Duke, Emory, George Washington, Howard, Johns Hopkins, NC State, US Military Acad, UGA, UMiami, South Carolina, Tennessee, VMI, Washington& Lee, and WashingtonU.

Academic Highlights:聽 Student to teacher ratio is 12:1.聽 55% of faculty have advanced degrees. 17 AP & 22 honors courses. 2 student were named National merit finalists for 2024. 40 athletic teams in 18 sports. 11 graduates will continue athletics at the collegiate level.聽 Thriving Fine Arts department includes band, chorus, orchestra, theater, ceramic, painting & drawing, digital design and art therapy.

Tuition (9-12): $17.125
Enrollment (seniors): 92
Mean SAT Score: 1145
Mean ACT Score: Not reported

#4 Best Private High School in Columbia, SC

Ben Lippen School – Columbia

7401 Monticello Road Columbia, SC 29203

College Admissions Highlights: College acceptances in the last 8 years include these fine institutions:聽 American, Belmont, BC, BU, Case Western, Drexel, DePaul, Emory, Georgetown, GaTech, NYU, NC State, Northeastern, Purdue, RIT, William & Mary, Citadel, UT Austin, UNC Chapel Hill, UMichigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, UVA, and Wheaton.

Academic Highlights:聽 11 AP courses with an 84% exam pass rate. Ben Lippen has had 12 National Merit Finalists in the last 5 years. Winterim is a week long opportunity for enrichment and service learning with international or local options. The Bluegrass Students were selected for a Music Scholarship with Bill Wells Memorial. 49 teams across 17 different sports with 24 state championships.

Tuition (9-12): $17,300
Enrollment (seniors): 110
Mean SAT Score: 1129
Mean ACT Score: 21.2

#5 Best Private High School in Columbia, SC

Camden Military Academy – Columbia

520 US-1, Camden, SC 29020

College Admissions Highlights: Camden Military Academy believes in higher education and the college prep curriculum is the foundation for that.聽 Graduates from the class of 2024 will be attending these colleges, universities, & military opportunities: Auburn, Citadel, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Military College, Grand Valley State, JMU, Univ of Buffalo, Univ of Wyoming, UC Santa Cruz, US Air Force Academy, US Military Academy, US Naval Academy, Vanderbilt, VaTech,听 Univ of Mississippi, and York Technical.

Academic Highlights: Camden enrolls young men in grades 7 through 12 plus offers a post graduate year. 100% boarding with 40 states represented. 7:1 student to teacher ratio with an average class size of 12 students.聽 13 varsity sports & intramural opportunities.聽 52 dual enrollment credits.聽 10 off campus trips. 12 clubs & extracurriculars.

Tuition (9-12): $28,995
Enrollment (7-12): 285
Mean SAT Score: Not reported
Mean ACT Score: Not reported

Final Thoughts 鈥� Best Columbia, SC Private Schools

We hope you found our blog on Columbia, South Carolina private schools to be helpful. All high school students and families may wish to explore further information regarding the college search and admissions process at our Dataverse,听Blog, and聽.

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High School Success

Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).