Miami Florida is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southeast, and the largest in the sunshine state. It has a great many high schools (as you might expect from a city this size), and these vary in scope and quality. Every high school tries their best to serve their students well, but they do not all have the same resources, and they do not all produce the same results.
A great high school can give you a major leg up in the college admissions process, as it lets you take advanced coursework, connect with interesting extracurriculars, and grow as a student and person into the kind of scholar colleges want to admit. The trick then is finding the schools that will let you do this. In this article, we’re going to go through some of the best high schools in Miami, so that you can evaluate your options, and determine which school is right for your needs. Let’s get started!
How We Evaluate Schools
There is no perfect way to evaluate all of the nuances of a high school, so we must approximate. To do so, we look at how students who have attended those schools turn out; what scores they get on standardized tests, and where they attend college. Note that these comparisons are best between schools of a similar type; private schools and public schools operate differently, and should not be compared directly.
There is more to a school than its test scores of course, especially in the case of specialization. Some schools do specialize, in arts, or STEM, or some other field. If you are interested in these fields, then they are often a great fit for you; but students without this interest may want a more generalized high school environment. We will include notes on any specialization or notable coursework offered by these schools.
Finally, a school’s culture is incredibly important to a student’s experience at the school. This is also the hardest part to measure and quantify. We recommend visiting schools if possible, and talking to current and former students to get a sense of what life is like at a particular school, and if it is the kind of environment that you think you will be able to thrive in. The same situation that may empower one student will overwhelm another. This is subjective, and requires your own best judgment of what you need.
The Best Private High Schools in Miami
This is of course not going to be every private school in the Miami area, but will try to highlight some of the best. These schools are located both in Miami itself, and in some of the areas surrounding the city proper, but all serve students from Miami.
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This is a private sectarian day school, serving students from pre-k through 12th grade. It has two campuses, both in Florida. One of these is in Broward, near Miami (though it is a bit of a drive, many of their students are based in Miami). The school is generally regarded as the best private school in Florida, and one of the top high schools nationally. Tuition at the school is $42,700 (though this varies by grade level). There is limited financial aid available.
The school offers an advanced academic program, and is notable for offering six optional specialized tracks for students who want to begin specializing in high school. These include pre-med, pre-law, pre-engineering, biomedical engineering, computer science, and business. These are taught by both teachers and professionals in these fields. They offer 31 AP courses, along with advanced honors coursework. Their median SAT score was 1320, and their average ACT was 27.
Applications to the school must be submitted online. The application begins with an inquiry, and then is done via an online form. This requires the form, a brief questionnaire, a photo of the student, two letters of recommendation from teachers in core academic subjects, one letter from an administrator, transcripts, and standardized test scores.
This is a private, coed, day school located in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, serving students in grades 6-12. It is a college preparatory school, and sends all of its graduates on to four year colleges. In addition to advanced coursework, they offer a number of pathways. Each pathway cohort is capped at 15 students, and allows these students to more deeply explore a given area, through both advanced coursework and independent projects. These are writing, humanities, science, computer science, business, and international studies.
The average SAT score at the school is 1430, the average ACT score is 32. Tuition at the school is $54,820; there is some need-based financial aid available. Applications must be submitted online; this begins with an inquiry, and then goes through an online form, an optional photo of the student, transcript and attendance records, a student interview, letters of recommendation from your current math and English teachers and an administrator, a graded paper of one to two pages, with teacher comments, and a personal statement. They also require scores from either the ISEE or SSAT, and the character skills snapshot.
Based in Davie, Florida, this is a private, Jewish, coed day school serving students from pre-K through 12th grade. The school has a strong Jewish character; while you do not need to be Jewish to apply or attend, the religion is incorporated into both the curriculum and values of the school. They require 4 credits of Judaic studies to graduate, alongside the more common core academic subjects. The school offers 15 AP courses, and a full suite of advanced honors coursework, including advanced Hebrew.
The average SAT score at Posnack is 1370, and the average ACT is 31. Tuition at Posnack is $31,495 annually; there is some need-based financial aid available. Applying to the school is done online, and is intended to be a streamlined process. It requires an online form, and for students to take a standardized test administered by the school.
This is a private, scholar, coed, day school, located in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade county, and serving students in grades pre-K through 12. It began as a boarding school for boys, but in the 1970s became coed and switched over to a fully-day school, ending their boarding program. They offer an advanced, college preparatory curriculum, with a full suite of AP and honors coursework. They notably offer a number of science and math courses which go beyond the AP level, and which explore college level subjects.
The average SAT score at the school is 1320, and the average ACT is 29. The cost of tuition is $52,900 annually, though this varies by grade level. Applications must be submitted online; note that Miami Day offers an early decision application option, if you are certain the school is your top choice, or if you have a sibling already enrolled in the school. Applying requires completing the online application and an interview. They require a standardized test score; they prefer the ISEE, but they also accept SSAT scores.
Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart
This is an all-girls, private, Catholic school based in Coconut Grove in Miami, serving girls in grades pre-K through 12. It is generally considered the best Catholic and the best all-girls school in Florida. They have considered adding a boys elementary school yet, but this has not advanced past planning stages. You do not need to be Catholic to apply to or attend Carrollton, but the school does have a very strong Catholic character, and this influences both the curriculum and the culture at the school. In addition to core academic subjects, students are required to take four years of religious studies coursework.
Carrollton offers a full suite of advanced academic options, including both AP and IB coursework. You may decide which to partake in; taking the IB courseload does preempt your ability to take as many AP courses. They also offer a number of advanced honors courses, which go beyond normal high school offerings. The average SAT score is 1390, and the average ACT score is 31.
Annual tuition at Carrollton is $49,610, though this varies by grade level. Applications to Carrollton must be done online. These applications require an online form, transcripts from your past four years of education (submitted directly by the school you currently attend), letters of recommendation from your current math and English teachers, plus an administrator, interviews (for both the student and the parents), and standardized test scores, either the SSAT or ISEE.
The Best Public High Schools in Miami
There are many great public high schools in the Miami area, many of which are magnet schools. We will be looking at schools both in Miami proper, and those in the suburbs of the greater metro area.
This is a public magnet school located in Riviera Beach, a suburb of Miami. There are approximately 1600 students enrolled in the school, with a student:teacher ratio of approximately 13:1. Students apply to this school through the Palm Beach County District’s Magnet and Choice School Application Form. This is the form used for anyone wanting to apply to one of the magnet schools in Palm Beach County.
The school offers a number of optional academic programs which students can opt into for advanced academic explorations. These are an International Baccaleaurate, a Computer Science program, Math, Science and Engineering, and the Innovative Interactive Technology program. These programs allow students to explore specific academic areas, students must generally choose one of these programs to focus on, if any. The average SAT score at the school is 1330, and the average ACT score is 30.
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This is a public high school in West Palm Beach Florida, and is regularly ranked as one of the best arts high schools in the country. It is part of the Palm Beach County School District, serving approximately 1,400 students, with a student:teacher ratio of 18:1. Students at the school must choose one arts track to focus on: communication, visual arts, dance, digital media, music, or theatre. In addition to core academic courses, students take two courses per year in their chosen artistic field. Students may not dual major, but may switch their arts area of focus after they begin attending if they audition and are accepted to the new area.
Students interested in attending the school must audition; those students who achieve a qualifying score are entered into a computer lottery which decides which students are admitted to the school. You may audition for up to two arts programs, but may only partake in one. The school does play host to a number of sports teams, though sports is not the main focus. While this is an arts high school, they do have a strong academic program as well. The average SAT score at Dreyfoos is 1290, and the average ACT score is 29.
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This is widely recognized as one of the best public schools in Florida, and indeed in the US. It is a series of five schools, operated in a partnership between Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Miami Dade College, a community college based in Miami. It only serves students in 11th and 12th grade, and allows them to simultaneously finish their time in high school and earn an associates degree. There are also advanced options to pursue research through this program, far beyond what you can normally encounter in high school.
All courses at these schools are offered as AP, honors, or dual enrollment. SAT and ACT score averages vary across these schools, but they are generally quite high. In spite of earning an associates degree, graduates from this program generally apply to colleges as first year applicants, though some choose not to, in order to accelerate their time in college. Students currently in 10th grade are eligible to apply to this program. You must be a resident of Miami-Dade County to apply to this school. The application requires an online form; you may only apply to a single campus at a time. You must have an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or above to be eligible to apply to this school.
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The Maritime and Science Technology Academy (MAST Academy) is a public high school located on Virginia Key in Miami, Florida. Virginia Key is an island, and the school has a strong focus on maritime sciences. It is a magnet school, serving students from across Miami. The school offers a standard advanced curriculum, but then offers further advanced coursework, including some high schools generally don’t offer. This includes marine science, oceanography, solar energy, water safety and more. There is also Coast Guard JROTC, which many students take part in.
You must apply to the school through the Miami-Dade magnet application process. It primarily admits students into grade 9, students may be admitted to grade 10 spending on space availability. You must have an unweighted GPA of 2.5 to apply, and must maintain a GPA of 2.5 at the school. You must have taken Honors Algebra 1 and Honors Physical Science to apply for 9th grade admission. If you have an older sibling attending the school, you do receive a slight advantage in admissions. Residents of Key Biscayne also receive admissions priority, if they are qualified.
Final Thoughts
This is not a full list of the high schools in and around Miami of course, but we hope it has highlighted a number of the best options, and shown some of what you can expect. Note that most of the best public high schools are magnet programs, and that both Miami and a number of its suburbs have dual enrollment programs with community colleges near them. These are a great option for students who want to get a jump on college level studies, or who want to push themselves academically.
We hope that this article has given you insight into your options, and aided you on your own school search. If you would like more personalized advice on your own high school journey, or help in actually applying to any of these schools, then Ivy Scholars is here. We have a long experience helping students manage their transition to high school, and are well versed in what these schools are looking for in applicants. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can make your life easier; we’re always happy to hear from you.
