Cindy Said:

top private high schools w/ great rep that offer and specialize in FILM and dance...the arts in general in L.A?

We Answered:

There are so many good private schools in the LA area, and of a wide variety of academic rigor. Most good private schools have great arts programs. Film making is often a club rather than a class, but that seems to work just as well. I'm guessing you're a girl, so I'm not including all-boys schools.

If you are a top student, these schools have a very rigorous curriculum, and also great arts programs:

Flintridge Prep La Canada-Flintridge http://www.flintridgeprep.org
Harvard-Westlake 9th in Holmby Hills, 10 - 12th is in North Hollywood http://www.hw.com
Poly Pasadena http://www.polytechnic.org

Less rigorous schools:

Westridge Pasadena http://www.westridge.org/
Mayfield Senior Pasadena http://www.mayfieldsenior.org/
La Salle Pasadena http://www.lasallehs.org (special 4 year arts programs)
Flintridge Sacred Heart La Canada-Flintridge http://www.fsha.org
Brentwood School http://www.bwscampus.com/
Marymount Westside LA http://www.mhs-la.org
Archer Westside LA www.archer.org/
Marlborough LA www.marlboroughschool.org
Immaculate Heart LA www.immaculateheart.org/
Oakwood North Hollywood www.oakwoodschool.org/
Campbell Hall North Hollywood www.campbellhall.org/
Buckley Sherman Oaks www.buckleyla.org/

The private schools run from about $11,000 to $30,000 yearly tuition and fees, with Catholic schools mostly on the lower end (due to church support).

Arts High is a public charter school on the Cal State LA campus that has good arts programs. Unfortunately, there are problems in the school in some depts. The school is not very focused on academics, regular classes until lunch, then your art classes until 4pm. It has decent test scores for an LA public school because there are some great students who work on academics outside of school too. Admission is by audition: http://artshigh.org/

Renaissance is another arts public charter school, in Eagle Rock. It has good academics but is very different from a typical high school, it's missing a lot of the typical activities, like sports and school dances. Admission is by lottery, not audition. www.renarts.org/

Good luck!

Patricia Said:

What are the top ten private high schools in the nation?

We Answered:

Let Me Google That For You... lol =-]

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=top+private+hig…

Okay, Gotta Blast! Catch You Later! ?

Monica Said:

Top private high schools in Toronto?

We Answered:

I can't decide what is best for you, so I'll let you choose...

1.http://privateschool.about.com/od/canada…
2.http://prepreview.com/
3.http://www.topprivateschools.ca/

Jennifer Said:

What are the top 10 private high schools in America?

We Answered:

There isn't a definitive list of top private schools. The best schools are those that are the best fit for the student. A very rigorous academic school would not be the best fit for most students, but rigor might be one criteria that people would judge *best* on. Ivy League matriculation wouldn't be a good criteria either, very often now a (qualified) student gets an extra big bump by being a legacy or having parents that make generous donations. (Ivies lost huge amounts of $ in the stock market, they're kind of desperate to recoup the loses.) A kid without connections who wants to get into an Ivy is likely better off not attending one of those schools. Although there isn't a set number of students they take from each school, they want to spread admits around.

Then there is boarding vs day schools. Boarding schools very likely do not get the top students, most parents won't send their teens off for someone else to raise them, so it's a small demographic that applies.

In LA alone, there are more than 10 private schools that would be considered top depending on criteria -- academics, sports, performing arts, etc. Some lists are of the most expensive schools, but that generally doesn't qualify them for best. They may end up with more troubled students since parents may be paying to get their kids in.

http://www.privateschoolreview.com/
http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/
http://boardingschools.com/
http://www.forbes.com/2006/12/09/private…

Good luck!

Rosemary Said:

Do universities rate public and top private high schools differently?

We Answered:

Yep, the schools know the curriculum of every high school, and they do weigh accordingly. BUT, they know it is generally beyond your control what your school is like, especially public school. The top colleges would like you to take the most rigorous curriculum you can at your high school. My dh does admissions interviews for local applicants to his Ivy alma mater, and he knows of kids who were accepted from not-so-great schools (including himself).

Be sure to look at the websites of the colleges you are interested in, so you can see what their requirements are. Some colleges prefer you take 4 years of one language in high school, others have lower standards. If they say they prefer for some subjects, you can kind of read that as *we require or want a dang good explanation why you didn't*.

Do the best you can. Follow your passion and connect your extracurriculars and community service to it, if at all possible.

Good luck!

Gawd, I thought the iphone text correction was annoying before, but with the update it's sooo bad! But at least now I can turn the phone sideways and type.

Hector Said:

What are the top private high schools in the US?

We Answered:

There are lots of good private high schools. There are also lots of good public high schools. The buzz word these days seems to be International Baccalaureate Schools with the Diploma Programme (AKA IB DP program) Look at the IB website for more information.