California High Schools Make Niche’s Top 10

In an interesting turn of events, two private high schools from California have made it into the top 10 of Niche’s annual rankings, traditionally a space occupied by East Coast prep schools.

Harvard-Westlake School and Stanford Online High School secured the 7th and 10th spots, respectively, in the “2027 Best Private High Schools in America” rankings by Niche.

Harvard-Westlake serves around 1,600 students in grades 7 through 12, operating from two campuses—one for middle schoolers and another for high school students.

The middle school campus is situated in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, while the high school is around seven miles away in Studio City.

On the other hand, Stanford Online High School caters to about 1,000 students from grades 7 to 12 and is closely associated with Stanford University.

Even though it’s an online school, students can participate in clubs and student government. They also have opportunities to attend in-person events like Homecoming at Stanford’s main campus in Palo Alto or in various major cities.

For the 2026-2027 school year, tuition at Harvard-Westlake is set at $54,900, while Stanford Online High School charges $31,900 for full-time students.

Leading the Niche list is Phillips Academy Andover, located in Massachusetts and known as the oldest incorporated academy in the U.S., established in 1778.

However, despite its impressive ranking, Harvard-Westlake has faced some serious controversies this year. For instance, a water polo player allegedly made antisemitic remarks to a Jewish teammate, and there were also claims related to racist behavior and sexual misconduct against another player.