Main Line private schools: 2026-27 tuition, school by school

Main Line private school tuition in 2026-27

Main Line private school tuition for high school runs from $26,200 at Sacred Heart Academy to $52,800 for grade 12 at Friends' Central. Start with the highest-price column, where the two groups separate, and you can rule one out before any tour.

The table is sorted by one rule: highest published tuition, top down. That order measures price alone, and the school sections below keep it within each price group.

Shipley School tuition

The table leaves Shipley out because its full 2026-27 grade list couldn't be read. Its Affording Shipley page has those prices, so place them against the two groups yourself.

What a Main Line private school costs over 4 and 13 years

Four years of Main Line private high school costs $104,800 to $205,195 at today's sticker, so the choice of group is worth up to $100,395. Those totals hold 2026-27 prices flat, with no increases, fees or aid, so they show today's sticker and can't predict what you'd pay.

For scale, Zillow's typical home value in Gladwyne's ZIP (19035) was $1,625,035 in September 2026. A 13-year run costs 17% (Sacred Heart) to 37% (Woodlynde) of that figure, for one student. If you're setting a home budget, price the tuition in the same conversation, and add it to the Main Line household budget.

Main Line private schools at $45,335 and up for high school

Seven private schools publish a grade 9-12 price of $45,335 or more for 2026-27. The spread inside the group is $7,465 a year at its widest, smaller than the gap to the next group down.

Friends' Central School tuition

Friends' Central in Wynnewood is the only school here that prices every grade separately, from $29,785 for Nursery to $52,800 for grade 12. Grade 9 is $49,780, so you pay $3,020 more by senior year even before any annual increase. Its tuition assistance deadline for 2027-28 is December 7, 2026.

The Haverford School tuition

The Haverford School on Lancaster Avenue charges $49,850 for grades 9-12, $45,525 for 6-8, $40,425 for 3-5, $38,775 for 1-2, $33,825 for K and $29,800 for PreK. Tuition includes most fees and textbooks, so its sticker covers more than Baldwin's does. It's a private school, separate from the public School District of Haverford Township.

Woodlynde School tuition

Woodlynde in Strafford has the simplest price sheet: $42,500 for K-5 and $49,750 for 6-12. Its lower-grade price makes it the most expensive K-12 run in the 13-year table, at $603,250. Midyear enrollment is prorated.

Agnes Irwin tuition

Agnes Irwin in Rosemont charges $49,075 for grades 9-12 and $43,475 for 5-8. Lower School books are included, but Upper School textbooks add $450 to $800 and uniforms are extra. Add those before you set it beside The Haverford School: $800 of books is more than the $775 price gap between them.

Baldwin School tuition

Baldwin in Bryn Mawr charges $48,402 for grades 9-12 and $43,752 for 6-8, with lower grades priced almost year by year from $30,456 in K. Its price leaves out uniforms, Middle and Upper School textbooks, a laptop, lunch, and certain class and team fees. There's also a $65 application fee and a $2,000 deposit that's credited.

Episcopal Academy tuition

Episcopal Academy charges $46,300 for grades 9-12, the lowest of the five PreK-12 and Nursery-12 schools in this group, and its K-12 sticker of $518,900 is also the lowest of them. The catch is location, because its campus is in Newtown Square, so check the drive from your town. Its aid pool tops $11 million a year, with about 75% reserved for Upper School.

Malvern Prep tuition

Malvern Preparatory School charges $45,335 for grades 9-12 and $38,430 for 6-8. It's the low end of this group, and its campus is in Malvern, outside the six towns on this site. No extra costs are on file for it, so ask for the fee list.

Main Line private schools under $35,300 for high school

Five private schools price high school at $35,230 or less, which saves at least $10,105 a year against the group above. The published fees vary enough here that you should add them before comparing.

Academy of Notre Dame de Namur tuition

Notre Dame in Villanova charges $35,230 for grades 9-12 and $27,790 for 6-8, plus $750 in fees, so high school comes to $35,980. In 2025-26, 30% of its students received aid, with an average award of $15,250. It starts at grade 6, so you'd need a separate plan for the earlier years.

Devon Preparatory School tuition

Devon Prep's page shows 2025-26 only: $32,050 for high school and $29,050 for middle school, plus $1,300 in administrative fees. No 2026-27 figure was published when the page was opened, so ask the school before you budget from it.

Villa Maria Academy tuition

Villa Maria Academy High School in Malvern charges $30,450, one price for all four years. Its tuition page notes that up to $10,000 a year from a Pennsylvania 529 can go to K-12 tuition, which is worth raising with your CPA.

Merion Mercy Academy tuition

Merion Mercy charges $26,665 for high school, and it's the school where the add-ons are easiest to price. A uniform runs about $500 and team fees about $250, while crew is about $1,750, and laptop, book and AP fees are extra. Crew alone takes the year's cost past $28,400.

Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr tuition

Sacred Heart charges the lowest high school price here, $26,200, but $880 in fees takes it to $27,080, which is above Merion Mercy's published tuition before Merion Mercy's own extras. It's also the only school in this group with a K-12 path, at $271,550 in tuition or $279,085 with the listed fees.

Main Line private school tuition for preschool through grade 8

Three schools stop at grade 8 or earlier, and their top prices are $11,225 apart between Holy Child and Waldron Mercy. Compare K-8 totals here, since one grade's price understates a nine-year difference.

Holy Child School at Rosemont tuition

Holy Child's K-8 runs $27,440 for K, $28,850 for 1-4 and $31,275 for 5-8, or $267,940 at flat prices. That's $87,640 more than Waldron Mercy over the same nine years. Tuition includes mandatory fees, while lunch, uniforms and after-care are optional extras.

Waldron Mercy Academy tuition

Waldron Mercy charges $19,900 for preschool and K, and $20,050 for grades 1-8, so nine years from K comes to $180,300. It's at 513 Montgomery Avenue, and Merion Mercy is at 511. K-8 here plus four years there totals $286,960 at flat prices, on two separate tuition sheets. Expect a $200 processing fee unless you pay by auto-debit, and a $750 multi-child discount applies.

Friends School Haverford tuition

Friends School Haverford charges $21,012 for age 1 through K, and extended day adds $4,326, for $25,338. It's easy to confuse with The Haverford School, which starts at $29,800 for PreK. A 10% sibling discount is published.

What Main Line private school tuition leaves out

Published tuition doesn't cover the same things at each school, so a lower sticker can cost more once you've added the exclusions. Ask each school you're comparing for these five items in writing.

1. Textbooks and a laptop: included at The Haverford School for most books, extra at Baldwin and $450 to $800 in Agnes Irwin's Upper School.
2. Uniforms: extra at Agnes Irwin and Baldwin, about $500 at Merion Mercy.
3. Lunch: left out at Baldwin, an optional extra at Holy Child.
4. Team and class fees: about $250 in team fees at Merion Mercy, certain fees at Baldwin.
5. Administrative fees: $750 at Notre Dame, $880 for high school at Sacred Heart, $1,300 at Devon Prep (2025-26).

Tuition also doesn't touch your school tax. In Lower Merion, the 2026-27 school millage of 36.5017 is about $3,650 per $100,000 of assessed value, whatever school a student attends. The property tax guide for the Main Line has the estimated bills.

Is financial aid available at Main Line private schools?

Yes, several Main Line private schools publish aid figures, and the deadline is what you can act on now. An average award isn't a promise for any applicant, and only some schools publish one.

Private school aid figures by school

If you're moving for a fall start, get the aid calendar before your home search timeline is set, because the Friends' Central date falls within weeks. The last column is arithmetic on an average, using each school's published year, so ask the school what it would offer you. A 529 or tax question belongs with a Pennsylvania CPA.

Which Main Line private schools are single-sex?

The Inter-Academic League's member list shows The Haverford School and Malvern Prep as boys' members only, and Agnes Irwin, Baldwin and Notre Dame de Namur as girls' members only. Episcopal Academy appears on both lists. It's a league listing, so confirm enrollment policy with each school, including the ones not on that list.

Where Main Line private schools are located

Five campuses carry addresses away from the six towns on this site, so check them against your shortlist first. Episcopal is in Newtown Square, Malvern Prep and Villa Maria are in Malvern, Devon Prep is in Devon, and Woodlynde is in Strafford under a 19087 ZIP.

The rest: Agnes Irwin and Holy Child in Rosemont, Baldwin and Sacred Heart in Bryn Mawr, The Haverford School and Friends School Haverford in Haverford, Notre Dame in Villanova, Friends' Central in Wynnewood, and Merion Mercy and Waldron Mercy in Merion Station. Test the drive to campus at the hour you'd make it, and use the Main Line commute guide for the wider picture.

Main Line private school FAQs

Sources

• The Agnes Irwin School: tuition
• The Baldwin School: Affording Baldwin
• The Haverford School: tuition and value
• The Episcopal Academy: Affording EA
• Friends' Central School: Affording FCS
• Friends School Haverford: tuition 2026-27
• Merion Mercy Academy: tuition
• Waldron Mercy Academy: tuition
• Academy of Notre Dame de Namur: tuition and aid
• Malvern Preparatory School: tuition
• Villa Maria Academy High School: tuition and aid
• Holy Child School at Rosemont: tuition and aid
• Woodlynde School: tuition
• Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr: tuition
• Devon Preparatory School: tuition and aid
• Montgomery County: County and Municipality Millage Rates
• Wikipedia: Inter-Academic League
• Zillow Home Value Index, September 2026