Marin Private Schools

A local’s guide to Marin’s independent and Catholic schools: tuition, rankings and the admissions calendar

Last updated September 2026 · By Melissa DiVita, REALTOR®, Compass · DRE #01387955 · Marin native, in real estate since 2003

I went to Marin Catholic, and our own three kids have gone through the public Reed schools, and our son is at Redwood High now, so I’ve seen both sides. Marin’s public schools are some of the best in California, which is why a lot of families move here. But a lot of my clients, especially families coming from San Francisco, already have kids in independent schools or want to keep that option open. Where you buy can make the drop-off a five-minute trip or a forty-minute one.

This is my guide to Marin’s private schools as of the 2026-27 school year: who they are, what they cost, how the rankings shake out and when you need to apply. Tuition figures come straight from each school’s website, and I’ve linked every source at the bottom.

Private high schools

School	Town	Type	2026-27 tuition	Good to know
The Branson School	Ross	Independent, day	$68,475 (about $71,290 with lunch and fees)	Ranked #1 private high school in Marin by Niche for 2026. Founded in 1920 as a girls’ school; went coed in 1972 and merged with the boys’ Mount Tamalpais School in 1985.
Marin Academy	San Rafael	Independent, day	$67,500	Niche #2 in Marin. Founded in 1971. Its “MA Promise” offers free tuition to admitted families earning under $100,000.
San Domenico School	San Anselmo	Independent, Catholic Dominican heritage; day and boarding, K–12	Grades 9–12: $69,650 day, $86,800 boarding (top of an indexed scale)	Niche #3 in Marin. Dates to 1850 and sits on a 515-acre campus.
Marin Catholic	Kentfield	Catholic, day	$29,400 plus a $1,600 fee	Niche #5 in Marin for 2026. Founded in 1949, with about 740 to 770 students, big athletics and a strong community. It’s my alma mater.
Marin Christian Academy	Novato	Christian, preschool–12	Check with the school	Niche #4 in Marin for 2026. Preschool through high school on one campus.
Headlands Preparatory School	Sausalito	Independent, grades 6–12	Check with the school	A small school (about 40 students) with one-to-one classes, for students with learning differences.

Independent K–8 schools

These are the schools families usually mean when they say “private school” in Marin. Several use indexed tuition, which means the price scales to family income; I’ve listed the top rate.

School	Town	Grades	2026-27 tuition (top rate)	Good to know
Marin Country Day School	Corte Madera	K–8	K–5 $49,030; 6–8 $51,760 (indexed from $500)	Founded in 1956, about 607 students on a 35-acre campus. It started in circus tents, and about a third of students commute from San Francisco.
Mount Tamalpais School	Mill Valley	K–8	K–5 $48,400; 6–8 $50,990	Founded in 1976. About 275 students on a 5-acre hilltop campus.
Mark Day School	San Rafael	K–8	$48,394 plus grade-level fees (indexed)	About 360 students, with a Mandarin program. More than a quarter of families pay below the top rate.
Marin Horizon School	Mill Valley	Toddler–8	K–4 $46,701; 5–8 $49,732	Founded in 1977, with a curriculum that ties subjects together.
Marin Primary & Middle School	Larkspur	Preschool–8	K $45,600; 1–5 $46,300; 6–7 $49,200; 8 $49,900	About 236 students on an 8-acre campus, mostly in groups of 12 to 15.
Brandeis Marin	San Rafael	K–8	K–5 $46,000; 6–8 $48,900	Jewish day school. Opened in 1978 as the Marin campus of Brandeis Hillel and has been independent since 2015.
Marin Montessori School	Corte Madera	Toddler–9	Elementary up to $40,770; junior high up to $42,690 (indexed from $4,000)	AMI Montessori since 1963, on a marsh-side campus on Paradise Drive. Runs through 9th grade.
Marin Waldorf School	San Rafael (Lucas Valley)	Parent-child–8	Grades 1–8 $32,250; K $26,910	Waldorf education, with a tuition-free program for select Native families.
Lycée Français, Sausalito campus	Sausalito	Preschool–5	$38,100	French bilingual, with a French track and an English-majority international track. Students continue at the San Francisco campus after 5th grade.

Catholic parish schools (K–8)

Marin’s parish schools cost a fraction of the independent schools and have loyal, close-knit communities. Tuition is usually priced per family, with sibling discounts.

School	Town	Tuition (one child)
St. Hilary School	Tiburon	$16,920 (2025-26)
St. Anselm School	San Anselmo	$14,646 (2026-27)
Our Lady of Loretto	Novato	$14,428 with 30 parent service hours, $15,872 without (2026-27)
St. Raphael School	San Rafael	$11,685 plus a $100 fee (2025-26)
St. Isabella School	San Rafael (Terra Linda)	Check with the school; about 240 students, founded 1962
St. Patrick School	Larkspur	Check with the school

The admissions calendar

If you’re moving to Marin with school-age kids, timing matters more than almost anything else. Most schools fill their spots in one cycle each winter, so if you’re thinking about fall 2027, the clock is already running.

Fall: tours and open houses. Many schools use the shared Ravenna application system.
December to January: applications are due. For fall 2027: Marin Catholic Dec. 4, 2026; Marin Country Day Dec. 27 (K) and Jan. 7 (grades 1–7); Marin Academy and San Domenico high school Jan. 5, 2027; Mark Day Jan. 15; Marin Horizon Jan. 29; Marin Waldorf Feb. 5.
Testing: Branson, Marin Academy and Marin Catholic don’t require the ISEE or SSAT. K–8 schools use their own screenings and visit days.
Mid-March: decisions. Most of Marin’s K–8 schools share a notification date (Thursday, March 11, 2027), and the independent high schools notify the next day (Friday, March 12, 2027). Marin Catholic notifies March 18 and 19.
About a week later: families have to accept and send a deposit.

That spring decision date is the key to coordinating a move. If you know where your kids got in by mid-March, you can buy in the right town for the drop-off before the summer market winds down. I’m happy to help families plan the home search around it.

Private school or a top public district?

This is one of the biggest financial decisions my clients make, and it’s worth running the numbers. Two kids at an independent K–8 school at around $48,000 each is roughly $96,000 a year, and that’s paid with after-tax dollars. Some families buy in a town with top-rated public schools, like Tiburon and Belvedere (Reed), Mill Valley, Kentfield, Ross or Corte Madera, and put that money toward the house instead. Others want a specific school and choose the town around it. There’s no wrong answer, but it’s worth deciding before you pick a neighborhood. My town guides cover the public schools in each town.

Two things that trip people up

Ross School is public. It’s a single-school K–8 district of about 340 students, and you get in by living in Ross.
Some schools have closed. Greenwood School in Mill Valley closed in 2019, and The Marin School in San Rafael closed in 2023, but you’ll still find them in online directories.

Financing in Marin. Many Marin homes need jumbo financing: the 2026 conforming limit here is $1,249,125, so with 20% down, homes above about $1.56 million usually mean a jumbo loan. My husband Michael DiVita is a mortgage broker and owner of DiVita Home Finance, with access to 40+ wholesale lenders, and he’s a great resource for jumbo and bank-statement loans. Learn more at mycahomeloan.com.
Disclosure: Michael DiVita is my husband. You are free to choose any lender; using DiVita Home Finance is never required, and I receive no referral fee.

Frequently asked questions

How much does private school cost in Marin?

For 2026-27, the independent K–8 schools run about $45,000 to $52,000 a year at the top rate, and many use indexed tuition that scales to family income. The independent high schools are about $67,500 to $69,650 for day students, with San Domenico boarding at $86,800. Marin Catholic is $29,400 plus fees, and the parish K–8 schools are roughly $11,000 to $17,000 for one child.

What are the best private high schools in Marin?

In Niche’s 2026 rankings of Marin private high schools, The Branson School in Ross is #1, Marin Academy in San Rafael is #2 and San Domenico School in San Anselmo is #3. Marin Christian Academy and Marin Catholic round out the top five.

When do Marin private schools send admissions decisions?

Most Marin schools notify families in mid-March. For fall 2027 entry, most K–8 schools share a decision date of Thursday, March 11, 2027, and the independent high schools notify Friday, March 12, 2027. Applications are generally due in December or January.

Do Marin private high schools require the ISEE or SSAT?

No. The Branson School, Marin Academy and Marin Catholic don’t require the ISEE or SSAT. K–8 schools use their own screenings and visit days instead.

Is Ross School a private school?

No. Ross School is a public K–8 school, its own single-school district of about 340 students. Attendance is based on living in the town of Ross.

Sources

Planning a move around school?

Send me a note through my contact form. Tell me where your kids are applying, and I’ll help you find the right town for the drop-off and time the move around the March decisions.

Contact Melissa