Cleveland, Ohio is home to a number of private schools, including Montessori schools, Catholic schools, schools for children with learning differences, and single-sex schools. Private schools in the city date back to the founding of Western Reserve College and Academy in 1826, which later became Case Western Reserve University and the separate Western Reserve Academy. Read more about private schools in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Private schools offer fascinating upper-level history classes that often culminate in an AP exam (though some schools do not offer AP classes). These classes are often taught at a very sophisticated level and ask students to synthesize and analyze a great deal of historical information and to write about it in a concise and clear way. Performing well in high-level history classes means that students have to practice good study habits; they have to keep up with their reading, annotate and analyze their text, and read as much as they can outside of class. As a reward, they will be able to learn a subject that touches on eery other academic discipline. Read about other ways to succeed in private school history classes.

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Portland, Oregon has a number of college-preparatory private schools. Many schools, such as Catlin Gabel and The International School, the city's first International Baccalaureate elementary school, offer language instruction from the earliest grades. In addition, many schools, such as Portland Lutheran High School and St. Mary's Academy, offer generous amounts of financial aid. In fact, about 40 to 45% of the students at Portland Lutheran and St. Mary's receive need-based financial aid. Read more about private schools in Portland, Oregon.

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Scholarship organizations such as A Better Chance, founded in 1963, and Prep for Prep in New York City, founded in 1978, have funded tens of thousands of students of color at private and public college-prep programs across the country. The alumni and alumnae of these programs have not only enriched their schools and been enriched by them, but they have also gone on to contribute to fields such as politics, education, law, medicine, and the arts, among others. Famous figures in today's world were graduates of these programs, including singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman, who attended the Wooster School in Connecticut with a scholarship from A Better Chance. Private school graduates such as President Barack Obama have also benefited from scholarships from their schools. Mr. Obama attended Punahou in Hawaii in part thanks to a scholarship from the school. Read more about famous scholarship students at private schools.

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