Annie Wright vs. Bellarmine Prep: Which Private School for your child?

admin
August 28, 2019

Looking for a strong education option for your student in the Tacoma area?

We examine two of Pierce County’s top private schools, Annie Wright (AW) and Bellarmine Prep. There are definitely many differences between them and the following will show that.

A few snapshots of what people are saying about the schools are below our quick comparison table.

Criteria	Annie Wright	Bellarmine Prep
Curriculum	College Prep/International Baccalaureate (IB)	College Preparatory/AP
Grades Offered	Pre-school-12th	9-12
School Type	Co-ed/Girls Only (after 9th)	Co-ed
Religious Affiliation	N/A	Catholic
# of Students	~545	~850
Boarding?	Available	N/A
Tuition (2019-2020)	$28,500 (Day)/$60,700 (7 day boarding)	$16,404
Student:Teacher Ratio	5:1	12:1
SAT Avg	1310	1260
ACT Avg	28	29
Notable College Acceptances	Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, USC, Emory, Vassar, Middlebury+	Stanford, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Duke, NYU, Northwestern, USC, Emory, MIT+
Niche College Prep Ranking – WA	#6	#15
Great Schools Ranking	4 Stars via 107 Reviews	4 Stars via 12 Reviews
Wikipedia Article	Founded in 1884	Founded in 1928
FAQ Pages	School FAQ	School FAQ

What students say about Annie Wright (Niche):

Recent Bellarmine Prep Reviews (Niche):

Good school. Has problems with allowing students to pursue higher levels of education. Students cannot challenge themselves academically, without being recommended by a teacher. This recommendation is usually bias. Also, if a student does not do well in placement exams they are locked into a system that does not allow them to take honors or AP classes. If said student does manage to take such classes, they must work 2x as hard as those already placed in those classes. School environment could be better, with more activities voted on by students. ASB could do more to improve school events (dances, celebrations, etc.) Efforts are being made to improve diversity, inclusion, and overall school culture, but has a long road ahead. Thank you!

Sophomore
June 12 2017
4 stars

The school climate is poor, which starts with the administration and those in the attendance office’s poor attitudes and constant ridiculing and micromanagment of students. The classes are pretty rigorous in comparison with other schools due to the heavy amount of assigned homework, however, a more effective way of preparing students for college would be to teach effective study habits, not simply assigning tons of homework and hoping for the best. There are, however, some great faculty and staff, but lots could improve within the administration.

Senior
6 months ago (from 8/27/2019)
3 stars

There is a reason Bellarmine consistently has over 90% of its graduates enrolled in university. I graduated from BPS in 2014 with a scholarship to a prestigious east coast liberal arts school. My transition to college was seamless; Bellarmine does an excellent job preparing its students for the rigor of collegiate academics. The classes are small and teachers passionate about their subjects. While many classes are lecture-style, many are also discussion based, exposing students to all kinds of teaching styles. Despite being a religious institution, many students are not Catholic nor do they feel pressured to convert or assimilate to Catholic traditions, such as attending optional weekly mass. Bellarmine also has some excellent sports programs. The golf team, for example, always has seniors graduating with scholarships and offers to play at major programs.

SSAT Master

Annie Wright vs. Bellarmine Prep: Which Private School for your child?

Looking for a strong education option for your student in the Tacoma area?

What students say about Annie Wright (Niche):

Recent Bellarmine Prep Reviews (Niche):

Table of Contents

SSAT Master