Directory

Independent · Presidio

Bay School

“Rigorously Designed. Thoughtfully Delivered.”

Students
~400
Ratio
7:1
Tuition
$66k

What makes this school special

  • A campus inside the Presidio, a national park, with Golden Gate Bridge views from campus and Tunnel Tops park a short walk away
  • Twice-yearly Immersives, when the usual class schedule stops and students spend three weeks on a single subject
  • "Inclusive tuition" covers what other schools bill separately: a MacBook, meals, books, athletics, and every trip

Academics

Curriculum

In-house honors courses, designed by the faculty

Advanced coursework

No AP courses · 38 UC-approved honors courses

See the list filed with UC

World languages

Spanish, Mandarin

Schedule

Semesters + Immersives

Signature programs

  • Immersives (twice-yearly three-week intensives)
  • Senior Projects
  • Ethnic Studies requirement

College matriculation

Amherst, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, Northwestern, Pomona, Stanford, Tufts, UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, WashU in St. Louis, Wesleyan

See the full list

UC admissions · For fall 2025 entry

applied
98
admitted to at least one campus
66
enrolled at a UC
23
What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · Bay Area Conference — BCL Central / CIF NCS

Baseball (boys)BasketballCross CountryFlag FootballGolfLacrosseSailingSoccerSoftball (girls)TennisTrack & FieldVolleyball

Arts

DesignDramaDrawingJazzMusic ProductionPaintingPhotographyVideo ProductionVocal Music

Clubs & activities · 48+

RoboticsModel United NationsMock TrialChessBay SoundWaves (a cappella)Climate Action TeamAstronomySTEMinistsProgrammingCreative WritingPhilosophyBayMDFinanceOutdoors
See all clubs

Life there

Tuition includes

  • MacBook for every student
  • Books, materials, and a scientific calculator
  • Daily lunch, snacks, toast bar, and tea
  • Athletic uniforms, equipment, and travel
  • Field trips, Immersives, and Senior Project costs

Food

Included in tuition — daily lunch, snacks, toast bar, and tea

Learning support

Bay Learning Services — individualized support plans and accommodations

Often on the same list

The Urban School of San Francisco

Independent

Lick-Wilmerding High School

Independent

Lowell High School

Public

The International School of San Francisco

Independent

Sources

  1. Bay at a Glance — enrollment, founding year, mission
  2. Affording a Bay Education — 2026-27 cost $69,899 ($65,630 tuition + $4,269 inclusive fee), flexible tuition, food
  3. Admissions Process — deadlines, requirements, test-free policy
  4. Curriculum Guide 2026-27 — on AP, page 3: "The Advanced Placement model, with its emphasis on memorization, does not provide the depth and interdisciplinary perspective that distinguish a Bay education. For this reason, we do not offer AP courses." Also the four-term year and the honors approval process
  5. College Counseling — college matriculation
  6. Sports & Teams — sports
  7. Arts — arts disciplines
  8. Affinity Groups & Clubs — clubs
  9. Learning Services — learning support
  10. NCES Private School Survey — student:teacher ratio (2023-24)
  11. Getting to Bay — Bay bus routes (Marin and San Francisco)
  12. Bay Area Conference — conference structure and division membership
  13. Languages — world languages
  14. UC A-G course list — The Bay School of San Francisco — the 2026-27 course list the school files with the University of California: 38 UC-approved honors courses and no APs. Bay's own curriculum page says it is "offering 25 honors courses" in 2025-26 (still its wording on 2026-09-20); the filed list is the school's UC-approved catalog, which can carry more than a single year's schedule

Details checked September 2026