The Branson School

What makes this school special

A 17-acre Marin campus in Ross, drawing families across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco — Branson runs its own buses from the city and the East Bay
Signature Immersives and a deep Outdoor Education program take learning off campus
A genuine sports school for its size — 23 teams and roughly 81% of students play, competing in the Marin County Athletic League

Academics

Curriculum

Honors and advanced courses with a student-agency curriculum

Advanced coursework

No AP courses · 39 UC-approved honors courses

See the list filed with UC

World languages

Spanish, Mandarin

Signature programs

Immersives
Outdoor Education
College and Community courses

College matriculation

Brown, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, MIT, Pomona, Princeton, USC, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt, Yale

See the full list

UC admissions · For fall 2025 entry

applied: 59
admitted to at least one campus: 35
enrolled at a UC: 8

See UC’s data

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · Marin County Athletic League (MCAL)

Baseball (boys)BasketballCross CountryFootball (boys)GolfLacrosseSoccerSwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyball

Arts

Visual ArtsMusicTheaterTechnical TheaterDance

Clubs & activities · 60+

AcafellasAmerican Sign LanguageAstronomyBest BuddiesCivil Discourse at BransonEnvironmental ActionQueer-Straight AllianceWomen in STEMChessDebateModel UNMock TrialMath TeamOutdoor ClubPhilosophySailing

See all clubs

Life there

Food

Lunch included in tuition (scratch-cooked buffet and boxed lunches)

Learning support

Academic Support services and a Human Development program

Notable alumni

Julia Child (chef and author)
Jennifer Siebel Newsom (filmmaker; California First Partner)
Tony Hsieh (Zappos CEO)
Jonny Moseley (Olympic gold-medalist skier)
Jack Conte (Patreon co-founder)

Applying

Key dates

Applications open: August 23, 2026
Application due: January 5, 2027
Decisions released: March 12, 2027
Enrollment agreements due: March 19, 2027

Tours and events

See the school's schedule

The application

Branson admits through its own application via Ravenna, the shared application platform, with the application and financial-aid forms due together in early January. It reviews students holistically, and scores aren't accepted even if sent. Aid awards range from 15% to nearly full tuition.

Application requirements

Application via Ravenna Hub
Transcripts from current school
Student interview
Campus visit

Testing

Test-free

Sources

The Branson School — About — enrollment, mission, campus, grades
Affording Branson — tuition, total cost (lunch included), financial aid
Academics — class size, 8:1 ratio, signature programs, no-AP model
Apply and Admissions FAQ — the full Admissions Timeline 2026-27 (applications live August 23, forms due January 5, decisions March 12, enrollment agreements March 19), test-free policy
Athletics — teams, participation, MCAL
NCES Private School Universe Survey — enrollment and faculty (cross-check)
The Branson School | Wikipedia — founding, notable alumni
Julia Child | National Women's History Museum — attended the Katharine Branson School (Branson's predecessor)
The Branson School homepage — motto ("Be Brave.," the school's standalone tagline, "Branson. Be Brave.")
Transportation and the Bus Schedule 2026-2027 linked from it — daily bus service to San Francisco, the Marin 2 morning run reaching campus at 8:32 am, the free off-campus parking shuttle serving the SMART station, and the shared routes with Marin Academy
UC A-G course list — The Branson School — the 2026-27 course list the school files with the University of California: 39 UC-approved honors courses. The filed list also carries two College Board-adopted AP English courses alongside the school's no-AP model

Details checked August 2026

Branson