Lick-Wilmerding
“Head, Heart, Hands”
AKA: Lick, LWHSInglesideIndependent
Lick-Wilmerding High School
“Head, Heart, Hands”
AKA: Lick, LWHSInglesideIndependent
- Students
- ~560
- Ratio
- 8:1
- Tuition
- $65k
Base tuition as published for 2026–27.
Admissions
- Applications open
- Late August
- Application due
- Beginning of January
- Transcripts due
- Late January
- Decisions released
- Mid-to-late March
- Enrollment
- ~560
- Student:teacher
- 8:1
- Base tuition
- $64,900
- 2026–27 school year
- Real cost
- $65k–$68k
- Flexible tuition
- ~33%
What makes this school special
- Jaw-dropping shops where students build furniture, work metal, and make robots
- Draws students from across the Bay Area, giving it one of the most geographically diverse student bodies in SF
- On your admissions bingo card: "Private school with public purpose"
- Lick typically does not use the common essays (be prepared for extra work if you decide to apply)
Academics
Curriculum
No APs — in-house honors and seminar courses
World languages
Spanish, French, Mandarin
Schedule
Semester
Signature programs
- Technical Arts shops (two years required)
- Public Purpose Program (service learning)
- Nonprofit internships
College matriculation
UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, Brown, Cornell, Yale, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Pomona, NYU, USC, WashU in St. Louis, University of Michigan, Cal Poly SLO, Northeastern
See the full listAthletics, arts & activities
Athletics · Bay Counties League (BCL West)
BadmintonBaseballBasketballCross CountryField HockeyFlag FootballLacrosseSoccerSoftballSwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyballWater Polo
Arts
Visual ArtPhotographyFilmArchitectureTheaterDanceInstrumental MusicChoral MusicMusic Production
Clubs & activities
Amnesty InternationalGirls in MathApplied ScienceAsian Students in AllianceAstronomyBlack Student UnionBlacksmithingCombat RoboticsDECAEngineering & DesignFEM in STEMModel United NationsMock TrialRoboticsGirls in TechEnvironmental Club
See all clubsLife there
Tuition includes
- Lunch
- Books
- Course materials
- Yearbooks
- Co-curricular activities
- Class retreats
Food
Lunch included in tuition
Learning support
Learning Strategies Center — accommodations for learning differences
Notable alumni
- Frederick Seitz (physicist)
- Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner (Olympic swimmer)
- Rafael Mandelman (SF Supervisor)
- mxmtoon (musician)
Often on the same list
Sources
- LWHS About — enrollment, class size, student-teacher ratio, diversity
- LWHS Affording — tuition, flexible tuition, lunch
- LWHS Applying — requirements, deadlines, test-free policy
- LWHS School Profile — no APs, world languages, schedule, graduation requirements, college matriculation
- Public Purpose Program — signature program
- Athletics Teams — sports
- Course Catalog — arts
- Student Clubs — clubs
- Learning Strategies Center — learning support
- Lick-Wilmerding | Wikipedia — motto, notable alumni
Last reviewed July 2026