✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades 7-12562 students10.6 students per teacherRoman CatholicCo-ed99% to 4-year college
Private schools in Columbia, SC
36 schools in Columbia itself. 21 of them are on the state’s ESTF list. ESTF pays $7,634 per student for 2026-27.
Order: schools on the official ESTF list first, then nearest. No school pays for its place. Map
Private schools in Columbia (36)
No matching schools.
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-547 students4.3 students per teacherJewishAlternativeCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-6255 students11.8 students per teacherRoman CatholicCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Jubilee Academy
5 mi✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-416 students2.7 students per teacherChristian (nondenominational)MontessoriCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-572 students7.2 students per teacherNonsectarianCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-6213 students8.2 students per teacherRoman CatholicCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Hammond School
6 mi✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-12944 students9.3 students per teacherNonsectarianCo-ed97% to 4-year college
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-633 students7.5 students per teacherRoman CatholicCo-ed
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades K-1258 students6.7 students per teacherChristian (nondenominational)Co-ed75% to 4-year college
Kelly Academy
7 mi✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund
Ben Lippen School
10 mi✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades PreK-121,105 students13.7 students per teacherChristian (nondenominational)Co-ed95% to 4-year college
✓ South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust FundGrades 4-1213 students3.6 students per teacherChristian (nondenominational)Special educationCo-ed0% to 4-year college
Grades PreK-1066 students7.3 students per teacherIslamicCo-ed
Harmony School
4 miGrades PreK-310 students3.3 students per teacherNonsectarianMontessoriCo-ed
Grades PreK-KBaptistEarly childhoodCo-ed
Grades PreK-KMethodistEarly childhoodCo-ed
Sandhills School
5 miGrades 1-12104 students4.3 students per teacherNonsectarianSpecial educationCo-ed100% to 4-year college
Grades PreK-KMethodistEarly childhoodCo-ed
Grades PreK-KChristian (nondenominational)Early childhoodCo-ed
Grades PreK-689 students6.6 students per teacherNonsectarianMontessoriCo-ed
Grades K-1231 students10.7 students per teacherChristian (nondenominational)Co-ed50% to 4-year college
Grades PreK-KNonsectarianMontessoriCo-ed
Grades PreK-694 students9.4 students per teacherRoman CatholicCo-ed
Grades K-1240 students8 students per teacherNonsectarianAlternativeCo-ed25% to 4-year college
Columbia private schools at a glance
- Closest to downtown
- Mission Hope Foundation, 2.4 mi
- Students
- about 3,752 in all; the typical school has 72
- Smallest and largest
- Harmony School, 10 students; Ben Lippen School, 1,105 students
- Students per teacher
- 7.3 typical, 2 to 13.7 across 22 schools
- Programs
- 4 Montessori, 2 special education
- Association members
- 11, most often the National Catholic Educational Association
- To a 4-year college
- 95% of graduates at the typical high school (8 reporting)
- Public charter schools within 15 mi
- 8, tuition-free and not counted above
Charter schools in Columbia
- Catholic5
- Christian, not Catholic9
- Jewish1
- Islamic1
- Nonsectarian7
- Not in federal survey13
- Pre-K (and up)17
- Elementary (K to 5)22
- Middle (6 to 8)14
- High school (9 to 12)9
- K to 12, one school5
- Under 507
- 50 to 1496
- 150 to 2992
- 300 to 5991
- 600 or more2
- Columbia58%
- All of South Carolina54%
Where these facts come from
- Grades, size, affiliation, co-ed, membership, college-going: NCES Private School Universe Survey 2023-24, downloaded September 20, 2026.
- Program list: South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund schools, list dated September 28, 2026, checked November 2, 2026.
- Award and rules: South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund, official page, read October 7, 2026.
- Tuition for 1 school: each school’s own website, last read October 5, 2026.
- Public charter schools: NCES Common Core of Data, public school directory 2025-26 (preliminary), loaded October 8, 2026.
Private school tuition near Columbia
| School | Published tuition | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal Newman School | $17,390 to $19,060 | not stated |
Prices from each school’s own website, read in October 2026; fees can be extra. Tuition by state.
Every verified price in South Carolina, by city and grade.
What South Carolina pays
- Program
- South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund, education savings account
- Award
- $7,634 per student for 2026-27
- Also
- Paid quarterly.
Keep looking
- Christian schools in and around Columbia (9)
- Catholic schools in and around Columbia (5)
- Montessori schools in and around Columbia (4)
- Private high schools in and around Columbia (9)
- Private elementary schools in and around Columbia (22)
- Private middle schools in and around Columbia (14)
- Private schools with kindergarten in and around Columbia (20)
- Private schools with pre-K in and around Columbia (17)
- All schools in Richland County
- All schools in Lexington County
- Private schools in West Columbia (12 mi)
- Private schools in Lexington (18 mi)
- Private schools in Camden (23 mi)
- Private schools in Sumter (30 mi)
- Private schools in Orangeburg (38 mi)
- Private schools in Newberry (43 mi)
- The private schools nearest you, by ZIP code or location
- All South Carolina Education Scholarship Trust Fund schools
Put the next ESTF window in your calendar
No new ESTF application dates are posted yet. How ESTF works.
Every program's dates in one calendar that updates when we confirm new dates: subscribe in Google Calendar · subscribe in Apple Calendar or Outlook · all deadlines
Free. Nothing to sign up for: the calendar file is made in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Dates can change, so confirm on the official site.
Are you a school near Columbia? One sponsor per city, clearly labelled. Sponsor this city