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Parents, open up those checkbooks. These are some of the costliest high schools in the Chicago area.

If you plan to send your child to one of Chicago’s prestigious private schools, be sure to read the fine print. Applications, textbooks, gym clothes, extracurricular activities and exam fees may not be included in the price of tuition.

St. Ignatius College Prep is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Ignatius College Prep is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

$19,500 annually St. Ignatius College Prep is a Jesuit school on Chicago’s Near West Side that boasts an educated staff — 90% of faculty members have a master’s degree or higher.

$22,680 Students begin the day with physical movement to energize, and end the day with an art class to reflect, at the Chicago Waldorf School in the Andersonville neighborhood on the city’s North Side.

Eric Silberman, right, adjusts his cap while waiting to enter graduation for Ida Crown Jewish Academy seniors held at Niles West High School in Skokie on June 7, 2009.
Eric Silberman, right, adjusts his cap while waiting to enter graduation for Ida Crown Jewish Academy seniors held at Niles West High School in Skokie on June 7, 2009.

$23,000 While a placement test is required to attend Skokie’s Ida Crown Jewish Academy, the school states, “No one will be denied an Academy education because of financial need.”

$26,520 Located in Kane County, Elgin Academy hosts international students who live with local families.

Educators at Roycemore School in Evanston are teaching a new generation of young learners in subjects such as math and history while continuing school traditions like the annual Palio event, which started in 1916 and is a pageant in which student display the progress they have made in their physical education classes.
Educators at Roycemore School in Evanston are teaching a new generation of young learners in subjects such as math and history while continuing school traditions like the annual Palio event, which started in 1916 and is a pageant in which student display the progress they have made in their physical education classes.

$27,685 After passing the standard curriculum, Roycemore School students can take classes at Northwestern University. The school, which was founded in 1915 in Evanston, grants financial aid to 40% of students.

$27,900 Beacon Academy in Evanston employs faculty members from eight countries. Upper level students complete the International Baccalaureate program in 11th and 12th grades.

Eli Nasatir, from left, Joey Schrayer, Emma Mati and Ethan Laney, of Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, pose for a photograph in 2018, after earning first place at the National High School Model United Nations conference.
Eli Nasatir, from left, Joey Schrayer, Emma Mati and Ethan Laney, of Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, pose for a photograph in 2018, after earning first place at the National High School Model United Nations conference.

$28,000 Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield offers over 30 clubs and small classes.

Chicago Academy for the Arts ballet student Zachary Jeppsen, 17, works with classmates at one of the facility's dance studios Dec. 14, 2017.
Chicago Academy for the Arts ballet student Zachary Jeppsen, 17, works with classmates at one of the facility’s dance studios Dec. 14, 2017.

$29,095 A young artist’s dream school in Chicago’s West Town, the Chicago Academy for the Arts devotes three hours each school day to your student’s area of study: dance, media arts, music, musical theater, theater or visual arts.

$33,950 The British International School of Chicago, South Loop, allows students to connect virtually with over 50,000 students associated with the school’s Nord Anglia Education’s Global Campus.

North Shore Country Day School junior Packy Murdock, of Wilmette, inspects the interior of a giant axolotl, also known as a walking fish, he helped build for biology class in February 2018.
North Shore Country Day School junior Packy Murdock, of Wilmette, inspects the interior of a giant axolotl, also known as a walking fish, he helped build for biology class in February 2018.

$34,050 Students from more than 20 suburbs attend Winnetka’s North Shore Country Day School, which was established in 1919 by 12 families. North Shore Country Day School celebrated its 100th graduating class in spring 2019.

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$34,900 GEMS World Academy Chicago is in Lakeshore East and is scheduled to open a new upper school building later this fall.

Brian Wildman leads a design communication class at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools on Feb. 24, 2014.
Brian Wildman leads a design communication class at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools on Feb. 24, 2014.

$35,952 Located in Hyde Park, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools were home to Sasha and Malia Obama before the family left Chicago for Washington. The school offers free classes at the University of Chicago once students pass the regular curriculum.

Classmates from the Latin School of Chicago aboard the Wladmor yacht in Chicago, on June 11, 1956.
Classmates from the Latin School of Chicago aboard the Wladmor yacht in Chicago, on June 11, 1956.

$36,675 Parents recruited Mabel Slade Vickery as the first headmistress of the Latin School of Chicago in 1888. Her birthday, Sept. 13, is still celebrated at the school. Fun fact: Pam Netzky, the co-founder and president of SkinnyPop graduated from Latin in 1993.

The Francis W. Parker School in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on July 25, 2019.
The Francis W. Parker School in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on July 25, 2019.

$36,790 The Francis W. Parker School was founded in Lincoln Park in 1901 by Civil War veteran Col. Francis Wayland Parker, along with benefactor Anita McCormick Blaine. University of Chicago founder John Dewey once called Parker “the father of progressive education.”

Lake Forest Academy students form a human pyramid in 1955.
Lake Forest Academy students form a human pyramid in 1955.

$45,950 Situated on 150 acres in Lake County is Lake Forest Academy, which was created in 1857. The school has students from 13 states and 35 countries.