美国中学分为公立和私立两种。公立学校对美国当地学生是免费的，国际学生如需就读公立学校，只能通过专门的交流项目申请入学，而且必须交纳学费，就读时间不 能超过一年。私立学校可以面向国内和国际学生招生，国际学生的比例按学校不同有很大区别，但所有学生的收费标准是一样的。
每年美国都有私立寄宿学校根据SAT平均成绩的排名。SAT(Scholastic Assessment Tests)测验是美国高中学生能否进入大学学习的决定性考试，相当于中国的高考。它分为SAT I 和SAT II 两种，是由美国大约4,300 所大学组成的文教组织--美国大学委员会(The College Board)委托教育测验服务社(Educational Testing Service，ETS)定期举办的世界性测验。美国各大学会参考此成绩，决定是否接受学生的入学申请。
私立寄宿学校的SAT平均成绩排名是中国家长为孩子选择一个合适学校的重要依据。
排名 学校 州
1 Groton School MA
2 Phillips Academy MA
3 Phillips Exeter Academy NH
4 Milton Academy MA
5 Deerfield Academy MA
6 The Thacher School CA
7 The Webb Schools CA
8 Choate Rosemary Hall CA
9 Lawrenceville School NJ
10 Cate School CA
11 Noble and Greenought Sch MA
12 Hackley School NY
13 Mount Michael Benedictine High School NE
14 Georgetown Prep School MD
15 Thomas Jefferson School MI
16 Indian Springs School AL
17 Oregon Episcopal School OR
18 St. Paul’s School NH
19 Detroit Country Day School MI
20 Concorde Academy MA
21 The Cambridge Sch. Of Weston MA
22 Belmont Hill School MA
23 The Taft School CT
24 The Hockaday School TX
25 St. Albans School DC
26 Pine Crest School FL
27 Doane Stuart School NY
28 The Athenian School CA
29 Academy of the Sacred Heart LA
30 Middlesex School MA
31 Emma Willard School NY
32 The Loomis Chaffee School CT
33 Heavenly Mountain Ideal Girls School NC
34 St. Stephen’s Episcopal Sch TX
35 The Hotchkiss School CT
36 Manlius Pebble Hill School NY
37 Westover School, Middlebury CT
38 Annie Wright School WA
39 St. Catherine’s School VA
40 The Hun School of Princeton NJ
41 The Madeira School VA
42 Shady Side Academy PA
43 The Peddie School NJ
44 Saint James School MD
45 St. Andrew’s School DE
46 Saint Mark’s School MA
47 St. George’s School RI
48 Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart IL
49 The Asheville School NC
50 Stevenson School CA