HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

Best Private Elementary Schools in Hillsborough County for STEM

Independent rankings of Private Elementary schools in Hillsborough County with STEM programs, built from director interviews and verified data — never from school payments.

25 schools indexed

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AdmitCompass tracks 25 private elementary-level schools in Hillsborough County. Annual tuition ranges from $9.2K/yr to $34.3K/yr, with a median of $18.9K/yr across schools that publish a number. Tampa has the highest concentration with 20 schools, followed by Riverview (3). 9 of these schools accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — roughly 36% of the list — so families using state-funded scholarships have real choice here.

Private schools on this page set their own admissions criteria. Most ask for a school visit, prior records, and a family interview; competitive K and 6th-grade entry points often fill 6-9 months before the start of school. Every school is re-verified through direct outreach to admissions teams; data is refreshed on a 180-day cadence and timestamped on each profile.

See also: Learning Support, Gifted, IB (International Baccalaureate).

Showing 10 of 25 Hillsborough County schools
How we rank

We rank by how well each school fits your family — academics, cost, distance, and values. Never by size, popularity, or payment (schools can’t pay for rank). The coarse admission-likelihood band is always free.

  1. 1
    Jesuit High School

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades 9-12·~860 students

    State-licensed

    Accepts scholarshipsLearning supportCatholic
    Selective · estimate by type · data coming soon

    Selective private school — we don’t have a verified acceptance rate yet. Similar schools admit a solid share of applicants. A general signal by school type, not a personalized estimate.

    Tuition$23.9K/yr
    TypeCatholic
    Students~860
  2. 2
    Tampa Preparatory School

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades 6-12·~707 students

    State-licensed

    SecularCo-ed
    Target · admission likelihood · free

    A solid match — families like yours are often admitted here.

    Tuition$34.3K/yr
    TypeSecular
    Students~707
  3. 3
    Hillel School Of Tampa Inc.

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades PK-08·~84 students

    State-licensed

    Accepts scholarshipsJewishCo-ed
    Selective · estimate by type · data coming soon

    Selective private school — we don’t have a verified acceptance rate yet. Similar schools admit a solid share of applicants. A general signal by school type, not a personalized estimate.

    Tuition$21.7K/yr
    TypeJewish
    Students~84
  4. 4
    Kidz Cove Ii

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades PK-12·~58 students

    State-licensed

    Accepts scholarshipsCo-edAffordable
    Selective · estimate by type · data coming soon

    Selective private school — we don’t have a verified acceptance rate yet. Similar schools admit a solid share of applicants. A general signal by school type, not a personalized estimate.

    Tuition$12.5K/yr
    TypePrivate
    Students~58
  5. 5
    Manifestations School For Innovation And Le

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades KG-12·~68 students

    State-licensed

    Accepts scholarshipsNondenominational ChristianCo-edAffordable
    Selective · estimate by type · data coming soon

    Selective private school — we don’t have a verified acceptance rate yet. Similar schools admit a solid share of applicants. A general signal by school type, not a personalized estimate.

    Tuition$9.2K/yr
    TypeNondenominational Christian
    Students~68
  6. 6
    Slam Academy at Apollo Beach

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades K-12·~1,235 students

    DOE 2026 · NCES

    Co-ed
    Likely · general · by school type · free

    Open-enrollment charter — most applicants are admitted when seats remain; oversubscribed grades use a lottery. General signal, not personalized.

    TuitionFree
    TypeCharter
    Students~1,235
  7. 7
    Bell Creek Academy

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades 6-12·~1,131 students

    DOE 2026 · NCES

    SecularCo-ed
    Likely · general · by school type · free

    Open-enrollment charter — most applicants are admitted when seats remain; oversubscribed grades use a lottery. General signal, not personalized.

    TuitionFree
    TypeSecular
    Students~1,131
  8. 8
    Sunlake Academy of Math and Sciences

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades K-8·~984 students

    DOE 2026 · NCES

    Co-ed
    Likely · general · by school type · free

    Open-enrollment charter — most applicants are admitted when seats remain; oversubscribed grades use a lottery. General signal, not personalized.

    TuitionFree
    TypeCharter
    Students~984
  9. 9
    Valrico Lake Advantage Academy

    Tampa·Hillsborough County·Grades K-5·~928 students

    DOE 2026 · NCES

    SecularCo-ed
    Likely · general · by school type · free

    Open-enrollment charter — most applicants are admitted when seats remain; oversubscribed grades use a lottery. General signal, not personalized.

    TuitionFree
    TypeSecular
    Students~928
  10. 10
    Valrico Academy

    Riverview·Hillsborough County·Grades K-5·~928 students

    DOE 2026 · State-licensed

    Likely · general · by school type · free

    Open-enrollment charter — most applicants are admitted when seats remain; oversubscribed grades use a lottery. General signal, not personalized.

    TuitionFree
    TypeCharter
    Students~928
How we rank these schools

Built relationships, not scrapers. AdmitCompass ranks schools using a composite score that blends four signals: enrollment size (a proxy for stability and program breadth), tuition reasonableness within the local market, freshness of our most recent verification, and a small bonus for schools with full admissions detail published on their profile.

Public data comes from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and each school's own admissions pages. The information that actually matters to most families — acceptance rates, deadlines, what a director cares about — comes from direct interviews with school directors and admissions coaches across our active markets.

We do not publish scoring weights or per-axis thresholds. That keeps the moat intact: the rankings reflect actual conversations with people inside schools, not a formula anyone with a crawler could clone. Every profile is re-verified on a 180-day cadence, and the "last updated" date is timestamped on every school page.

Read the full methodology.

Frequently asked questions

What's the average tuition for elementary schools in Hillsborough County?
Across the 25 schools on this list, annual tuition ranges from $9.2K/yr to $34.3K/yr, with a median of $18.9K/yr. Many schools offer financial aid, sibling discounts, or accept Florida Step Up / FES scholarships — check each school's detail page for current aid policy.
How competitive is admission to private schools in Hillsborough County?
Selective private schools review transcripts, teacher recommendations, an admissions test (ISEE or SSAT for grades 5-12), and an in-person visit. Acceptance rates vary widely — some schools accept nearly every qualified applicant, while top-tier programs admit fewer than 25%. Apply 9-12 months ahead of the start date.
Do these schools accept Step Up / FES scholarships?
9 of the 25 schools on this page accept Florida's Step Up For Students / FES-EO / FES-UA scholarships. That covers most or all of tuition for income-eligible families. Each school's detail page lists the specific scholarship programs accepted.
What's the smallest and largest school on this list?
Big Bend Academy Of Math And Science is the smallest with 16 students; Slam Academy at Apollo Beach is the largest at 1235. Smaller schools tend to offer more direct teacher contact and tighter community; larger schools usually have more elective and extracurricular breadth.
How many schools offer STEM programs?
25 schools on this page have documented STEM programs. Program depth varies — some schools embed it across the curriculum, others offer dedicated tracks or after-school options. Visit each school's profile for specifics.
Is this list updated?
Yes. We re-verify school data on a 180-day cadence through direct contact with admissions teams, plus cross-checks against FLDOE, NCES, and published school sources. Each school profile shows the date of its most recent verification.

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Data last updated June 9, 2026. Rankings reflect director interviews and public DOE/NCES data. How we verify and rank.