Athenian Profile
A distinctive San Francisco Bay Area college preparatory school, Athenian has been recognized since its founding in 1965 for its exceptional integration of strong college preparatory academics with an innovative, challenging curriculum. Our diverse and international community of 455 day and boarding students in grades 6-12 benefits from small classes which average 15 students. In Athenian's idyllic setting, students celebrate learning through relationships, exploration, hands-on projects, service and adventure — in addition to their work in the classroom.
Athenian's 75-acre campus of rolling oak-covered hills lies at the base of the Mt. Diablo in Danville, 32 miles east of San Francisco. The Athenian Middle School (grades 6-8) serves 155 day students while the Upper School (grades 9-12) serves 300 day and boarding students. The Upper School includes 258 day students and 42 boarding students. The Athenian School is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the California Association of Independent Schools.
The Student Body
Four hundred thirteen day students comr from throughout the East Bay to attend Athenian:
- 49% from the local area (Alamo, Danville, Diablo and San Ramon)
- 18% from Oakland, Berkeley and El Cerrito
- 10% from Walnut Creek and Concord
- 10% from Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda
- 11% from Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore
- 2% from other Bay Area communities
Athenian's buses transport students daily throughout the East Bay (from Berkeley/Oakland to Pleasanton/Livermore), meeting the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART) at six stations.
Boarding Students
Forty-two boarding students attend Athenian from around the country and the world. International and domestic students join in a cross-cultural boarding experience. Recent international students have represented more than 12 countries, and recent domestic boarding students have attended from throughout the Bay Area, California, and the United States (typically from the West).
Diversity and Inclusion
The Athenian student body exhibits a rich variety of ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a community, Athenian welcomes students of different religions, sexual orientations and political perspectives and emphasize respect for each individual. At Athenian, international students represent more than a dozen countries. More than 50 percent of the student body lives outside of the San Ramon Valley. Thirty-seven percent of Athenian students are people of color (African-American, Asian, Asian-American, Hispanic/Latino, Indian/Native American, Indian and Middle Eastern). Ten percent come from outside the United States to study at Athenian. International students represent more than a dozen different countries: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Twenty percent of our students receive some form of financial aid. A significant portion of the Athenian student body will travel outside the United States as part of their Athenian experience. (Please click here to learn more about Diversity and Inclusion at Athenian.)
The Faculty
Athenian's faculty numbers just over 70 individuals. All hold college degrees — 75 percent hold a master's or a Ph.D. Athenian faculty have earned degrees at institutions such as Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Michigan, Northwestern, Princeton, Smith, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of Texas, Williams, and Yale. Athenian faculty are noted for expertise in their subject, enthusiasm for teaching, and multiple roles on campus — all of which create strong relationships with students. Over 20 teachers and their families live on campus, many in homes attached to classrooms, forming a vital residential community which benefits both day and boarding students.
College Admission and Testing Information
Nearly all of Athenian’s recent graduates gained admission to an outstanding array of four-year colleges or universities, the majority to their first-choice school. Athenian students typically earn average SAT scores of 1250—1300 (including international students). Advanced Placement: approximately 70 seniors take over 100 exams. In recent years, Athenian students typically pass more than 75% of the AP exams taken.
During the past four years, Athenian students gained admission to over 220 different colleges and universities. Among those are the following:
Amherst College American University Babson College Barnard College Bates College Berkeley College of Music Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brandeis University Brown University Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University California State Universities Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Carleton College Carnegie-Mellon University Claremont-McKenna College Colby College Colgate College College of Wooster Colorado College Connecticut College Columbia University Cornell University Creighton University Dartmouth College Davidson College Denison University Drexel University Duke University Emerson College Emory University Fashion Institute of Design and Technology George Washington University Grinnell College Hamilton College Hampshire College Hampton College Harvard University Harvey Mudd College Haverford College Howard University Indiana University Ithaca College Kenyon College Lehigh University Lewis and Clark College Middlebury College Mills College Morehouse College Mount Holyoke College New York University |
Northwestern University Oberlin College Occidental College Ohio Wesleyan College Otis College of Art & Design Pepperdine University Pitzer College Pomona College Princeton University Purdue University Reed College Rhode Island School of Design Rice University Rutgers University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College School of the Art Institute of Chicago Scripps College Smith College Southern Methodist University Spelman College Stanford University Swarthmore College Syracuse University Texas A&M Trinity College Tufts University Tulane University United States Naval Academy University of California at: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz Universities of: Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Denver, Illinois (Urbana-Champagne), Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puget Sound, San Francisco, Southern California, The Pacific, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin Vanderbilt University Vassar College Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley College Wesleyan University Whitman College Whittier College Williams College Yale University |
Questions?
Please submit your questions regarding admission to The Athenian School to admission@athenian.org.
