School Fit
Decide whether Harker fits your student
Look past selectivity to the daily life of a large independent school in San Jose.
Checked against Harker's published admissions pages on November 5, 2026.
School fit
Is Harker a fit?
- The school
- Harker is a TK-12 independent school in Silicon Valley, founded in 1893, with 2,040 students on four campuses.
- Accreditation
- Harker is an accredited member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the California Association of Independent Schools.
- Upper School
- The Upper School serves Grades 9 to 12 on the Saratoga Ave. campus in San Jose and lists more than 100 electives.
- Ratio
- Harker lists a 9:1 student to teacher ratio and average Grade 9 to 12 class sizes of 14 to 15.
- Activities
- Harker lists 14 Upper School sports, 40 Upper School athletic teams and more than 90 Upper School student clubs, with 60 percent of Upper School students in sports.
- Where students come from
- Newly admitted students come from more than 100 different public, charter, for-profit, independent and parochial schools, and Harker says it does not prefer students from heavily academic schools.
- Getting there
- Harker has buses from south San Jose and the Peninsula, a free intercampus shuttle between its campuses, and a carpool partnership.
- College counseling
- Students meet with college counselors starting in the second semester of junior year.
- Retention
- Harker reports a 97 percent retention rate from kindergarten through Grade 12.
- Selection
- Harker says selection is based on both academic and non-academic considerations, and no single piece determines whether a student is offered admission.
- 01
Ask your student what kind of classroom they want, and let them answer honestly.
- 02
Visit on a campus tour or student visit, and ask what a typical week looks like.
- 03
Plan the commute early, since transportation depends on where you live.