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BASIS Independent Silicon Valley

#1 in Best High Schools for STEM in California
  • A+
    Overall Grade
  • Private
  • 5-12
  • San Jose, CA
  • 59 reviews
    Apply NowVisit Campus
    A+
    Overall Niche Grade
    How are grades calculated?
    1. Academics
      A+
    2. Diversity
      C
    3. Teachers
      A+
    4. College Prep
      A+
    5. Clubs & Activities
      C-
    6. Sports
      C-
    About BASIS Independent Silicon Valley...
    Address
    1290 Parkmoor Avenue
    San Jose, CA 95126
    Telephone
    (408) 291-0907
    Website
    siliconvalley.basisindependent.com/?utm_campaign=sv%20-%20niche.com&utm_source=profile&utm_medium=website%20url

    Applying

    Application Deadline
    Rolling Admissions
    Application Fee
    $75
    Interview Required
    Yes
    Required/Recommended Tests
    —

    Tuition

    Yearly Tuition
    $30,700
    Tuition is for the highest grade offered and may have changed for the current school year. For more information, please contact the school.
    Received Financial Aid
    —
    Average Financial Aid
    —
    From BASIS Independent Silicon Valley

    Now accepting applications for fall 2020!

    Early Admissions (Grades 5-7)
    Application Submission Deadline: Oct, 25, 2019

    Regular Admissions (Grades 5-12)
    Application Submission Deadline: Thur, Jan 30, 2020

    At BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, a grades 5-12 private school, students and subject expert teachers engage in a spiraling liberal arts and sciences curriculum benchmarked to the best education systems in the world. We believe in setting a higher standard for students and promoting self reliance and accountability in an environment where learning is encouraged and celebrated.

    Outside of our classrooms, students can select from over 65 club and athletic offerings. 

    Our seniors are accepted to the world's top colleges and universities including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Chicago, The London School of Economics, Oxford, and many more.

    Upcoming Events

    BASIS Independent Silicon Valley Rankings

    Niche ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents.

    Academics

    Average Graduation Rate
    100%
    Average SAT
    1520
    88 responses
    Average ACT
    34
    64 responses
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    Culture & Safety

    Poll
    50%
    of students agree that they feel safe at their school.22 responses
    Poll
    41%
    of students agree that they like their school and feel happy there.22 responses
    Poll
    What are your favorite school events or traditions?
    Based on 24 responses
    Report
    • Spirit Week
      38%
    • no events are good
      21%
    • not having a ton of hw+catching up on sleep
      17%
    • i love having no extracurricular sports at school
      8%
    • getting out of this prison trap
      4%
    • Halloween Dance
      4%
    • Prom
      4%

      Students

      Diversity
      C
      Based on racial and economic diversity and survey responses on school culture and diversity from students and parents.
      Students
      800
      86%
      of students and parents agree that students at this school are competitive.22 responses
      32%
      of students and parents agree that students at this school are creative and artsy.22 responses
      9%
      of students and parents agree that students at this school are athletic.22 responses

      Teachers

      Student-Teacher Ratio
      8:1
      National
      17:1
      Poll
      41%
      of students and parents agree that the teachers give engaging lessons.22 responses
      Poll
      50%
      of students and parents agree that the teachers genuinely care about the students.22 responses
      Poll
      41%
      of students and parents agree that the teachers adequately lead and control the classroom.22 responses

      Clubs & Activities

      Clubs & Activities
      C-
      Based on student and parent reviews of clubs and activities.
      Girls Athletic Participation
      —
      Boys Athletic Participation
      —
      50%
      of students and parents agree that there are plenty of clubs and organizations for students to get involved in.22 responses
      32%
      of students and parents agree that clubs and organizations get the funding they need.22 responses
      36%
      of students and parents agree that lots of students participate in clubs and organizations.22 responses
      Living in the Area
      B+
      Overall Niche Grade
      How are grades calculated?
      1. Cost of Living
        D
      2. Good for Families
        B
      3. Housing
        D-
      Median Household Income
      $74,404
      National
      $55,322
      Median Rent
      $1,631
      National
      $949
      Median Home Value
      $515,537
      National
      $184,700

      BASIS Independent Silicon Valley Reviews

      59 reviews
      All Categories
      Academics(STEM) is the main reason to go here. The "AP Curriculum" is definitely overhyped, its nothing amazing, but it does make classes more complex. Teachers are hit-or-miss, some are good, but some are favoritist and some are just plain out bad. Clubs are the worst--they're all really expensive, and BISV barely even gives any of the money back to the clubs. School culture/spirit is bad, but it is getting slightly better. The resources/facility are the worst thing about the school-there's barely any area to just hang out. The senior lounge is a small space that seniors can use, but that's it. The rest of the students are restricted as to where they can hang out, and if you stay at school after 5, BISV charges you for "Late Bird", which is pretty ridiculous. College counselors are okay, but you should get your own outside counselor. The administration are completely incompetent at the school-do not rely on them for anything! The food is Choicelunch, which is bad as well.
      Start Your Review of BASIS Independent Silicon Valley
      Rate It!
      Niche allows reviews to only be less than 1000 characters, so I'll try to summarize everything.

      Academics/Teachers/Resource: MWAH! The teachers are all qualified and passionate about their respective subjects (many also have PhD's). There are many resources within the school that assist students' academic performance if they wish, such as the peer tutoring program, office hours, or simply having a classmate help you out.

      Clubs: A surprisingly wide variety of clubs. The largest (and arguably best) clubs consist of Speech & Debate, Mock Trial, and DECA.

      Sports: PE only offers the mainstream sports, such as soccer, basketball, and football.

      Diversity: Nonexistent. All Asians.

      Food: Most of the students hate it.

      School Culture: Many of the students are talented and smart, but many of them at the same time are also conceited and condescending, which degrades the school environment by a considerable amount.

      Administration: Slow
      We are a small community of students and I like being at a place where staff members, and even teachers who aren't my teacher, know my name. The classes are hard but worth the work. Every year I look back at where I was in the beginning of the year and I'm always moving forward. I have greatly enjoyed my teachers. Teachers who are individually passionate about their classes always gets me excited. And I love the community we are building. Every year we add more clubs, sports, traditions, and overall school spirit. I'm proud to be a BISV student!