Last updated: June 2026

If you are buying a home and weighing private schools near Pinecrest, the four names that come up most are Gulliver Preparatory, Palmer Trinity, Westminster Christian, and St. Thomas Episcopal Parish. Annual tuition for the upper grades runs roughly $34,000 to $56,000 for the 2026-27 year, and the schools sit across a few municipalities rather than all inside the Village of Pinecrest itself. Gulliver's upper-school campus is in Pinecrest at 6575 N Kendall Drive [1]. Palmer Trinity is in Palmetto Bay [2], Westminster Christian is in Palmetto Bay [3], and St. Thomas Episcopal is in Coral Gables and serves only PK through 5th grade [4]. For a buyer, that geography matters: the address you choose changes your commute, your public-school zoning, and your tax base, even when the private school you want is a few minutes south.

This guide lays out current tuition, grade ranges, and admissions basics for each school, then connects it back to what it means for a home search in the corridor. Figures below are dated and sourced so you can verify them before you sign anything.

How tuition compares across the four schools

Tuition is the line item that surprises people most, so here is the current picture, drawn from each school's own published rates.

Gulliver Preparatory (Pinecrest). For 2026-27, Gulliver lists $36,400 for PK-SK, $40,200 for grades 1-4, and $56,100 for grades 5-12, with a non-refundable enrollment deposit of $3,300 applied toward the total [5]. Gulliver serves PK through 12 and is the only one of the four with its main upper-school campus inside Pinecrest.

Palmer Trinity (Palmetto Bay). Palmer Trinity serves grades 6 through 12. For 2026-27 the school lists three payment plans: $52,000 paid in full, $53,000 in two payments, or $54,000 over ten monthly payments, with a $3,000 deposit and a $500 matriculation fee for new students [6]. Tuition there includes breakfast, lunch, and core digital books.

Westminster Christian (Palmetto Bay). Westminster is a PK through 12 college-preparatory school on a 31-acre campus. Its 2026-27 single-payment (Plan A) rates run from $20,200 for PK3 and PK4 up to $34,100 for grades 9-12, with grades 1-5 at $26,100 and grades 6-8 at $31,400 [7].

St. Thomas Episcopal Parish (Coral Gables). St. Thomas is a smaller PK through 5th-grade school. Annual-payer tuition runs about $26,740 for PK3, $27,860 for PK4, and $29,910 for grades K-5 [4]. If you want a single school from PK through high school, this is not it, but for early years it is a long-running option in the corridor.

A practical read on these numbers: tuition for two children in upper grades can approach or exceed six figures a year. When buyers underwrite a Pinecrest-area purchase, I encourage them to model tuition alongside the mortgage, insurance, and taxes, because all four hit the same monthly budget.

Where each school actually sits, and why it matters

The common shorthand of "Pinecrest private schools" is convenient but not precise, and precision is what protects a buyer.

Gulliver's upper-school campus is at 6575 N Kendall Drive in Pinecrest [1]. Palmer Trinity and Westminster Christian are both in Palmetto Bay, the municipality directly south of Pinecrest [2][3]. St. Thomas Episcopal is at 5692 N Kendall Drive in Coral Gables, west of the others [4]. These are short drives from one another, but they are different cities with different millage rates, different public-school attendance boundaries, and different drive times during morning carpool.

If your shortlist centers on one school, it is worth picking a home location that keeps the daily commute reasonable and keeps you in the public-school zone you would want as a fallback. A buyer consultation is where we usually map school location against drive time and zoning before touring. You can start that conversation at /buyer-consultation.

Admissions basics for the larger schools

Admissions timelines run nearly a year ahead of enrollment, so families house-hunting for a specific school often need to align the two.

At Palmer Trinity, the process is test-flexible: applicants submit either the ISEE or the SSAT, and 11th-grade applicants may use the PSAT, ACT, or SAT instead [8]. Early Decision applications are completed before early November and Regular Admission by mid-January, with recommendations and transcripts requested through the online application [8]. Gulliver also uses standardized testing (commonly the SSAT or ISEE) along with essays and teacher recommendations, with decisions typically released in late February [9].

Two takeaways for buyers. First, if a school is the reason for your move, start the application and the home search in the same season. Second, admission is never guaranteed, so I do not advise buying a specific home solely on the assumption of a seat at one school. Keep a fallback in your plan.

What this means for a Pinecrest-area home search

The school question is really a location-and-budget question wearing a different hat.

Pinecrest itself is a high-priced market. As of May 2026, Redfin put the median sale price in Pinecrest at about $3.4 million [10]. That is the trade-off many families weigh: a home inside the Village, close to Gulliver and to top-rated public schools, against a home a few minutes south in Palmetto Bay near Palmer Trinity or Westminster at a different price point. Neither is automatically the right answer. It depends on your school shortlist, your budget, and how you value commute time.

When I work with families on this, the order is usually: pick the two or three schools that fit the child, confirm their real addresses and grade ranges, then search homes that keep the daily drive short while protecting resale and public-school zoning. If you are early in that process, the market-side groundwork starts with browsing inventory and getting a current read on values. You can see active listings at /miami-luxury-homes-for-sale, and if you also own a home you would sell or trade up from, a current valuation at /listing-valuation tells you what your move actually costs.

Frequently asked questions

Which of these schools is actually inside Pinecrest? Of the four most-cited options, Gulliver Preparatory's upper-school campus is the one located inside the Village of Pinecrest, at 6575 N Kendall Drive [1]. Palmer Trinity and Westminster Christian are in Palmetto Bay [2][3], and St. Thomas Episcopal is in Coral Gables [4].

How much is private school tuition near Pinecrest for 2026-27? Upper-grade tuition ranges from about $34,100 at Westminster Christian to $56,100 at Gulliver for the 2026-27 year [5][7]. Palmer Trinity lists $52,000 to $54,000 depending on payment plan [6], and St. Thomas Episcopal, a PK-5 school, runs roughly $26,740 to $29,910 [4].

Do any of these schools go all the way from preschool through 12th grade? Gulliver Preparatory and Westminster Christian both serve PK through 12 [5][7]. Palmer Trinity serves grades 6-12 [6], and St. Thomas Episcopal serves only PK through 5th grade [4].

What does a home cost in Pinecrest right now? As of May 2026, Redfin reported a median sale price of about $3.4 million in Pinecrest [10]. Homes in nearby Palmetto Bay and Coral Gables vary, which is part of why the school you choose can shape where you buy. A current read on a specific neighborhood is available through /listing-valuation.

Should I buy a home assuming my child will get into a specific school? Admission is competitive and not guaranteed, so it is safer to keep a public-school zoning fallback in your plan and to start the application and the home search in the same season [8][9].

Sources

1. Waze, Gulliver Prep Upper School Campus, 6575 N Kendall Dr, Pinecrest — https://www.waze.com/live-map/directions/us/fl/pinecrest/gulliver-prep-or-upper-school-campus 2. Palmer Trinity School, Tuition and Fees (Palmetto Bay) — https://www.palmertrinity.org/admission/tuition-and-fees 3. Westminster Christian School, Tuition and Fees (Palmetto Bay) — https://www.wcsmiami.org/admission/tuition-and-fees 4. St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School, location, grades and tuition (Coral Gables) — https://www.stepsmia.org/admission/tuition-and-fees 5. Gulliver Prep, 2026-27 Private School Tuition & Fees — https://www.gulliverprep.org/admissions/tuition/ 6. Palmer Trinity School, 2026-27 Tuition Plans — https://www.palmertrinity.org/admission/tuition-and-fees 7. Westminster Christian School, 2026-27 Tuition Schedule — https://www.wcsmiami.org/admission/tuition-and-fees 8. Palmer Trinity School, Application Process (testing and deadlines) — https://www.palmertrinity.org/admission/application-process 9. Gulliver Prep, Admissions — https://www.gulliverprep.org/admissions/ 10. Redfin, Pinecrest, FL Housing Market — https://www.redfin.com/city/14661/FL/Pinecrest/housing-market

If you want help matching a school shortlist to the right home and the right zoning, send me the schools you are considering and your budget, and I will map them against drive time and current inventory. No pressure, just a clear picture before you tour.

Gabriel

Gabriel A. Moyers, PA. eXp Realty. Florida License #3407280. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information as of June 2026 and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current tuition, grade ranges, and admissions deadlines directly with each school, and current home values with a licensed agent, before acting.