Three San Antonio campuses just muscled their way into rarefied academic air, landing in the top 150 of U.S. News & World Report’s latest Best High Schools list. BASIS San Antonio–Shavano, the Young Women’s Leadership Academy and Northside ISD’s Health Careers High all boast near-perfect graduation rates and heavy Advanced Placement course loads, the very stats U.S. News leans on to crown its winners. For proud parents, it is bragging-rights gold, though there is a big asterisk on who actually gets through the front door.
The eye-catching placements surfaced in local coverage Monday, pulled from U.S. News’ 2025–26 rankings, according to San Antonio Current. That report also noted Gov. Greg Abbott quickly amplified Texas’ showing on social media Sunday, briefly turning the spotlight on which specific campuses made the cut. Below is the governor’s post as shared publicly.
Which San Antonio Schools Made The Cut
Local reporting, paired with the U.S. News breakdown, shows BASIS San Antonio–Shavano among the highest-ranked local campuses, with the Young Women’s Leadership Academy also landing inside the top 100 and Health Careers High cited as one of the city’s standout performers, according to CultureMap San Antonio. BASIS Shavano’s own profile lists 100% AP participation and a 100% graduation rate, figures the school leans on to underscore its college-readiness focus, per BASIS Ed Texas.
Northside’s Health Careers High also landed in the national top-150 and was pegged in the mid-100s range by local coverage. The district describes Health Careers as a magnet campus with an application process, according to Northside ISD. A separate profile lists a near-perfect four-year graduation rate for the school, highlighting consistently strong outcomes, per the Texas Tribune.
Admissions And Access: Who Can Actually Enroll
There is a catch that local coverage has stressed: many of the highest-ranked campuses are not walk-up neighborhood schools. They are charters, magnets or other choice programs that rely on an application or lottery rather than automatic enrollment. San Antonio ISD notes that the Young Women’s Leadership Academy uses a lottery-based admissions process, according to SAISD. BASIS San Antonio–Shavano, meanwhile, operates as a public charter with its own enrollment rules, per BASIS Ed Texas. In practical terms, not every local student can claim a seat at these headline-making schools just because they live nearby.
Families eyeing these options are urged to keep a close watch on district calendars. Northside’s magnet application window and key deadlines are posted on the district’s magnet information hub for the current cycle, and parents are directed to district resources for the exact dates and entry criteria. For full details on magnet enrollment and important timelines, see Northside ISD.
