Corporate DeskSign inSign up

Lifestyle

Costa Rica — Living: Education

Costa Rica has an established international/private school sector well-suited to relocating families, with Country Day School (US curriculum, Pre-K-12, founded 1963) and Lincoln School (US/MEP-accredited, IB courses, Pre-K-12) as the two flagship options in the San José area. Annual tuition at these schools commonly runs $12,000-20,000, plus one-time entrance/enrollment fees in the $1,000-2,500 range. Public education is free and compulsory, taught in Spanish, and structured as roughly 6 years of primary plus a secondary cycle.

VerifiedInternational school profiles and tuition pages (Country Day School/Nord Anglia official tuition page, Lincoln School profile, coastalrealtycostarica.com, twoweeksincostarica.com), corroborated across multiple independent sourcesLast reviewed: 2026-08-29

Why this matters

For relocating families, knowing real school names, curricula (US/IB), and actual tuition ranges ($12,000-20,000/year plus setup fees) turns a vague 'private schools exist' statement into something a family can actually budget and plan around.

Key facts

  • Country Day School (San José area) teaches a US curriculum in English (Spanish taught as a subject), Pre-K through 12th grade, founded 1963, offers ~20 AP classes; annual tuition commonly runs about $17,000-18,000 for grades 1-12 ($11,000-13,000 for preschool), plus a $2,500 one-time entrance fee, $1,000 family fee, and $1,250 annual matriculation fee.
  • Lincoln School (San José area) is US- and MEP- (Costa Rican Ministry of Public Education) accredited, Pre-K through 12th grade, follows the US academic calendar, and offers 15+ IB courses; tuition commonly cited around $12,000-18,000/year, plus a $2,000 one-time new-student fee and $50 annual enrollment fee.
  • Across international/private schools generally, annual tuition commonly ranges from about $8,000 to over $20,000 depending on the school and grade level.
  • Public education in Costa Rica is free and compulsory, taught in Spanish, structured as primary (about 6 years) followed by secondary education; it does not offer the English-language instruction international schools provide.

Steps

  1. Decide between public (Spanish-language) and private/international (English-language) schooling — Public school is free but Spanish-language; most relocating families with children choose a private/international school for English-language instruction, at real added cost.
  2. Compare specific schools — Country Day School and Lincoln School are the most established international options in the San José area; other regions have their own local private/bilingual schools worth researching directly.
  3. Budget for one-time and annual fees — Beyond annual tuition ($12,000-20,000+ at flagship schools), budget for one-time entrance/enrollment fees ($1,000-2,500) and annual matriculation/enrollment fees.

Costs

  • Country Day School annual tuition (grades 1-12): ~$17,000-18,000/year, plus $2,500 one-time entrance fee, $1,000 family fee, $1,250 annual matriculation fee
  • Lincoln School annual tuition: ~$12,000-18,000/year, plus $2,000 one-time new-student fee, $50 annual enrollment fee
  • International/private schools generally: Roughly $8,000-$20,000+/year depending on school and grade

Required documents

  • Child's birth certificate
  • Proof of family residency/address
  • Previous school records/transcripts (for private school admissions)
  • Immunization records

Common mistakes

  • Assuming public school will provide English-language instruction — it does not; it is taught in Spanish
  • Budgeting only annual tuition and forgetting the substantial one-time entrance/enrollment fees ($1,000-2,500) at flagship international schools
  • Assuming all private schools outside San José have the same accreditation or curriculum options as Country Day School or Lincoln School

← Back to Costa Rica guides