The school's motto is Mens Conscia Recti, a Latin phrase adapted from Virgil's Aeneid that means "a mind aware of what is right".

A 2007 Wall Street Journal article ranked College Prep as the sixth best high school in the United States.

College Prep's Heads of School have been Mary Harley Jenks (1960–1969), Robert Baldwin, Jr. (1969–1990), Clint Wilkins (1990–1994), Janet Schwartz (1994–1999), Murray Cohen (1999–2011), and Monique DeVane (2011–present).

[citation needed] At the current campus, a large central courtyard serves as the center of daily activity to create intimacy and a sense of community between students and faculty.

In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic they leased space at a nearby training center named Seneca[6] and began to host some classes there.

In the first two years of English at College Prep, students are sorted into classes that all read similar (or the same) books and have no specific focus.

In a student's Junior and Senior years, however, they are allowed to select seminars with specific focuses (for example Poetry or Harlem Renaissance).

Harkness believed that the tables encouraged students to actively participate in discussion, and that they constituted a "revolution" in liberal arts education.

Sophomores take Atlantic World, which explores the development of the European and American history from the conclusion of the crusades through the end of the Enlightenment.

College Prep's science program establishes a foundation in scientific principles by requiring interdisciplinary study.

The Visual Arts department teaches foundation- and advanced-level classes on creative and technical skills in drawing and design.

are regularly selected to perform in the prestigious National Honor Choir organized by the American Choral Directors Association.

[19] CPS Campus is a student created app, supporting only with iOS and macOS and enables tracking of easily customized school schedules.

In their first year, students are put into a CAP (compass advising program) advisory group aimed at helping ease the transition to High School.

Freshman retreat is conducted at the Catholic Youth Organization's campsite near Occidental, California, and is designed to help students adjust to high school.

Junior retreat is an exercise in leadership training and involves extensive group discussion and activities on an outdoor ropes course.

[22] An Intraterm period takes place in the week before spring break, and consists of special courses (such as pottery or Dungeons & Dragons), field studies (examples include trips to Seattle and Washington D.C.), and internships offered to students outside of the regular curriculum.

Individual meetings take place weekly, and students are required to attend periodic workshops regarding the admissions process.

A delegation of students attend the yearly conference for People of Color in Independent Schools and stage regular events such as forums, guest speakers, and classroom discussions.

No Place for Hate Coalition and Showing Up for Racial Justice are student organizations that focus on training bias management, allyship, and facilitation skills.

In addition, at the 2021 national Tournament of Champions, a team placed 8th in the country, making it to the quarterfinal round of Gold Public Forum.

Rounds are held on the school campus and in conference rooms provided by the Oakland office of the Reed Smith law firm.

The school has won twenty-one League titles since 2010, namely:[35] As a separate component of the school's modernization and expansion project, the Board also negotiated the unrestricted use of the Tom Bates Regional Sports Complex, an athletic compound adjacent to the Golden Gate Fields, for use by College Prep athletics.

The mean SAT Reasoning Test scores for the College Prep Class of 2024 were 746 (evidence-based reading and writing) and 747 (math; on scales of 200–800).