Kennedy International School vs United Nations International School
🇺🇸 New York · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Kennedy International School nor United Nations International School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. On cost, Kennedy International School has the noticeably lower entry fee — a material difference for budget-conscious families. See the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| Kennedy International School | United Nations International School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB / Blended / Japanese | IB |
| Ages | 3–18 | 4–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English, French, Japanese | English |
| Annual fees | USD 24,000–45,000 | USD 46,856–52,167 |
| Enrollment | — | 1,450 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | French Ministry of Education, AEFE, NYSED-recognized | CIS, NYSAIS |
Strengths
- ✓Long heritage (founded 1964) as one of New York's established bilingual international schools
- ✓Genuine dual-immersion model — two full bilingual tracks (French-English and Japanese-English), not token language classes
- ✓Accredited by the French Ministry of Education and in the AEFE network, enabling seamless transfer into the French school system
- ✓Authorized IB Diploma Programme school since 2014, offering a rare bilingual French/English IB Diploma with Spanish as a second language
- ✓Continuous pathway from nursery (age 3) through grade 12 on two Midtown Manhattan campuses
- ✓Founding IB school (one of the IB's pilot schools) and among the first to award IB diplomas — deep, credible IB pedigree
- ✓Exceptionally international community: roughly 97–109 nationalities among students and 86–91 mother-tongue languages
- ✓CIS accreditation plus NYSAIS membership and long institutional history (since 1947)
- ✓Strong multilingual programme — every student studies French or Spanish from the early years, adding a third language from Grade 7; nine languages offered
- ✓Single continuous PreK–12 pathway (ages ~4–18) on one Manhattan campus culminating in the IB Diploma
Trade-offs
- !Holds no US regional accreditation (WASC, MSA, NEASC, or CIS) — its quality assurance runs through the French Ministry and NYSED recognition instead
- !Publishes no current total enrollment, student-teacher ratio, or class-size data on public pages
- !Does NOT publish IB Diploma score averages or pass rates — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !Does NOT publish university-placement or matriculation data
- !No published, structured EAL/ESL program on public pages, despite an immersion intake (over 50% of elementary students were reported as non-French-speakers prior to enrolling)
- !Does NOT publish IB Diploma average scores or a verified university-destination list — academic outcomes cannot be independently verified
- !Enrollment figures are inconsistent across the school's own pages (cited variously as ~1,427, ~1,450, ~1,454 and ~1,545), so no single precise number is reliable
- !Only the IB Diploma Programme is evidenced — no PYP or MYP authorization is stated, despite a continuous PreK–12 structure
- !EAL/English-language-support provision is not described on public pages and cannot be confirmed
- !The former Queens (Jamaica Estates) K–8 campus closed in 2022, so the school now serves one Manhattan location only
Best Fit For
- • Francophone or francophile families wanting an authentic French-immersion education with transferability into the French system
- • Japanese expatriate and internationally-mobile families seeking a Japanese-English bilingual track in Manhattan
- • Families targeting a bilingual IB Diploma pathway (French/English) for grades 11–12
- • Diplomatic and UN-affiliated families based in Midtown (UN-staff discount available for the youngest grades)
- • UN-affiliated and diplomatic families relocating to New York (who receive admissions priority)
- • Internationally mobile, multilingual families wanting a genuinely global IB community
- • Families seeking a continuous PreK–12 IB pathway culminating in the IB Diploma (including bilingual diplomas)
- • Households prioritising a strong second/third-language programme from the early years
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Kennedy International School does not publish IB Diploma score averages, pass rates, or a university-placement/matriculation list on its public pages, so senior-school outcomes cannot be independently verified. Its French Ministry accreditation supports transfer into the French school system, but specific university destinations are not disclosed.
School-reported, unverified: per third-party summary, nearly all graduates attend four-year colleges, with roughly 75%–85% enrolling at universities in the United States and the remainder at universities in about 13 other countries. UNIS does not publish an IB Diploma average score or a specific university-destination list on its own pages; treat placement claims as school-reported and unverified.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Kennedy International School or United Nations International School?
Kennedy International School is best for: Francophone or francophile families wanting an authentic French-immersion education with transferability into the French system. United Nations International School is best for: UN-affiliated and diplomatic families relocating to New York (who receive admissions priority). The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Kennedy International School and United Nations International School?
Kennedy International School: USD 24,000–45,000. United Nations International School: USD 46,856–52,167. Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Kennedy International School and United Nations International School offer?
Kennedy International School: IB, Blended, Japanese. United Nations International School: IB.
Do Kennedy International School or United Nations International School offer boarding?
Kennedy International School: day school only. United Nations International School: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →