High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school (usually abbreviated to preparatory school, college prep school, or prep school) is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education. Some schools will also include a junior, or elementary, school. This designation is mainly current in North America. In many parts of Europe, such as Germany, the countries of former Austria-Hungary, the Benelux and Scandinavia, secondary schools specializing in college-preparatory education are called gymnasia and/or in some countries athenaea. College prep schools are usually a secondary school along with work for a host school, to help get in to a desired college. Most students attend a college-preparatory school but also accomplish the host schools work for a high school diploma.