<p>The objective of this research was to determine if there are differences in the suicidal behavior and socio-demographic factors of adolescents enrolled in a private and a public school in a city in Colombia. For this purpose, we worked with a sample of 208 students between the two schools, who answered the Okasha Suicidality Scale. They found that 61.5% of the participants were women between the ages of 12 and 18. The possible risk factors associated with suicidal risk were membership in a public school (OR=7,698; CI95% 3,382 - 17,526) and age (OR=1,332; CI95% 0,877- 2,021); as protective factors studying in a private school (OR=0.130; IC95% 0.057- 0.296), school grade (OR=0.760; IC95% 0.464 - 1.247) and sex (OR=0.327; IC95% 0.152 - 0.706). The results obtained within the present investigation, indicate the necessity to continue working in the effectiveness of educational programs where they work in the factors of risks that trigger the different problems in mental health within the student population.</p>