Cate School

PO BOX 5005

Carpinteria, CA 93014

7 Reviews

School District
Grade

9-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by student on June 02, 2017

Best years of my teenage life. I have developed and become more mature in every way possible. Almost every single teacher on this campus is dedicated to your development, that is if you seek for help. Those who do well are those who acknowledge their weaknesses and are not afraid to seek outside help from faculty members. My intellect has truly deepened through Cate's atypical advanced curriculum as opposed to the IB or AP curriculum. While people do stress about the pressures of college and standardized testing, college and testing are not the foci of conversation topics. Our class had a difficult time being cohesive as a class in our underclassmen years, but by Senior Year, we opened ourselves up to each other and became the close-knit community that Cate had promised us. Cate is a tough environment if you screw up, but those who truly grow and learn from their screwups and are honest about their mistakes are accepted in the community and even become the greatest student leaders at school.
Submitted by parent on April 03, 2015

I cannot say enough about how wonderful Cate is. The facilities are absolutely amazing. The teachers across the board are engaging and outstanding. The demands they place on their students prepare them well for college. Most importantly, the combination of scholarship, athletics, and social activities foster a group of the most interesting and well-rounded students that I have ever met. Yes, it is expensive and that does have an impact. But I can say that my student has brought home students from wealth to total scholarship, Africa to Asia. When I look at them as a group of friends, I can say that any student from Cate is a person worth knowing. My only caveat is that the competition to get into the best university is unnecessary. While those schools are right for some, there is a broader range of options. What is true is the Cate is the best preparation for whatever it is the student chooses.
Submitted by student on March 06, 2015

I am currently a student at Cate School and my experience has been terrible. I transferred in to the school hoping that it would give me a competitive academic environment and a group of great friends. The school tells all students that it has a "community feel" and "close tight-knit family". These are far from the truth. If you are rich, white, well-dressed, or pretentious then you will fit right in. The student body claims to be diverse; however, friend groups are largely segregated by race. Each grade has one distinct "popular" friend group of girls that go on weekends together, make birthday announcements together, and create a very isolating environment for other students in the grade. The social life is very suffocating. 95% of conversations are about SAT scores, GPA, and how well someone did on a math test. Public School kids will be shocked at how limited and pretentious the conversations at this school are. I will admit that Cate School has some fantastic teachers who are very qualified and knowledgeable in their areas, but I have run into many teachers who are indifferent to your success and are "too busy" to meet and help you. Do not come to this school.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2013

Cate School is an incredible community of learners. Since the December 13, 2012 poster has taken up the academic issues raised by the May 17, 2011 poster, I will take on the "permissiveness" issue. Cate School artfully balances structure and freedom. There are many rules in place well-tailored to the teenage population. But this learning community is for self-motivated, highly responsible students who can thrive and contribute in an environment that fosters independence and personal growth. The students and faculty alike are exceptionally bright and welcoming people. The beauty of Cate School runs deep and true.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2012

My son started at Cate this year as a freshman and although I expected much from the school, my expectations have been exceeded by leaps and bounds. My son's academic enthusiasm has blossomed in a myriad of ways. He has developed academic interests outside of his comfort zone and has had his mind stretched beyond anything we could have imagined. The teachers are phenomenal and the close-knit Cate community is full of life mentors. I must take issue with the reviewer of May 17th of 2011. It's obvious this person doesn't have a child at the school. She/he is simply wrong about the stats. The college matriculation is stellar (Cate doesn't release student rankings, so I don't know where she/he comes up with 5%!) All one has to do is look at 2012 college admissions to be impressed. To say that Cate is a second/third rate boarding school is simply incorrect. It consistently ranks in the top tier of US boarding schools and in fact, last year's admissions board accepted less than 12% of all applicants. The students are deeply engaged and focused and there is a general expectation of excellence that permeates the campus.
Submitted by other on May 17, 2011

Although quite beautiful, Cate's attraction is only skin deep. The head of admissions-and the whole office for that matter-are not very thoughtful, interested or quite up to the caliber that we saw at other schools we visited. Sadly, that is also true of the students we met. They did not seem engaged and there appeared to be a great deal of "permissiveness" that worried me if my child attended. Moreover, the college acceptance/matriculation is pretty poor if you are not in the top 5% and the school's standing has been diminished by a very weak board of directors. This is a second or third rate boarding school pretending to be something it, its students, faculty and headmaster are clearly not.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2011

No greater school on Earth! My two sons had the best experience imaginable. You got to see this campus to believe it and the teachers are the finest I've ever run across.