The Thacher School vs. Cate School
Should you attend The Thacher School or Cate School? Visitors to our site frequently compare these two schools. Compare their rankings, scores, reviews and more to help you determine which school is the best choice for you.
School Overview
Top Rankings
The Thacher School ranks among the top 20 boarding schools (out of 280 schools) for:
Category
Attribute
School Resources
School Resources
Selectivity
Student Test Scores
Student Test Scores
Student Test Scores
Cate School ranks among the top 20 boarding schools (out of 280 schools) for:
Category
Attribute
School Resources
Selectivity
Offering Breadth
Student Test Scores
Student Test Scores
Overview
Founded in 1889, The Thacher School is a coeducational boarding high school located 85 miles north of Los Angeles, California.
The School serves academically talented students who will benefit from a rigorous college preparatory experience.
The faculty and students live and work closely together in a community in which cooperation, trust, honesty, and respect are the cornerstones of school life.
Together, we commit to the belief that demands in the academic classroom, when combined with those of mountains and horses, of sports and the arts, produce independent minds, strong bodies, and powerful character.
Founded in 1910, Cate School is a grade 9-12, coeducational, college preparatory boarding school in Carpinteria, California.
What began as a group of twelve boys and a few teachers has expanded into a 300-student, 57-teacher, deeply academic, and talented community with the most diverse student body of any boarding school of its size in the United States.
One of the most experienced and committed teaching faculty in the country: 82% hold advanced degrees, 18% of these have PhDs.
Cate is one of this nation's most selective boarding schools, accepting under 20% of our applicants each year.
60% of Cate's most recent graduating class attend the country's 25 top-ranked colleges and universities, and 18% went to Ivy Leagues and Stanford.
The Cate experience combines academics, athletics, art, and co-curricular activities in a close-knit, community setting where students are enriched by their relationships with their teachers and each other.
When students leave Cate, they have the tools and the conviction to seek out lives full of purpose and meaning.
School Focus
College Preparatory
College Preparatory
Grades Offered
9-12
9-12
School Type
Co-ed
Co-ed
ADD/ADHD Support
No
No
Supports Learning Differences (LD)
No
No
Year Founded
1889
1910
Campus Size
427 acres
150 acres
Students Body
Enrollment
255
300
% Students of Color
55%
54%
% International Students
12%
17%
% Students Boarding
93%
80%
Average SAT Score
1358
1350
SAT range (25th-75th percentile)
1260 - 1510
n/a
Average ACT score
31
31
Offers Post-Grad Year
No
No
Academics and Faculty
Saturday Classes
No
No
Frequency of Saturday Classes
Weekly
Bi-Weekly
Classroom Dress Code
Casual
Casual
Average Class Size
11
10
Student : Teacher ratio
6:1
5:1
# of AP/Advanced Courses Offered
n/a
46
ESL Courses Offered
No
No
% Faculty with Advanced Degree
72%
80%
Summer Program Offered
No
Yes
Finances
Endowment Size
$206 million
$90 million
Tuition (Boarding Students)
$77,880
$74,975
Tuition (Day Students)
$63,080
$58,975
Avg. Financial Aid Grant
$65,750
$54,405
Admission
Application Deadline
Jan. 15
Jan. 15
Accepts Standardized Application
No
No
SSAT Required
Yes
No
Average Percentile SSAT
94
n/a
Acceptance Rate
15%
17%
Director of Admissions
Bill McMahon
Kyle Mason
Associate Director of Admissions
n/a
David Soto
# of AP/Advanced Courses Offered
n/a
46
Sport
Total Sports Offered
19
20
Sports
Baseball, Basketball, Climbing, Cross Country, Cycling, Dance, Equestrian, Football, Lacrosse, Mountain Biking, Mountaineering, Riding, Rock Climbing, Soccer, Surf Team, Tennis, Track, Track and Field, Volleyball
Ballet, Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Cross Country Running, Dance, Football, Lacrosse, Mountain Biking, Mountaineering, Rock Climbing, Soccer, Surf Team, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Track and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Volleyball, Water Polo
Extracurricular
Total Extra-curric.Total Extracurriculars
30
32
Extra-curric.Extracurriculars
Amnesty International Club, Astronomy Club, Black Student Union, Chamber, Cheese Club, Christian Fellowship Club, Community Service Club, Crochet Club, Emotional Health Task Force, Environmental Action Committee, Fitness/Challenge Fitness, Indoor, International Students at Thacher, Jewish Student Union, Latinos Unidos, Literary Society, Multi-ethnic Student Union, Peer Tutoring, Prefects, Quilting, Robotics Club, Sir Winston Churchill Debating Society, Ski Club, Spanish Club, Spectrum, Thacher Asian Students Society, Thacher Masquers, Thacher Pack & Spur Club, The Notes, United Cultures of Thacher
Alianza (Latino Student Alliance), Black Student Union, Blue Crew, California Mathematics League, Camerata, Cate Artists' Theatre, Cate Review (Literary Magazine), CateNet Masters, Chamber, Chinese Language & Culture Club, Chorale, Cultural Awareness Club, Dance Club, El Batidor (School Newspaper), Film Society, Finance Club, Green Team, Hiking Club, Latin American Students Organization, LOGOS, Round Square, RRCE (LGBTQ+ Support Club), South Asian Student Society, Student Book Club, Student Senate, TERRA, The Crew (Video Club), The Mesan (Yearbook), Theatre Arts, Tour Guides, Women's Forum, Young Men's Forum