Your journey starts here

September – January: Campus Visits and Interviews
October 16 – October 20: Fall Break (no tours)
November 22 – December 1: Thanksgiving Break (no tours)
December 20 – January 6: Winter Break (no tours)
January 15: Application Deadline
February 1: Financial Assistance Application Deadline
March 10: Admission Notification
April 10: Admission Enrollment Deadline

Please fill out the Inquiry Form to set up your Admission Portal account.

Our campus is open to current 6th- and 7th-grade families for tours this spring. This visit wouldn’t replace a formal visit and interview if you were to go ahead with an application.

We will host visits on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting April 15. Please find the schedule for the day below:

9:15 a.m. – Arrival
9:40 a.m. – Community Gathering
10:10 a.m. – Campus Tour
11:00 a.m. – Departure

Our final visit day will be Friday, May 15.

Please note that we will not host visits on Monday, April 27, or Friday, May 8.

Our campus is now closed for visits, and interviews have concluded for this admission season. Students wishing to apply beyond the January 15 deadline must submit a personal video in lieu of an interview by February 15.

We are no longer offering virtual interviews for this admission season. Students applying beyond the January 15 deadline must submit a personal video in place of an interview by February 15.

In lieu of an interview, Cate School welcomes applicants to submit a personal video. Sharing a personal video is a helpful way to show us what makes you unique and why you are interested in attending Cate School.

Personal Video Submission Requirements:

• Shoot from a close-up and show your face clearly.
• Create a .mp4 video that does not exceed 3.5 minutes and is no shorter than 2 minutes.
• State your name.
• Where are you from?
• What is your current grade?
• What is your application status (boarding/day)?
• Why are you applying to Cate School, and how will you contribute to our community?
• Email Admission at admission@cate.org, attaching your video.
• Email Subject Line: Personal Video Submission_FirstName_LastName

Please contact us at admission@cate.org or (805) 684-4127 ext. 217 if you have any questions.

9th and 10th Grade Applicants:

Applicants must submit either the SSAT or ISEE.

• SSAT: Competitive students typically score in the 80th percentile, earning a total between 2100–2400 on the Upper-Level SSAT.

• ISEE: Competitive applicants generally earn stanines of 7–9 (77th percentile or above).

There is no minimum score requirement. We evaluate each applicant holistically, with testing serving as one component of the overall review process.

11th Grade Applicants:

Applicants may submit the PSAT, SAT, or ACT.

• PSAT: Competitive students typically score between 1070–1520.

• SAT: Competitive students typically score between 1300–1600

• ACT: Competitive applicants generally score between 26–36.

As with all applicants, there is no testing cut-off. Standardized testing is considered alongside the full application.

Cate welcomes the valuable perspective international students bring to our community and encourages students worldwide to apply for admission.

At Cate, you are classified as an international student if you need:

• an F-1 student visa to study in the United States and a Form I-20 from Cate
• or, regardless of your citizenship or visa status, your family’s main residence is located outside the United States

International and domestic applicants are considered in the same applicant pool and held to the same standards. International applicants have the same application requirements as domestic applicants.

We welcome applications for financial assistance from all families who apply to Cate, including international families. It is important to note that we offer need-based financial assistance, not scholarships, and limited funding is available.

All international applicants must demonstrate proficiency in oral and written English.

Who Must Submit English Testing?
Applicants whose first language is not English must submit an English proficiency test.

This requirement is waived for students who have attended (for two consecutive years or more):

• An international school outside the United States where English is the primary language of instruction, or
• A U.S. junior boarding school

For example:

• 9th-grade applicants must have attended in 7th and 8th grade
• 10th-grade applicants must have attended in 8th and 9th grade
  (and so on)

Accepted Tests & Minimum Scores

Applicants may submit one of the following:

• TOEFL: Minimum score of 110
• IELTS: Minimum score of 7.5
• Duolingo English Test: Minimum score of 140

Only one test is required.

All tests must be taken within one year of the application deadline.

School Code:
TOEFL: 8529

To begin the application process, you must complete the Admission Inquiry Form to create your Cate Admission Portal account.

Cate School accepts applications for 9th, 10th, and 11th grades only. We do not accept applications for 12th grade, post-graduate (PG) programs, or mid-year admission.

Cate School accepts the Gateway to Prep Schools Application.

Application requirements:

• • Candidate Profile
  • Applicant Writing Prompts and Parent Statement
  • Interview (In-person or virtual) or Personal Video Submission
  • Principal/Counselor Recommendation
  • Current English Teacher Recommendation
  • Current Math Teacher Recommendation
  • Standardized Testing (SSAT or ISEE)
  • Transcript Report (current and previous year grades)
  • Special Interest Recommendation (optional)
  • Language Testing Required for International Applicants (TOEFL, DuoLingo, IELTS)

We do not accept a graded writing sample.

Given the demands of Cate’s program and the number of applications, all candidates within the following boundaries will be considered day-student applicants. A family’s primary physical address is used to make that determination. The perimeter of this boundary is defined by specific towns below, from which families expect to apply as day student candidates.

Day Student Boundary Towns/Cities:
Oxnard
Ventura
Santa Paula
Carpinteria
Summerland
Montecito
Santa Barbara
Goleta

Your family must apply for day-student status if you reside in one of the towns/cities listed above.

If your family resides outside of the set boundaries, please proceed as a boarding student applicant.

Pursuant to Bylaw 204 of the CIF- Southern Section Blue Book, In California, student-athletes are not permitted to repeat a year of high school or middle school (Grade 9 or above) and retain athletic eligibility for their 12th-grade year. Students have eight consecutive semesters of athletic eligibility once they begin the 9th grade, this clock is ticking regardless of whether or not you play a specific sport. In short, once you begin 9th grade (middle or high school), you have four consecutive years of eligibility, no more. This is a different policy than many of the boarding schools in other states. 

CIF-SS Blue Book Bylaw 204, Paragraph B:
A student who first enters the 9th grade of any school following the student’s completion of the 8th grade in any school may be eligible for athletic competition during a maximum period of time that is not to exceed eight (8) consecutive semesters following the initial enrollment in the 9th grade of any school and/or in any classes taken subsequent to the completion of the 8th grade, whether or not the student is enrolled in school, whether or not the student is academically or otherwise eligible and whether or not the student avails themselves of the opportunity to participate in interscholastic sports during this time. Eligibility is only available during the student’s first eight (8) consecutive semesters of enrollment in high school (grades 9-12).

This Bylaw is not subject to appeal, unless you have been absent from school for more than half of a semester due to hardship, such as extreme medical conditions. There are no other grounds for appeal of this bylaw. All other CIF eligibility bylaws and rules still apply and may be found at www.ciifss.org

If you are applying through a program or community based organization, we request that you complete the Admission Inquiry Form to create your Cate Admission Portal account. Once your account is active, you may log in at any time to track the status of your application. In addition, we ask that you download and complete our Supplemental Application Form. All completed submissions can be scanned and emailed to admission@cate.org.

Cate partners with the following programs and community based organizations:

• A Better Chance (ABC)
• Boys Club of New York
• Breakthrough
• Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship
• Daniel Murphy Scholarship Foundation (DMSF)
• Harlem Leadership and Lacrosse (HLL)
• Independent School Alliance (ISA)
• Inspiring Young Minds (IYM)
• New Jersey SEEDS Foundation
• Oliver Scholars
• Queen City Foundation
• SMART Foundation Inc.
• Steppingstone Foundation
• TEAK Fellowship
• Young Eisner Scholars (Y.E.S)
• ORION Scholars
• Jack Kent Cooke Scholars
• HYPE
• Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
• KIPP
• Prep for Prep
• Rainier Scholars

If you wish to learn more about Cate’s partnership with Programs and Community-Based Organizations, please contact Joe Cordero at joseph_cordero@cate.org.