Your journey starts here

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

We invite you to visit The Mesa to experience our beautiful 150-acre campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean and take in what our founder called “the spirit of this place.” During your campus visit, you will take a student-led campus tour, sit in on a class, and attend an all-school gathering followed by an interview.

We offer campus visits and interviews in the mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Cate also offers one Saturday visit day on Saturday, January 10, 2026

To schedule your campus visit, please get in touch with the Admission Office at 805-684-4127 ext. 217, admission@cate.org. As a reminder, an interview is required to be considered a complete applicant.

Virtual interviews are reserved for students outside California.

To schedule a virtual interview, we require the following:

• Complete Gateway to Prep Candidate Profile
• Application Fee Paid
• TOEFL or Duolingo (International Students). Cate does not offer fee waiver codes for language testing.

Virtual interviews are also available for students applying through A Better Chance (ABC), Breakthrough, 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, Stepping Stone Foundation, TEAK Fellowship or Young Eisner Scholars (YES).

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: SSAT or ISEE

The average SSAT score for accepted students to Cate School has historically been in the 80th percentile, earning 2100-2400 on the Upper School Level SSAT. The average ISEE score range is 7-9, landing in the 77th percentile or above.

We do not have an SSAT or ISEE score cut-off, and we recognize that each applicant comes from a different background when it comes to test preparation. We aim to evaluate an entire applicant’s profile, with the SSAT or ISEE being one part of the process.

11th Grade Applicants: PSAT

The average PSAT score for accepted students to Cate School: 1070 – 1520

Competitive PSAT Math Scores: 560-610
Competitive PSAT Writing & Reading Scores: 560-610
Competitive Overall PSAT Scores: 1070-1200 (top 25% of all PSAT test takers)

Best PSAT Math Scores: 620+
Best PSAT Writing & Reading Scores: 620+
Best Overall PSAT Scores: 1210-1520 (top 1% of all PSAT test takers)

We do not have a PSAT score cut-off, and we recognize that each applicant comes from a different background when it comes to test preparation. We aim to evaluate an entire applicant’s profile, with the PSAT being one part of the process.

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.

Are you required to submit language testing?
Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to take an English proficiency test.

• If the applicant has attended an international school outside of the United States or a junior boarding school in the United States for two consecutive years or more, this requirement will be waived. This means that a student applying for the 9th grade must have attended an international school or junior boarding school for their 6th and 7th-grade years. If the student is a 10th-grade applicant, they must have attended an international school or junior boarding school for their 7th and 8th-grade years. And so on…

We require a minimum TOEFL score of 110, an IELTS score of 7.5, or a Duolingo score of 140. Only one type (TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo) of English Proficiency Testing is required.

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

TOEFL: Visit TOEFL or call (877) 863-3546 or (609) 951-1100. Cate School code: 8529

IELTS: Visit IELTS USA or call (323) 255-2771.

DUOLINGO: Visit DUOLINGO

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

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.