Cate School

About

Cate School, founded in 1910, is a highly selective coeducational boarding (and some day) school on a mesa in Carpinteria, about eleven miles southeast of Santa Barbara. Roughly 78% of its ~307 students board. With a ~17% acceptance rate, it is one of the most prestigious independent secondary schools on California's Central Coast and offers significant financial aid.

Academics & public data

Data as of recent.

AP & advanced coursework

Cate offers 46 AP/advanced-level courses (2026, BoardingSchoolReview), but does not publish a clean per-course AP catalog online (departments offer the school's own advanced/honors sequences). Confirm exact AP list via the cate.org all-courses/departments pages. Coeducational boarding/day, grades 9-12, in Carpinteria (~11 mi from Santa Barbara).

Athletics

Compare across schools: Water Polo · Volleyball · Football · Basketball · Soccer · Baseball · Tennis · Track & Field · Cross Country · Lacrosse · Swimming

Notable alumni

• Lewis Nixon (WWII Army officer, Easy Company 'Band of Brothers')
• Conrad Hall (Academy Award-winning cinematographer)
• David Crosby (musician, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
• Stephen Malkmus (musician, frontman of Pavement)
• Billy Steinberg (Grammy-winning songwriter, 'Like a Virgin')
• Chris Strachwitz (founder of Arhoolie Records, music preservationist)
• Larry Niven (science fiction author, 'Ringworld')
• George Ledyard Stebbins (leading evolutionary biologist)
• James S. Ackerman (architectural historian, Harvard professor)
• Antony Garrett Lisi (theoretical physicist, 'An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything')
• Warren C. Breidenbach (surgeon, first long-term successful hand transplant)
• Burton Smith (computer architect, Microsoft technical fellow)
• Otis Chandler (former publisher of the Los Angeles Times)
• Sir John Bond (former chairman and CEO of HSBC)
• Malcolm Wallop (U.S. Senator from Wyoming)
• Barnaby Conrad (author, artist, and bullfighter)
• Dayton Hyde (author and conservationist)
• Joshua Yaro (professional soccer player, Philadelphia Union)
• Ema Boateng (professional soccer player, New England Revolution)
• Geoffrey Acheampong (professional soccer player, LA Galaxy II)
• Tracye Lawyer-Thomas (American heptathlete)

See all notable SB alumni →

Clubs & activities

Facilities

• Library— Wykoff Library (within the Inquiry Collaborative).
• Gymnasiums— Two gyms on campus.
• Dining hall
• Dormitories— Ten dorms — Bothin, Class of 1925 House (25 House), Cook House East, Cook House West, High House, Lido, Longhouse, Parsonage, Savage, and Schoolhouse; most rooms have balconies with ocean or mountain views.
• Health center
• Tennis Center— Robert Bonning Tennis Center with eight courts.
• Aquatic Center— Emmett Horowitz Aquatic Center houses two pools.
• Athletic fields— Two recreational grass fields, a turf field, a baseball field, and an eight-lane track.
• Inquiry Collaborative— Newest building; multipurpose space with classrooms, study pods, a ceramics studio, and the Wykoff Library.
• Fitness/Training Center— Harcourt Fitness Center (recently renovated) and Brittingham Family Athletic Training Center.
• Performing arts facilities— Performing-art stages and studios on campus.

Leadership opportunities

• Prefects (service-minded student leaders selected at the end of 11th grade based on respect, integrity, and positive community impact)
• Student Body President and Vice President
• Teaching Assistants
• Peer Tutors
• Club officers / club founders (students may start their own club with an advisor and student government approval)
• Dorm leadership roles
• Men's Forum and Women's Forum leadership
• Affinity group leadership (BSU, Asian Student Union, HLA)

College & career support

Cate's college counseling is nationally recognized for an individualized, deliberate, comprehensive, data-driven approach that highlights each student's distinct strengths, led by the Head of Admission and College Counseling (Maude Bond). Across the classes of 2020-2024, graduates matriculated to over 150 colleges, with strong representation at the most selective institutions: University of Chicago (14), Brown (11), NYU (10), UC Berkeley (10), Columbia (8), Yale (7), Penn (7), Stanford (5), Dartmouth (5), Harvard (4), Duke (4), Princeton (3), and MIT and Caltech (1 each), among many others.

Community

Tuition

$87,340 boarding / $70,990 day (2026-27, cate.org/admission/financial-assistance); prior year $79,980 boarding / $63,780 day (2024-25, cate.org). The source data's $74,975/$58,975 AND the alternative $77,300/$62,600 are BOTH stale/incorrect — neither matches cate.org for 2024-25 or 2026-27.

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Cate School serve?

Cate School serves grades 9-12.

How many students attend Cate School?

Cate School enrolls approximately 300 students, based on the most recent published figures.

Is Cate School a public or private school?

Cate School is a private high school.

What is Cate School's mascot?

Cate School's mascot is the Rams, and its school colors are blue and white.

When was Cate School founded?

Cate School was founded in 1910.

What sports does Cate School offer?

Cate School fields 13 sports teams. See the Athletics section above for the full list by season.

How much is tuition at Cate School?

Cate School's tuition is $87,340 boarding / $70,990 day (2026-27, cate.org/admission/financial-assistance); prior year $79,980 boarding / $63,780 day (2024-25, cate.org). The source data's $74,975/$58,975 AND the alternative $77,300/$62,600 are BOTH stale/incorrect — neither matches cate.org for 2024-25 or 2026-27.. Confirm the current figure and what it includes directly with the school.

Where is Cate School located?

Cate School is located at 1960 Cate Mesa Road, Carpinteria, CA, 93013.