<p>I am the new member of the forum. I have the question and I hope everybody can help me. Which school is the best in the western of USA???
I knew that there are a lot of exceptional school in MA like Deerfield but what about in CA or for example. Which school is the best?
Thanks for all your help.</p>
<p>I presume it is
1. Thacher
2. Cate
3. Stevenson
4. Webb</p>
<p>Thacher and Cate are an even match. I live in Central California. It's a toss up with those two.</p>
<p>If you're applying to Thacher make sure you find out if they have any room first!
They told me they couldn't put me in because they weren't even accepting junior applications (rarely) - & their application took the most time & was the most expensive. I thought it was my best out of all as well; Disappointing;</p>
<p>There are a number of excellent day schools in the West, but most people would agree that Cate and Thacher are the top two boarding schools. They are very different schools -- the community feel and students that attend seem to be very different, so you might prefer one over the other.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a less conventional boarding school, check out Midland. If you are willing to travel to Colorado for a great boarding school, check out Fountain Valley School.</p>
<p>Don't overlook Webb. It's a beautiful campus with wonderful staff. Their acceptance rate is higher than Thacher, but of the two students I know who graduated from there, one is at Harvard and the other at Middlebury, accepted to 10 out of 11 colleges applied to.</p>
<p>I applied to Fountain Valley. XD</p>
<p>It's a great school, but I think Thatcher and Cate are a little bit better in terms of academics.</p>
<p>But FV is very small- 200 students, and they've got this whole family feel because of it.</p>
<p>We looked at Cate and the girl who took us on a tour appeared high on speed (constricted eyes, sweating, rapid speech); said "oh, you are one of those" when we asked about local church services and stated that Cate is known for sex and Thatcher for drugs (could have been reverse). Needless to say, we chatted with admin dean and dc'ed application</p>
<p>Thatcher is an unusual school because of its horse program. You should definitely make sure you understand what the program is because it is a basic part of the school and their philosophy. It is also quite a bit bigger than Cate. Neither of these schools have great sports programs so if you are a serious athlete I would look elsewhere. Cate is unusual for the west coast in that it has a squash program. I am pretty sure there are some christians in california so if you are 'one of those' I wouldn't panic. But if Cate is good for sex and Thatcher for drugs (or was it the other way around) then that makes it a tough choice. I think I'd go for the sex.</p>
<p>We did a tour of Thacher, I liked it -- but son did not. He felt it was a little too "stuck-up" for him. It was casual -- but ralph lauren casual, not thrift store casual (which is my son's fashion statement).</p>
<p>The facilities at Thacher are absolutely fantastic -- the buildings, the landscaping (flowers, trees, ponds, waterfalls). It would be like attending a BS at a resort. Very "green" oriented -- which was something my son was looking for. Weather is great (unless you want to cross-country ski on school grounds) and the location was very nice -- close to a big city, but really tucked-away. Large campus and we liked the horse program. We certainly didn't see any evidence of drugs -- nor was it something the kids discussed. The students seemed very focused and achieveing -- and Thacher certainly has the rigorous academics you need to get into a top college.</p>
<p>Except for formal dinner, my son was in shorts and t-shirts, or jeans and t-shirts. He wouldn't be caught dead in Ralph Lauren! And I wouldn't be caught dead paying for it.</p>
<p>Princess' Dad, you always talk about the tour guide at Cate allegedly being on drugs. As much as Cate is a rival of Thacher's, I always cringe when I read your familiar refrain because you may be incorrect.</p>
<p>Thacher has a completely uncompromising, one strike approach to drugs and alcohol. They're simply not a part of campus life or off-campus behavior. On the other hand, the occasional high school dalliance does occur, but it's rarely an epic or newsworthy state of affairs.</p>
<p>Thach parent. I might be incorrect. But as that is part of my job - I am pretty good at it (and yes, some cold meds could do it too)</p>
<p>My dad went to high school with one of the dean of admissions at a well-known CA prep school that I will refrain from naming.</p>
<p>That was completely random. </p>
<p>Anyways. I like Thatcher, I think the horse program makes it very special. Oh, I can't remember which one, either Thatcher or Cate, but doesn't one of them have work program where you have to clean up campus or something of the sort?</p>
<p>You have to take care of the horses at Thacher, I think it's your freshmen year.
Anyways, Thacher seemed to be a really good school to me. I loved it :D</p>
<p>Princess'Dad how about a bit of legally prescribed daily Ritalin on top of an Antihistamine and a morning cup of coffee? Could be?</p>
<p>I thought that Stevenson is the best because they have a very beautiful campus and high SAT score compare to 2 other school. The school also have students who go to Princeton or Stanford. Anyway, I think Stevenson is the best. Anyone study in Stevenson yet? I want to ask some questions, thanks all you guy</p>
<p>PM me I can answer your RLS questions.</p>
<p>I'm currently at Stevenson as a freshmen, but for next year i think i'm going to transfer. Stevenson is a good school, but just not that demanding (at least for me). Just don't get your expectations too high for Stevenson. The community’s great though, but again I think Stevenson’s academics and music courses such as the concert band still needs lots of improvements. Not to mention that most of the student body are not dedicated at all, and that the sat scores aren't as great as Milton, Choate, Exeter, Andover, SPS, etc. It could work for you but i suggest that you should visit the school and judge it by yourself.</p>
<p>Please take off some of the candy coating to your response TKS:)</p>
<p>Really wanted to edit, but the edit link had disappeared. Extremely sorry if i offended anyone, and i apologize greatly. Didnt mean to offend anyone. :(</p>