<p>Despite a down economy, interest in Thacher remained extremely high this year among the boarding school bound. As the Admission Office hand picked members of the class of 2013, Thacher’s acceptance rate held steady at 20 percent, the lowest in the School's history, and among the lowest in the country. </p>
<p>Our yield rate—the percentage of admitted students who chose Thacher over other options—was a remarkable 82 percent, the highest of any boarding school in the country. (As a point of reference, Harvard’s yield rate—typically the highest among selective colleges—was 76 percent.)</p>
<p>The students who make up the class of 2013 may be the most diverse and far flung ever: 36 percent of next year’s new student body identify themselves as students of color, up two points from the prior year; and new students hail from 13 states and 6 countries.</p>
<p>Thacher’s fantastic yield rate is very telling. It clearly indicates that students and families recognize and value the quality of education and community at Thacher. While Cate’s 2009 numbers haven’t yet been published, the admission office reported it was the most selective year ever with a record number of applications. I presume, like in past years, Cate’s 2009 acceptance rate is similar to Thacher.</p>
<p>Students that are considering boarding schools might want to take a close look at Cate and Thacher. I’m confident that once you see these schools, meet the students and faculty, you will understand why the yield is so exceptional. </p>
<p>Cate is located about 20 minutes from the Santa Barbara airport. Thacher is about a 30 minute drive from Cate, so it’s an easy trip to see both schools. LAX is 90 miles away.</p>
<p>@ hockeykid: in a good way or a bad way? I like horses, so I wouldn’t mind… However, waking up at 6 in the morning after hours and hours of homework… I’m not sure if I’d manage to wake up by then, lol.</p>
<p>I’ve already received my viewbook from Thacher. The picture with the girl and the horse (i think it was on the back?) was gorgeous. <3
Besides, California’s closer to here than the NE boarding schools, but they’re both a long way off… Mm, if I were to be accepted anywhere, I would be happy. :-)</p>
<p>PS: The Thacher stationary is gorgeous!! Haha.</p>
<p>We looked at Cate year ago. OUr tour guide appeared to be high on speed. Said Cate was known for sex and Thatcher drugs. When we asked her about Catholic church, she said “oh, you are one of those”. We withdrew daughter’s application. Also said that students were told not to go into Ventura because of crime and gangs and “hate” of PS.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the hammocks in the dorm balconies overlooking the Pacific were nice</p>
<p>Hockeykid841…that’s the beauty of so many great boarding schools in the U.S., you can find one that has the right set of features for you, like hockey maybe. The horse program is one of the most amazing, unique qualities of the school. It bonds the freshmen class like nothing else, it teaches kids invaluable lessons about putting other needs ahead of their own, it gives kids the opportunity to learn to ride a horse (rare), you only “have” to do it for one year, although about a 1/3rd of every class continues to ride through the rest of their years at Thacher, and there is nothing more beautiful and memory-making than riding a trail with your best friends through the Topa Topa mountains, past orange and avocado groves, with the sun setting a brilliant pink. It’s an experience that cannot be found elsewhere.</p>
<p>Princess’ Dad…every single time anyone brings up Cate and Thacher, you always recount your “high on speed, anti-Catholic” experience at Cate. Even if it did happen the way you say (although your bizarre and constant repetition of the same story has a sort of Shining-like “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” quality), one kid’s behavior/appearance at one moment at one school is hardly a pattern or an indictment. Cate is an amazing school. Also, over my son’s four years at Thacher there was not one single drug incident of which I’m aware. The School has a rigid one-strike policy where drugs are concerned. The Honor Code is taken seriously by everyone.</p>
<p>TP
How many kids were expelled with the one strike policy?
How safe is Ventura now.
I am glad you enjoy it, but people should know ups and down. Also, we did not look at Thatcher-the comment was from one of your “rivals”</p>
<p>I’m sorry your impression of Cate was so misguided. Of the many students that I have ever met at either Cate or Thacher, none fit your suggested stereotype. The students that I know are bright, motivated and happy, and I’m delighted that my son has the opportunity to know, study and live with each and every one of them. </p>
<p>I have seen this “tour guide who appeared to be high on speed” reference in another of PrincessDad’s posts. I believe that it was on the St Paul thread where he also went on and on about how the kids are all in the infirmary to catch up on their sleep. Who is this lurker anyway? LOL</p>
<p>“(although your bizarre and constant repetition of the same story has a sort of Shining-like “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” quality)”</p>
<p>Ahahaha…This is the funniest line I’ve seen in a cc thread in a very long time. Nice to know this forum is not completely devoid of humor. I was beginning to wonder…</p>
<p>naw renji, the high tour guide was at cate. I believe it is St paul that does allow kids to go to infirmary to sleep which I happen to think is a good health issue and more schools should allow it. We have all discussed the lack of sleep issue here. </p>
<p>Cate parent. We discussed incident with CB afterwards. Unfortunately, it only takes one incident to “blow a school” when you are looking around. However, as the tour guide was supposedly one of their best…It was unfortunate as we liked the community service and other attributes; the “one of those” re religion and other comments (no matter how “tongue in cheek” turned us off.</p>
<p>Renji, maybe your comments eg “lurker” came through in your interviews…and that is the reason…</p>
<p>Perhaps there’s a more plausible explanation for your experience… I think it was Emil Kraepelin, a 19th century German psychiatrist, that identified a paranoid delusional disorder in adults which was exacerbated with the thought of their child moving away from home. </p>
<p>Since your daughter was visiting a school more than 2,000 miles from your home, maybe it was this Kraepelin type of delusional paranoia that caused you to imagine your tour guide was “high on speed” and “anti-Catholic”. Rather than continually bashing a fine school like Cate, you might be better served to seek professional therapy. Good luck.</p>
<p>Cate was actually our first choice prior to the interview as it has one of the highest acceptances to Stanford and we have family nearby.</p>
<p>Our guide was also very bright, motivated and happy - very very happy. She also had belladonna eyes, hyperhidrosis, tachypnia and tachycardia and changed subjects rapidly without finishing the first. She was not “Anti-Catholic”, but anti-Christian.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is Cate Parents who suffer from dementia praeco.</p>
<p>Although I continue to favor the Kraepelin delusional / paranoia theory, there’s also another plausible explanation for the collective symptomatology you reported seeing: Caffeine. Some individuals are caffeine intolerant and even small amounts can cause those same symptoms by over stimulating the production of brain lactate. Larger amounts of caffeine can frequently cause these issues with most individuals.</p>
<p>Let me set the record straight regarding your inference that Cate School is anti-Christian. It’s absurd. Cate is a non-denominational school with students from all walks of life. Some are devout Christians, some are Jews, some are Muslim, some are Buddhist, some are atheist and others are agnostic, but all welcomed and accepted as part of the overall community. I can’t think of another school that has a more diverse and accepting student body than Cate (more than 40% are self described as “of color”).</p>
<p>Let’s move on… </p>
<p>Here’s an interesting factoid: Students that attend boarding school in California for the last three years of high school are considered “residents” and eligible for in-state tuition at all of the California public universities and colleges (Cal Berkeley, UCSD, UCLA, etc…)</p>
<p>I think you have to declare “one home state”. The Western States used to have an association where “instate” tuition applied to any for certain graduate schools</p>
<p>How about the NE boarding schools? Can one retain “one’s home state” as well? Would a boarding school student - after four years spent in a different state - come back to the state she’s originally from and pay instate tuition for state university? Or, if she applies to a private college in NE, would she be considered as “reprenting” the state she came from? The latter would be useful if she’s from a state that is underrepresented in a selective college.</p>
Any expert please?</p>