<p>What are the best boarding schools in California? Pros/Cons of being on the West coast?</p>
<p>Hi liza42,
I would think Thacher at Ojai, Ca. I am from the bay areas and have 2 sons are currently attending boarding schools at the East coast. Both of them like it very much and my oldest s wants to stay at the East coast for college. It all depends on what are you looking for. Weather is great here but learning environment I have to say East coast is better.</p>
<p>Cate and Thacher are both highly regarded schools. Many Cate students are from wealthy backgrounds; while Thacher students are grounded by caring for horses. Thacher is more outdoorsy oriented. There is also a good boarding/day school in Pebble Beach--right on the ocean.( Stevensen I think.) Cate and Thacher are small schools. It really depends upon what you are looking for.</p>
<p>great... While i know there will always be a degree of prepiness at boarding school, i'm looking for a lesser preppy school. Thatcher and cate both sound really good- i'm looking for a slightly more laid back learning enviroment. anymore suggestions?</p>
<p>If you aren't set on California, you might take a look at Fountain Valley School in Colorado. Academically, it is excellent and sends kids to ivies/top schools -- but it is small and very down-to-earth. they also have horses and an active outdoor program.</p>
<p>Our daughter is a freshman at Thacher; she also looked closely at Cate and Stevenson. What attracted her to Thacher are the close-knit community (ie. open house every weekend at the headmaster's house), the lack of cliques and pretensions (parents's may be CEO's or hollywood stars, but all of the freshmen are out mucking the horse stalls at 6:30 AM) and the amazing honor system (no locks on any doors, students can leave belongings anywhere and it is safe). As parents we are especially impressed with how the school has carefully designed a program which is designed to challenge and stretch the students in multiple areas: academic, athletic, arts, social and cultural awareness, etc. We were initially concerned that a small school would not offer the academic opportunities that a very gifted academic student would need (she completed Algebra2/Trig as an 8th grader), but they have been very flexible at tailoring their program to adequately challenge each student, no matter what their particular strengths and weaknesses.
I think the differences between East and West coast boarding schools are to a large extent culture and style, much as it is with colleges (think Stanford vs. Yale). All of the top tier boarding schools will more than prepare you for the top colleges, it is a matter of which school will provide the best environment for your child to grow and develop in.</p>
<p>That's really, really helpful, Sierradoc- thacher seems like a great school for me. Does anyone have any information on Cate? How does it differ from Thacher?</p>
<p>My cousin went to Cate. I was amazed when I went to the graduation-the headmaster and teachers said a couple of paragraphs worth of commendations about each student. I was struck by how well they seemed to know the students and how the students seemed to have thrived at Cate with very different strengths. The campus is beautiful, up on a mountain above Carpinteria. It also surprised me when I visited during classes to see backpacks flung on the grass next to the paths across campus. My aunt explained that there aren't really any theft issues, so kids just drop their books where it's convenient during the day as they're zooming around to their classes and pick them up at the end of the day. Good luck with your search!</p>
<p>Cate and Thacher are both very similar schools and have excellent reputations. Here are some differences though that I am aware of:</p>
<p>Thacher has more a country feel (the horses) and Cate is more urban/sophisticated - I know that sounds vague but if you visit you will notice the difference in vibe you get.</p>
<p>Both have students from very wealthy/powerful families - though they don't have as many old money types as the east coast schools.</p>
<p>Cate is slightly bigger in terms of student body size and offers a wider variety of courses (I think it offers more AP courses as well).</p>
<p>Thacher had (I'm not sure if this is still the case) a slightly larger endowment.</p>
<p>Thacher has a stronger athletic program while Cate has a better arts program (subjective but my opinion).</p>
<p>Cate has access to the beach (it is very close to Santa Barbara) and has a more "beachy" campus vs. "farmy/garden/orchard type" campus -> I hope that makes sense (Cate's campus is probably objectively more beautiful - it has ocean views!)</p>
<p>Cate is slightly more ethnically diverse than Thacher. </p>
<p>Thacher is slightly less superficial than Cate (i.e. less make-up, designer clothes, etc.).</p>
<p>Both have similar college placement statistics in terms of the percentage of students that enroll at top colleges - at Thacher the most popular colleges are USC, Dartmouth, Stanford, and Colorado College while at Cate the most popular are UC Berkeley, USC, Columbia, and NYU (not in any particular order) - both send about an equal percentage to HYP -> I think Cate may do slightly better in that department. Thacher students usually have slightly higher test score means.</p>
<p>Both have very demanding and academically challenging curriculum. Thacher is a member of SYA (School Year Abroad) while Cate is a member of the Round Square - Google them...they are abroad programs for students...</p>
<p>Both have happier students probably than the east coast schools and have a more laidback environment despite the fact that the workload is similar - the California people are less high-strung/traditional and more laidback. They also have a very strong sense of community and the students interact frequently with faculty.</p>
<p>Both are great schools and will prepare you very well for college without a lot of the stress/unnecessary competition or pressure you will find in the northeast.</p>
<p>Thacher is the first boarding school in California (Cate was founded by a Thacher grad) but both have lots of great traditions.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>*Stevenson/Webb are backups to Cate and Thacher, which are the most prestigious in California hands down.</p>
<p>I cannot tell you how valuable that information was- THANK YOU SO MUCH, socialsocal. Both seem like amazing schools!</p>