DD started Cate in the fall as a new 11th grader and it’s hard to believe how fast the year has gone! Looking forward to having her home for most of the summer. Her BS experience has definitely surpassed all the expectations we had - diverse group of kids, close knit community, collaborative atmosphere, challenging academics. She was fortunate to have options last M10 and it was a close call between Exeter and Cate. Some of the items on her “pros” list for Cate were: smaller school so maybe easier to assimilate and obtain leadership positions, curriculum matched up well with her day school, more laidback and relaxed kids, location (was looking forward to the culture on the opposite coast), location (beautiful campus), location (weather)! I always scoff at the posts proclaiming “I know I made the right decision to attend X school” because obviously you don’t know what the experience would have been at Y school so how can you possibly know? Having said that, DD has had a great year at Cate and I’m glad she chose it. We are all very excited for her Senior year and what the future holds for her 
I am so happy for you! I will be you next year this time. My daughter is an incoming freshman. We too chose a school that was not initially our first choice but a school that became the first choice and I am thrilled that she will be attending.