Named Scholars

The Case for Supporting a Named Scholar at Cate

Cate School is an independent, four-year, coeducational college preparatory boarding school founded in 1910 by Curtis W. Cate. The campus, called the Mesa, is located on 150 acres between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Founded according to best academic practices of the East, yet also embracing a Western ethos based on hands-on problem solving and actual work, Cate represents the marriage of the very best learning traditions of this country: scholastic and experiential. The School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

The Cate School mission statement reads as follows:

Through commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service, each member of the Cate community contributes to what our founder called “…the spirit of this place… all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet study, vigorous play, and hard work.”

Cate provides an unparalleled residential educational experience for talented young men and women, including those whose circumstances might otherwise prevent them from achieving their best potential.  According to scores of Cate graduates, the Mesa has provided the foundation for lives of great individual and humanistic success. The attached letters convey this better than my words can. Cate seeks to attract and enroll the most promising secondary students in the world.  Beyond academic talents, Cate seeks students with passion and vitality – qualities that conspire to set Cate apart as the standard in residential education. The School’s office of admissions makes every effort to establish a “need-blind” selection process; that is, the department actively seeks out and encourages applications from young people of exceptional ability without regard to finances.  Cate Director of Diversity and Associate Director of Admissions, José Powell, works with a number of organizations that identify qualified students from underprivileged communities.  He also travels throughout California and the nation to present information about Cate to students who might not otherwise consider boarding school as an educational option.

All applicants to Cate undergo a rigorous and highly competitive admission process, and those eventually admitted to the School are those whose academic histories, test scores, and recommendations indicate they are most likely to succeed on the Mesa. These students represent a highly diverse cross-section of the population, and for the many whose families need assistance with tuition, there is the Cate Financial Aid Program.

Families interested in financial aid at Cate apply through the School and Student Service for Financial Aid (SSS) of Princeton, New Jersey.  Cate uses the SSS recommendations as a guideline in determining individual awards, which are need-based and follow the guidelines of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). While the admission and financial aid programs at Cate are separate processes, notification of our financial aid decisions are made at the same time families are notified of admission decisions.

The goal of Cate’s financial aid program is two-fold: first, to attract and enroll students from diverse cultural, ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic backgrounds, and, second, to offer a unique educational opportunity to qualified and deserving students who lack the means to afford such on their own. The program is successful.  At present, 33% of the student body shares over $2.8 million in aid, with grants ranging from $5,000 to full tuition plus supplementary expenses. Further, each year the Board of Trustees increase funds available for financial aid by 1/4% of tuition revenue. Currently, 22.75% of tuition revenue funds 62 students. Students who receive aid are part of a community that supports them in pursuit of their own highest potential, and they bring unique gifts and perspectives to the Mesa.

The Cate faculty and administration believe all students eligible for admittance deserve to experience the vital lessons of living and learning together within a diverse community.  Financial Aid and scholarship have always been a priority for the School, and its officers continually seek scholarship support through annual fund appeals and a major gifts program. Cate’s ultimate goal is to fund its financial aid program from endowment earnings; a long-range plan recently ratified by the Board of Trustees in anticipation of Cate’s Centennial Anniversary includes this goal among its top priorities.

Dr. William New Jr, ’59 Ph.D , a financial aid recipient while a student at Cate, explains why he supports the program now.

Introducing Yansy Salmeron ’13