APPLICATION PROCESS

To connect with us and receive a color brochure and our curriculum guide, please introduce yourself on our Inquiry Form.

Once you inquire, an email will be sent to the parent email addresses provided in the Inquiry Form. That email will contain login information for creating your Catalina Admission Portal account. Creating an account will allow you to:

• Access helpful admission information
• Track your application checklist
• View your electronic admission decision on March 5

Make sure to choose Upper School once logged in.

Santa Catalina uses a common admission application for independent schools called the Standard Application Online (SAO). Start applying now.

How to start your application:

• Visit the SAO registration page.
• Click Create Account under the Families option. Complete parent/guardian and student information, including interests and activities.
• Choose “Apply to Schools” and select Santa Catalina School to start an application. (Hint: Choose to share your information with Santa Catalina—without this, Catalina does not know you have started an application.)

Congratulations on setting up your accounts for the Catalina Admission Portal and the SAO (Steps 1 and 2)! You can now manage your application.

Catalina Admission Portal: This account houses important admission information and is where you will monitor the status of your application checklist and, ultimately, your admission decision. In your account you can:

• Sign up for admission events
• Keep track of missing and completed application components, including items submitted via the Standard Application Online (SAO) and the required Catalina visit (tour, interview, and writing sample)

SAO Application Portal: This account is where you will submit or request required forms via the Standard Application Online (SAO). Once a form is submitted in the SAO it will automatically upload to your Catalina Admission Portal, updating your application checklist. The following are the required components through SAO:

• Parent/Student
  • Student profile
  • Parent statement
  • Student essays
• Recommendations
  • English teacher (current year)
  • Mathematics teacher (current year)
  • Principal/guidance counselor
  • Personal (optional)
• Reports & Transcripts
  • Fill out the request form so the schools have permission to release transcripts to Santa Catalina School
  • Reports and transcripts from the previous two years and the most current year's first semester (or equivalent)
• Application Fee
  • Domestic students: $75.00
  • International students: $150.00

Note for 2025 applicants: SSAT/ISEE results are not required for the 2024-2025 admission cycle. The TOEFL is still required for international students.

International students
In addition to submitting the optional standardized testing listed above, nonnative English speakers are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL iBT). There is an online option available called TOEFL iBT Home Edition (not available in all countries). The TOEFL iBT is our preferred test; however, if this option is not available in your country, please contact the Admission Office to request authorization to submit the Duolingo English Test (DET).

School Testing Codes
Please use the following codes when registering for a test in order to have your results sent directly to Santa Catalina:

SSAT: 7132
ISEE: 054087
PSAT: 052045
SAT: 052045
TOEFL: 8102

Note: Santa Catalina accepts the submission of multiple tests taken in the same academic year and will consider the highest composite score.
 

We can’t wait to meet you and introduce you to all things Catalina! A personalized Catalina visit, consisting of a tour and interview, are required components of the application process. A parent or guardian is required to accompany their student for both.

Catalina offers in-person and virtual visits. Both the in-person and virtual options include a student-led tour; curriculum overview; a student and parent/guardian interview; and a student writing sample. Only the in-person visit includes attending our student-run all-school assembly, a classroom visit, and a more in-depth tour of the facilities and programs.

Contact the admission office at admission@santacatalina.org or 831.655.9356 for questions about your in-person or virtual visit.
 

Visit Days

The best way to see if Santa Catalina is right for you is to see it in person. Our visit days are thoughtfully designed for students and parents/guardians to get a deeper understanding of our unique programs, tour our beautiful coastal campus, and interact with our community.

Visit days are available to schedule on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Visits typically last from 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

During your visit, you will:

• Meet our admission team
• Learn about our programs
• Tour the upper part of campus, including the dorms, with an admission representative
• Take a private tour with a student tour guide
• Attend our student-run all-school assembly
• Sit in on a class
• Interview with an admission team member
• Complete your writing sample while your parents/guardians interview

Visits on national holidays

Santa Catalina School is in session during select national holidays. These dates are available for families who cannot attend a regular visit day. We offer group tours on these days while still providing individualized attention and one-on-one interviews.

• Veterans Day: Monday, November 11, 2024
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Monday, January 20, 2025
• Presidents' Day: Monday, February 17, 2025 (Note: This date is after the application deadline, but is offered if needed)

Schedule a Visit Day
 

Virtual Visit

We highly encourage families to complete your visit application requirement in person in order to get the best feel for Catalina. However, if you are unable to come to campus, we offer virtual group visits on select dates.

Virtual Tour

The virtual tour and interview are scheduled separately, but can be held back-to-back if the schedule allows.

The virtual tour consists of a short welcome from the admission staff followed by a personalized student-led tour in a Zoom breakout room. Virtual tour dates are listed below. All tours start at 6:30 p.m. PST.

• Tuesday, January 21 — Register
• Friday, January 24 — Register
• Wednesday, February 12 — Register

Virtual Interview

The virtual interview includes a curriculum overview for both the parents/guardians and the student, followed by the student’s 20-minute interview with an admission representative. The student will then do a 20-minute writing sample while the parents/guardians interview for 20 minutes.
 

Rolling Admission: March 10–mid-August

Rolling admission is dependent upon space availability after the first round of admission decisions. Requirements are the same as the regular admission process.

Your application progress

You can track your application progress in the Catalina Admission Portal. Once you have completed the following application requirements your application will be complete:

• In-person or virtual visit (consists of a student-led tour, interview, and writing sample)
• Assessment (if applicable) — SSAT/ISEE is optional. The TOEFL iBT is required for international students.
• Standard Application Online (SAO) components (see Step 3).

Your admission decision

Applicants who have a complete application by February 1 can view their admission decision on March 5 in their Catalina Admission Portal account. (Admission decisions are not available in the SAO.)

Rolling admission decisions

Applications are welcomed during our rolling admission process after our February 1 deadline. Rolling admission runs from mid-March to mid-August, and admission decisions will typically be available within 7 days of a completed application. Applications will be considered depending on space available. The application requirements for rolling admission are the same as regular admission. Please contact the admission office at 831.655.9356 or admission@santacatalina.org for more information.