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A
Overall Niche Grade
How are grades calculated?
  1. Academics
    A
  2. Value
    A+
  3. Diversity
    A
  4. Campus
    A
  5. Athletics
    B+
  6. Party Scene
    A
  7. Professors
    B+
  8. Location
    B+
  9. Dorms
    A+
  10. Campus Food
    A
  11. Student Life
    A
  12. Safety
    B-
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Santa Clara University is ...
Private not-for-profit, Catholic
Athletic Division
NCAA Division I (without football)
Athletic Conference
West Coast Conference
Address
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Website
scu.edu/admission/undergraduate

Santa Clara University Rankings

Niche rankings are based on rigorous analysis of key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and millions of reviews.

Admissions

Acceptance Rate
48%
Application Deadline
January 7
SAT Range
1200-1400
ACT Range
28-32
Application Fee
$60
SAT/ACT
Required
High School GPA
Required
Early Decision/Early Action
Yes
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Cost

Net Price
$37,657/ year
National
$15,523
Average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, as reported by the college.
Net Price by Household Income
  • <$30k
    $16,963/ year
  • $30-48k
    $21,359/ year
  • $49-75k
    $21,945/ year
  • $76-110k
    $37,021/ year
  • $110k+
    $46,870/ year
Student Loan Options from Lenders
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  • 1% Cash Back + affordable rates starting at 3.82% APR w/auto debit discount
  • No application, origination or disbursement fees

Academics

Professors
B+
Based on faculty accomplishments, salary, student reviews, and additional factors.
Student Faculty Ratio
11:1
Evening Degree Programs
Yes
90%
of students agree that professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes.81 responses
70%
of students agree that it is easy to get the classes they want.88 responses
67%
of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.88 responses

Majors

Most Popular Majors
  • Finance
    154 Graduates
  • Communications
    131 Graduates
  • Psychology
    123 Graduates
  • Economics
    105 Graduates
  • Political Science and Government
    87 Graduates
  • Biology
    81 Graduates
  • Marketing
    74 Graduates
  • Mechanical Engineering
    71 Graduates
  • Accounting
    70 Graduates
  • Computer Engineering
    65 Graduates

Students

Full-Time Enrollment
5,353Undergrads
Undergrads Over 25
1%
Pell Grant
9%
Varsity Athletes
7%
Poll
What one word or phrase best describes the typical student at this school?
Based on 42 responses
Report
  • Well-rounded
    43%
  • Driven
    31%
  • Chill
    12%
  • Superficial
    7%
  • Basic
    2%
  • Diverse
    2%
  • Entitled
    2%

Campus Life

Freshmen Live On-Campus
96%
Poll
51%
of students say that Greek life is average, and no one will treat you differently if you don't join.80 responses
Poll
64%
of students say varsity sporting events are attended, but not a huge part of campus life.123 responses
Poll
What one word or phrase best describes your school?
Based on 46 responses
Report
  • Perfect.
    24%
  • A Resort.
    20%
  • Pretty chill
    20%
  • Serene
    20%
  • Home away from home
    11%
  • California
    4%
  • Fast-paced
    2%

After College

Median Earnings 6 Years After Graduation
$69,600/ year
National
$33,028
Graduation Rate
89%
National
49%
Employed 2 Years After Graduation
92%
National
83%
85%
of students feel confident they will find a job in their field after graduation.40 responses
Colleges like Santa Clara University
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Santa Clara University Reviews

1,286 reviews
All Categories
So far, I love my experience at SCU! Everyone I've encountered has been friendly and the professors are awesome to talk to. The campus is beautiful and a perfect size. There are many resources open to students to help them out academically and with their career interests. If I were to point out any cons, housing can get expensive, the party scene isn't very big, and attending athletic sporting events isn't as common as other colleges. However, I still think SCU was the right choice for me.
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Santa Clara has plenty of resources and is very good about supporting its students–if you want to make something cool happen, you'll be able to find support in faculty members, fellow students, and the administration pretty easily. That being said, a significant reason for that is probably because not a lot happens. Student body is incredibly homogenous, disingenuous, complacent...these are not people who like rocking the boat (unless it lets them look like edgy progressives, but they'll definitely be posting about how they participated in the 'latest protest' on social media). Student body and location are my biggest complaints. Location is VERY lackluster, and if you don't have a car, you're gonna be bored AF. School support/resources and alumni network are probably biggest boons. My professors have been amazingly kind, supportive, and encouraging.
What makes this school worth it for me is the surrounding area. People who write reviews about it being "boring AF unless you have a car" are crazy- the entire Bay Area is easily accessible by train or bus, including San Francisco. However, that's still not enough to keep me here, as I'm already on track to transfer next year. SCU is WAY too expensive for what you get. The housing department in particular is a nightmare, seemingly hellbent on making students' lives as hard as possible with tons of arbitrary fines and ridiculous move-in/out policies. The student body, while more diverse than it *could* be, is still relatively homogenous (and good luck making friends if you aren't incolved in Greek life) and full of entitled kids whose parents are paying their way to be here. Basically, if you worked hard to get to SCU like I did, you'll be horrifed at how many students here seem to really not care at all about their education.