Private nonprofit · University
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, California · Midsize city
- 48.0%
- Admit rate
- $50,062
- Avg net price
- 88%
- Graduation rate
- $109,183
- Median earnings
Santa Clara University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Santa Clara, California (midsize city setting), enrolling 6,552 undergraduates. It has a Roman Catholic religious affiliation.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Santa Clara University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 48.0%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1350–1490
- Avg GPA
- 3.72
Enter a test score to see where you land against Santa Clara University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Santa Clara University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 18th century, the Tamien tribe of the Ohlone nation of Indigenous Californians had inhabited the area for several millennia. Santa Clara is also home to California's Great America, an amusement park currently operated by Six Flags. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Midsize city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 3 miles to San Jose, CA
- To the ocean
- 9 miles
- Nearest airport
- 1 mile to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose (SJC) · major hub
How Santa Clara University compares
More selective than 85% · #33 most selective of 107 in California
Higher than 91%
Higher than 95% · #16 of 122 in California
Higher than 92%
Higher than 99% · #6 of 130 in California
Cheaper than 1% · #113 cheapest of 118 in California
Lower than 79%
Lower than 68%
Larger than 82%
Percentiles compare Santa Clara University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate6,55268%
- Graduate3,15132%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women3,55354%
- Men2,99946%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White37%
- Black3.4%
- Hispanic20%
- Asian21%
- Other or multiracial19%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 6,552
- Graduate enrollment
- 3,151
- Student–faculty ratio
- 11 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 11%
- First-generation students
- 17%
- Students over 25
- 1%
- Median family income
- $97,114
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $132,138
- Endowment
- $1,555,250,000
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 48.0%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1350–1490
- SAT average
- 1426
- SAT reading
- 670–730
- SAT math
- 680–760
- ACT composite
- 31–33
- Average GPA
- 3.72
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $61,293
- Room & board
- $19,893
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
- Total cost of attendance
- $82,026
- Average net price
- $50,062
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 88%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 81%
- First-year retention
- 94%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $91,198
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $109,183
- Median debt at graduation
- $19,162
- Students with federal loans
- 37%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 85%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 3,797
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 58%
- Application fee
- $70
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I without football
- Varsity athletes
- 480 (244 men · 236 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (13)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.4 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 19
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 23
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (9,728 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$26,531/year × about 4.1 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Santa Clara University discounts heavily: 72% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $25,939. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 1,638 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $109,183
- Typical debt at graduation
- $19,162
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 18%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 84%
Typical debt would take roughly 1.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $13,554 (13%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 81°F
- Winter low
- 42°F
- Annual rain
- 13.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, San Jose, CA US station (1.1 mi from campus).
What Santa Clara University graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Santa Clara University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Santa Clara University side by side →
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, New Jersey · Large suburb · 2 mi to New York
- Students
- 4,222
- Admission
- 48%
- Net price
- $41k
- SAT
- 1446
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $109k
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia · Large city · 1 mi to Washington
- Students
- 11,182
- Admission
- 47%
- Net price
- $37k
- SAT
- 1433
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $91k
Bentley University
Waltham, Massachusetts · Small city · 9 mi to Boston
- Students
- 4,474
- Admission
- 45%
- Net price
- $38k
- SAT
- 1352
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $121k
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, New York · Small city · 7 mi to Albany
- Students
- 5,714
- Admission
- 63%
- Net price
- $36k
- SAT
- 1456
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $102k
Fordham University
Bronx, New York · Large city · 12 mi to New York
- Students
- 10,512
- Admission
- 59%
- Net price
- $44k
- SAT
- 1418
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $86k
Villanova University
Villanova, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 11 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 6,938
- Admission
- 27%
- Net price
- $44k
- SAT
- 1460
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $100k
Colleges near Santa Clara University
Gurnick Academy of Medical Arts
San Jose, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 3,421 students
San Jose City College
San Jose, CA · Public · Associate · 7,105 students
San Jose State University
San Jose, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 27,601 students
CET-San Jose
San Jose, CA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 266 students
Mission College
Santa Clara, CA · Public · Associate · 5,784 students
University of East-West Medicine
Sunnyvale, CA · Private for-profit · Graduate
Institute for Business and Technology
San Jose, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 765 students
University of Silicon Valley
San Jose, CA · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 455 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.












