Private for-profit · University

University of Silicon Valley

San Jose, California · Large city

51.2%
Admit rate
$27,815
Avg net price
29%
Graduation rate
$51,017
Median earnings

University of Silicon Valley is a private for-profit bachelor's-granting institution in San Jose, California (large city setting), enrolling 455 undergraduates.

Private for-profitSmall · 455 undergradsLarge citySelective · 51% admitNear the coast

About San Jose, California

San Jose, officially the City of San José, is the most populous city in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, and the 13th-most populous in the United States, with an estimated 989,814 residents as of 2025. San Jose, along with most of the Santa Clara Valley, has been home to the Tamien tribe of the Ohlone people since around 4,000 BC. The Tamien spoke Tamyen language of the Ohlone language family. Because the downtown area is in the flight path to nearby San Jose Mineta International Airport (also evidenced in the above panoramic), there is a height limit for buildings in the downtown area, which is underneath the final approach corridor to the airport. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
6 miles to San Jose, CA
To the ocean
6 miles
Nearest airport
4 miles to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose (SJC) · major hub

How University of Silicon Valley compares

Selectivity51.2%

More selective than 83% · #35 most selective of 107 in California

Graduation rate29%

Higher than 11% · #112 of 122 in California

First-year retention69%

Higher than 27%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$51,017

Higher than 41% · #104 of 130 in California

Average net price$27,815

Cheaper than 22% · #64 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$31,000

Lower than 3%

Student–faculty ratio13 : 1

Lower than 50%

Undergraduate enrollment455

Larger than 20%

Percentiles compare University of Silicon Valley 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

476students
  • Undergraduate45596%
  • Graduate214%

Undergraduates by gender

455undergrads
  • Women15634%
  • Men29966%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White29%
  • Black12%
  • Hispanic27%
  • Asian17%
  • Other or multiracial16%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
455
Graduate enrollment
21
Student–faculty ratio
13 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
50%
First-generation students
28%
Students over 25
26%
Median family income
$35,952
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$71,676

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 55 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From California87%
  • Other U.S. states11%
  • International1.8%

Most first-years stay in state — University of Silicon Valley draws overwhelmingly from California.

2% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
51.2%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$22,480
Room & board
$19,926
Books & supplies
$944
Total cost of attendance
$35,722
Average net price
$27,815

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)
29%
Graduated on time (4 years)
20%
First-year retention
69%
Transferred to another college
2%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$39,802
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$51,017
Median debt at graduation
$31,000
Students with federal loans
67%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
41%

About 9% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
20%
Low-income (Pell)
37%
First-generation
34%

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
200
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
44%
Housing charge (year)
$13,390
Application fee
Free

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%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
13.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
19

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (477 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.

6.3reported offenses a year
0 violent a year6.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
6.3

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.

< $30k
$24,350
$30–48k
$27,140
$48–75k
$28,102
$75–110k
$28,144
$110k+
$34,379

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.

Est. total to a degree
$125,902

$28,102/year × about 4.5 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.

64%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,366
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 64% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,366. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

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 39 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)
$51,017
Typical debt at graduation
$31,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
61%
Out-earn a HS grad
53%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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.

Women
$36,745
Men
$52,505

Men out-earn women by $15,760 (43%) 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

HighLow
30°60°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.42.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, San Jose, CA US station (3.9 mi from campus).

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 University of Silicon Valley

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of Silicon Valley side by side →

Colleges near University of Silicon Valley

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.