What kind of school it is, in one sentence
Santa Clara University is a private nonprofit, four-year university, classified by Carnegie among doctoral and professional-degree institutions. It reports the doctorate as its highest level of offering, although that is an institutional fact: it does not tell you whether your child’s specific program goes that far. In its undergraduate profile, Carnegie places it in the most selective admissions group, and as a highly residential school: at the time of that count, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing, and at least 80 in every 100 were enrolled full time.
It is in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara County, within the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan area. That tells you where it is, not how to get there or whether that city’s downtown is close to campus. If your child plans to live at home, do not rely on the map: drive the route on a weekday, at the exact time of their classes. Real traffic is almost never what Google promises.
And here is something worth saying plainly: Santa Clara University does not have any of the three designations the government tracks—it is not a historically Black college or university, not a tribal college or university, and not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this directory, only 138 have one of the three. Not having one says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist today, what student organizations are available, and, better yet, talk with someone already studying there.
As for the sticker price: do not rule it out or choose it because of that just yet.
How many students there are and who they are
In fall 2023, Santa Clara University had 9,340 enrolled students: 6,249 undergraduate students and 3,091 graduate students. It is not a small school or a mega-university; it falls within the official range of 5,000 to 9,999 students. But among the 941 private, four-year schools with selective admissions that make up its comparison group, it is among the largest: at most one in ten has more students than it does.
Here is something important to avoid confusion: if your child is entering a bachelor’s program, the number relevant to them is not 9,340. It is 6,249. The large total includes nearly one-third graduate students, people who have already finished one degree and returned for another credential.
Among undergraduates, the figure reporting as Hispanic or Latino in fall 2023 was 19 for every 100 students. They are not a majority, but neither are they unusual: among the 941 similar schools in this census, that proportion places it in the highest quarter. An honest note is worth making here: that comparison does not account for the part of the country where the school is located, and California carries a lot of weight in that number. It also does not go down to the program level; it is for the whole school.
The undergraduate population is nearly even between men and women—the figure for women is 49 for every 100 students—and there are almost no adult students: only 1 for every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old. IPEDS does not report whether new students came from within or outside the state for this school in this cycle. That information simply is not available.
How the academic year works
Santa Clara University operates on a quarter system: the year is divided into three periods of about 12 weeks each, with the possibility of a fourth summer period. This really matters if your child comes from a high school accustomed to semesters, or if you ever consider a transfer: calendars do not always line up, and you need to verify in writing how credits are recognized between one institution and another.
The university accepts credit from AP exams, but it did not check the box for credit based on life experience. And here is a warning that can save you money: saying they accept AP does not mean they grant credit for every exam with every score. It does not say what scores they require or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific program. Request the equivalency table in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
It also does not enroll high school students in college-credit courses, so if you were looking for that route for your child, it is not available here.
What can be studied there
Between July 2022 and June 2023, Santa Clara University awarded 1,483 bachelor’s degrees, distributed across 20 program families. It is a broad offering. The family awarding the most degrees was business and administration, with 30 for every 100 degrees awarded that year—no other area surpassed it, but it does not account for the whole load either. Among the 942 similar schools in this census, it falls in the quarter awarding the most degrees per year.
Keep one nuance in mind: 20 families with a row in the report are not 20 programs guaranteed for your child. A CIP family groups several programs, and some rows may report zero degrees that year. Before getting excited that “there is everything here,” verify that the exact program your child is interested in exists, is active, and is available today.
As for group size: the official ratio is 10 full-time-equivalent students for each full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. Compared with similar schools, it falls below the midpoint—a relatively low ratio. But this does not tell you the actual size of a first-year class. It is an institutional average, not a promise about the classroom where your child will sit.
Academic opportunities it reports
The university states that it offers: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, a complete program that can be pursued only at night or on weekends, and pathways related to teacher certification, including state approval for initial certification. These are real components worth asking about by name and by program, because the report confirms that they exist, not that they apply to your child’s specific path.
What getting in is like
This is where many families feel a knot in their stomach, so let us take it slowly and use the numbers.
Santa Clara University does not have open admissions. Of nine possible considerations it reviews, excluding standardized tests and legacy status, it marks six as required: high school record, grade point average, completion of the required academic curriculum, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English-proficiency exam when applicable. It also considers, though they are not required, class rank, work experience, and whether someone in the family attended there. The published application fee is $70.
On legacy status: if no one in your family attended there, do not spend energy worrying about it. Spend it on what is actually in your child’s hands.
Now for the figures that really carry weight. In cycle 2023, Santa Clara University received 18,843 first-time applications and offered admission to 8,261. That is 44 for every 100. On the other side of that calculation are 10,582 applicants who did not receive an offer. Compared with the 942 similar schools in this census, it falls on the selective side: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, admitted a higher percentage of their applicants.
It is fine for this school to be on your child’s list. It should not be the only one.
And here is a fact that surprises many families: for every 100 admitted students, only 19 ultimately enrolled that fall. The other 81 had a place and did not take it. Do not read that as a blemish on the school—the federal record does not say why each person made the decision they made. What it does tell you is this: what others decided does not predict what your child will be offered. Wait for your net-price letter. That number, not other students’ enrollment rate, is what determines whether this school stays on the list.
On standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. Among those who enrolled and submitted SAT scores (25 for every 100), the middle half scored between 660 and 730 in reading and writing, and between 680 and 770 in mathematics. 660 is not a minimum score that must be reached, and 730 does not guarantee anything either. These are ranges for people who were already admitted, not for everyone who applied.
As for transfers: in fall 2023, 215 undergraduate students arrived after having studied previously at another institution. That is a relatively high count compared with similar schools. How many credits they received from their previous school is another question—and one to ask directly at the admissions office.
What it costs, plainly
At Santa Clara University, among 85 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $36,094. Among 63 students in the same population with family EFC income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $41,599; among 298 students with family EFC income above $110,000, it was $60,212. For dependent students, the range adds their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $24,118 between the average for the lower-income range (85 students) and that for the highest range (298 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant aid, the average was $49,651.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this information with the same time coverage, this one falls in the most expensive quarter for lower-income families. That does not mean you should rule it out. It means you need to request the aid letter before deciding.
Because the price changes so much from one income range to another, placing yours correctly comes first. The income ranges in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or district rate. The overall average with grant aid, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants. The one that matters is the aid letter you receive.
The aid it distributes, and the aid it does not
For every 100 degree-seeking students at Santa Clara University, 75 received some scholarship or aid that does not have to be repaid. Compared with similar schools, that proportion falls in the lowest quarter—that is, grants reach fewer students here than at most of its peers. Among those who did receive it, the yearly average was $29,147.
Pell, the federal grant for low-income families, reached only 11 for every 100 students. That means at least 64 for every 100 received aid from another source: the school itself, the state, or another source the report does not distinguish. None of this is your individual offer. When your letter arrives, look at how much your family would have to pay out of pocket, and compare that number across schools, not the size of the discount they advertise.
On loans: only 24 for every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in 2022-23. Most students here did not use that route. Among those who did borrow, the average was $6,098 that academic year—a low figure compared with nearly all similar schools. But be careful: a student not appearing in this count does not mean the money was enough. They may have covered the difference through work, family savings, or another type of debt this report does not record. And this average does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents often end up signing, credit cards, or debt accumulated by graduation.
The university reports an installment tuition-payment plan as a formal mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus life and support
Santa Clara University does have institution-provided housing, with capacity for 3,797 students on or off campus, although it does not require all first-time students to live there. It also offers meal plans, although the number of meals per week varies according to the plan chosen. Having housing does not guarantee a bed will be available: request in writing the year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether space is guaranteed or you go on a waiting list.
There is ROTC for all three branches—Army, Navy, and Air Force, plus the Marine Corps option within the Navy. Having all three marked is not common: of 3,012 universities in this directory, only 135 do so. But being marked does not say whether the program is taken on this campus or at another nearby one, nor does it say anything about capacity or scholarships. Ask by name.
It competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA. The report does not detail which division each sport plays in or whether athletic scholarships are available: ask the coach of the sport that interests your child directly.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels and reports at least one complete program available through distance education. But in the fall count, zero undergraduate students took their entire course load that way. If your child is seeking that format, confirm in writing whether it applies to their specific program.
The library has paid staff, spending above the threshold tracked by the government, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan. Reported supports include combined academic and career counseling, student employment services, campus child care, Yellow Ribbon participation for veterans, a point of contact for military families, a student veterans organization, and a page dedicated to services for people with disabilities.
Those who stay and those who finish
Here we reach the numbers that, for many families, create the most peace of mind—or the most questions.
Of the cohort that entered in fall 2022, 94 for every 100 were still enrolled or had already completed their bachelor’s degree one year later. Compared with similar schools, Santa Clara University is among those that retain the most students: nine out of ten similar schools retained an equal or lower proportion.
Of those who entered bachelor’s programs in 2017, 88 for every 100 graduated within six years or less—1,241 of 1,403 students. At four years, the figure was already 83 for every 100, only 5 points below the six-year mark. Compared with similar schools, this places it among those awarding the most degrees.
And looking at a longer window—eight years, for the cohort entering in 2015-16—91 for every 100 had a degree or certificate from this school as of the reporting date. Among those who received a Pell Grant, the figure was 93 for every 100, virtually the same as for everyone else.
Now the hard truth, without embellishment: a high percentage is not a promise to your child. It is what happened to a specific generation, under circumstances that do not automatically repeat. What is in your hands, and your child’s, is entering with credits in order, knowing who their adviser is from the first semester, and finding out in time when the courses required by their program are offered. IPEDS does not guarantee that. You build it together.
What you already know, and what is still missing
You now know Santa Clara University with the clarity provided by official data: a selective university, expensive at its sticker price, generous in retaining and graduating the students it admits, and with a real gap between what it costs on paper and what each family ends up paying based on its income.
This is one piece of the map, not the complete map. What is still missing is what your child wants to study and what they have built so far. What is still missing is what your family can and is willing to pay, once you have the aid letter in hand, not before. From those three pieces together—the university, the student, the family—a real plan is born.
Your child will manage their own application, essay, grades, and final decision. Your role is something else: understand the money, request documents in writing, and do not let the deadline catch you unprepared. It is not their entire journey. It is the part you are responsible for navigating.
Source note: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) of the United States Department of Education, with data corresponding primarily to cycle 2023 and academic year 2023-24, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Santa Clara University or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data to help you understand it.