Santa Clara University

Santa Clara is selective but not in the single-digit range: it admitted about 48% of applicants in the most recent cycle, offering admission to roughly 9,592 of about 20,000 applicants and enrolling about 1,641 first-years. Admission is holistic and competitive, with the rigor of your course load, GPA, essays, and extracurriculars all weighed as very important factors.

Enrolled first-years at Santa Clara average about a 3.72 high school GPA on a 4.0 scale. There is no hard cutoff, but academic GPA and the rigor of your high school record are both listed as very important factors in Santa Clara's admission review, so a strong, challenging transcript matters more than hitting an exact number.

No. Santa Clara is test-optional, so you can apply without submitting scores and will not be disadvantaged for doing so. Among enrolled first-years who did submit, the middle 50% scored 1330 to 1470 on the SAT and 29 to 33 on the ACT; standardized test scores are only 'considered' in the review, below GPA, rigor, and essays.

Yes, a 1450 is solidly competitive at Santa Clara. It sits above the median of 1410 and within the middle-50% range of 1330 to 1470 for enrolled first-years (29 to 33 on the ACT). Because Santa Clara is test-optional and treats scores as only 'considered,' a score in or above that band supports your application but won't carry it alone.

Santa Clara's early rounds admit at a much higher rate than the regular pool. In the most recent cycle it admitted about 467 of 611 Early Decision applicants, roughly a 76% ED admit rate versus the 48% overall rate. Santa Clara offers binding Early Decision I and II plus a non-binding Early Action option, so the boost is real but ED commits you to enroll if admitted.

Yes. Santa Clara rates the application essay as a very important factor, on the same tier as GPA, course rigor, extracurriculars, and character, and above test scores, which are only considered. With roughly half of applicants admitted, a specific, well-revised essay is one of the clearest ways to stand out in a holistic review.

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Business is the single most popular field at about 25% of bachelor's degrees, followed by engineering at 15% and the social sciences at 11%. Communication, computer science, psychology, and the biological sciences round out the top fields, reflecting Santa Clara's strength in business and STEM and its location next to major Silicon Valley employers.

Tuition and required fees run about $65,736 per year, with the total cost of attendance higher once on-campus housing and food (about $21,234) are added. Roughly 34% of first-years receive need-based grant or scholarship aid, with an average need-based package near $54,874, and Santa Clara meets about 87% of demonstrated financial need on average.