What Does It Cost to Attend Santa Clara University?

Between two-year junior colleges and four-year universities, California is home to more than 300 institutions of higher education. However, Santa Clara University holds the distinction of being the Silicon Valley’s Jesuit university. If your student is looking for a top-notch learning center with strong religious values, Santa Clara University may be a great fit.

The high list price at Santa Clara can be enough to turn away prospective students and their parents. However, the good news is that the actual net price of attending this institution is often considerably lower than the rate listed in the brochure. Read on to learn about college pricing variability, along with what it actually costs to go to Santa Clara University.

Why College Costs Are Highly Variable

So why does Santa Clara’s sticker price differ so greatly from the financial aid net price? Various forms of aid impact what students actually pay to attend school, including government aid, institutional grants, and outside scholarships. You can find a school’s net price by adding up all these types of aid and subtracting the total from the sticker cost.

Additionally, public and private schools come with different price tags. While parents often assume public universities offer a superior value, the larger endowments at private colleges may enable them to give out more financial aid.

What Is the List Price at Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University has a high sticker price. For the 2016-2017 school year, the cost for tuition and fees averaged $66,036. Prospective students should note that families earning less than $175,000 a year usually don’t pay list price. Additionally, those in the top 30% of accepted students tend to earn merit scholarships to offset college costs.

What Is the Santa Clara University Financial Aid Net Price?

If you’re set on attending Santa Clara University, rest assured knowing the financial aid net price is considerably lower than the sticker cost. As of 2016-2017, students paid an average net tuition rate of $57,906.

What Is the Family Income-Based Cost of Attending Santa Clara?

It’s worth noting that family income brackets have a significant effect on what students pay to attend Santa Clara University. View the chart below for net prices according to family salary information:

How Much Merit Aid Do Santa Clara University Students Receive?

Instead of being based on financial need, merit scholarships are awarded to students for academic and extracurricular achievement. At Santa Clara University, approximately 42.9% of students without need receive merit aid, with an average award per undergraduate of $4,920. Students without need can expect to pay $61,116 a year to attend this institution.

Santa Clara’s merit aid generosity gives it a ranking of 544 out of 1000 according to CollegeVine’s study.

How Many Santa Clara University Students Take Out Loans?

Loans help defer the cost of earning a college degree. At Santa Clara University, 77% of students borrow money to finance their education, with the average federal undergraduate loan totaling $3,790 over four years.

Student Outcomes at Santa Clara University

Students attending Santa Clara University can feel relatively confident about their return on investment. With the school boasting a six-year graduation rate of 87%, there’s a good chance attendees will finish on time. Additionally, Santa Clara students boast an average salary of $72,600 ten years after graduation.

Local Area Cost Considerations

Santa Clara is an expensive place to go to school. With a cost of living index of 310.5, Santa Clara is around three times as expensive as the average U.S. city. Housing in this locale is especially costly; expect to pay $2383 for a one-bedroom, $2923 for a two-bedroom, and $3940 for a three-bedroom.

California’s minimum wage is $11 an hour, so students may have to work long hours to pay for school. However, the average salary in this region is relatively high. Ten years after graduating, Santa Clara students earn approximately $98,235 a year.

Ways to Save Money on College

Work-study positions offer a lucrative alternative to finding off-campus employment while in school. Not only can your student save time and money commuting to work, but they’ll also generally have time to study and do homework while earning a paycheck.

Independent scholarships offer another way for students to reduce the cost of a college degree. Consider applying to the National Merit Scholarship program, which provides funding to the top 1 percent of PSAT test takers. Currently, 15,000 students a year secure financing through this program. You can learn about other scholarship opportunities on the Santa Clara University website.

Curious about your chances of acceptance to Santa Clara University? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!