by our College Data Analytics TeamBelow is the data on what it actually costs to attend Santa Clara University, from sticker cost of attendance and projected degree cost to net price, debt at graduation, and aid breakdowns.
Use the section links below to navigate this overview:
Published attendance costs at Santa Clara University comes to about $77,768.00 per year.
Below, the published cost is shown three ways — the full sticker price with no aid, the net price after the average grant package, and the net price for low-income students who typically receive the most aid.
| Tuition and fees | $61,293.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $16,475.00 |
| Total cost | $77,768.00 |
| That is 137% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $77,768.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$31,964.00 |
| Net price | $45,804.00 |
| That is 40% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $77,768.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$59,041.00 |
| Net price | $18,727.00 |
| That is 43% below the national average net price. | |
| For the full breakdown, see the tuition & fees page plus living costs. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years at about 3.1% per year, so the four-year total runs well above today’s cost. Below, the cost is projected across a degree for three students at once — low-income with aid, average aid, and no aid. Loan math assumes ten-year repayment at 6.8% interest.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Freshman year | $19,315.00 | $47,243.00 | $80,212.00 |
| Senior year | $21,194.00 | $51,839.00 | $88,014.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $80,981.00 | $198,069.00 | $336,291.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $30,851.00 | $75,457.00 | $128,115.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $932.00 | $2,279.00 | $3,870.00 |
| Total amount paid | $111,832.00 | $273,527.00 | $464,406.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Freshman year | $19,315.00 | $47,243.00 | $80,212.00 |
| Senior year | $19,922.00 | $48,728.00 | $82,733.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $39,238.00 | $95,971.00 | $162,944.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $14,948.00 | $36,562.00 | $62,076.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $452.00 | $1,104.00 | $1,875.00 |
| Total amount paid | $54,186.00 | $132,533.00 | $225,020.00 |
Read more in the Net Price section.
Net price strips out grant and scholarship aid to show what families really pay. For most students, this is the more useful number than published tuition because it reflects the real out-of-pocket cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $50,062.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $50,959.00 |
Net price is not the same for every family — it falls as financial need rises and grant aid increases. Here is the average net price for each family-income range:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $36,094.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $51,894.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $41,599.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $30,672.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $60,212.00 |
Estimate your specific net price using the school’s Santa Clara University Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
Dig into how aid is awarded on the grants & scholarships detail.
The median amount borrowed by graduates of Santa Clara University amounts to $16,845.00, categorized as a Low ($10-20k) burden category.
Here’s how debt at graduation distributes across borrowers:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $4,793.00 |
| 25th | $10,167.00 |
| Median (50th) | $16,845.00 |
| 75th | $27,000.00 |
| 90th | $31,500.00 |
The distance from the 10th to the 90th percentile shows how widely debt outcomes vary.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student loan debt detail.
Student debt at graduation is not evenly distributed across income levels. Below the data splits borrowers across three income groups:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,472.00 |
| Middle income | $17,900.00 |
| High income | $17,000.00 |
First-generation students frequently graduate with different debt than continuing-generation students.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,001.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,000.00 |
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Contrasting Pell and non-Pell borrowers shows how need shapes debt.
The Pell-versus-non-Pell median debt difference at Santa Clara University is $3,288.00. The Department of Education flags this school for a Pell-debt-inequity pattern.
The federal default-rate tier for Santa Clara University is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 2.0% |
For context on the loan portfolio, Stafford disbursements at Santa Clara University total $379,501,098.00 distributed across 13,747 loan recipients.
Veterans and current servicemembers may be eligible for major federal education benefits such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 37 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $29,782.00 |
Dig into veteran education benefits on the veterans benefits detail.
The data above is a foundation; round it out by asking yourself about Santa Clara University, a few questions are worth asking:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.