Santa Clara U vs Abilene Christian

Santa Clara University and Abilene Christian University, two distinct institutions of higher learning, offer unique educational experiences to their students. Santa Clara, a Jesuit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, boasts a diverse student body and a strong focus on innovation and entrepreneurship. Abilene Christian, a private Christian university in Texas, emphasizes a faith-based education and offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. With different acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates, these universities cater to different student needs and aspirations. Explore the comparison table below to discover which university aligns best with your academic goals and personal preferences.

	Abilene Christian University	Santa Clara University
Overview
Location	Abilene, Texas	Santa Clara, California
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Quarter
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	79.0%	94.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Churches of Christ	Catholic

Admission
Acceptance rate	70.1%	54.0%
Application fees	$65	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $73
SAT range	1050 - 1270	1330 - 1490
ACT range	22 - 28	30 - 33
Students submitting SAT score	35.0%	23.0%
Students submitting ACT score	28.0%	16.0%
Total number of applicants	8,208	16,848
Total number of admissions given out	5,755	9,095
Admitted students who chose to enroll	833	1,549
Yield rate	14.5%	17.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$55,500	$78,999
Average net price	$29,734	$48,469
Tuition	$39,250	$55,224
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $5,878 Meal plan: $5,750	$16,533
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan Other alternative tuition plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	100.0% Average amount $23,662	73.0% Average amount $23,770
Students receiving federal student loan	53.0% Average amount $5,275	24.0% Average amount $5,138
Students taking out private loans	16.0% Average amount $18,262	2.0% Average amount $30,446

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	3,138 Men 39.2% Women 60.8%	5,895 Men 52.7% Women 47.3%
Graduate students	1,774 Men 28.1% Women 71.9%	3,023 Men 46.0% Women 54.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	14.8%	44.6%
International students	3.3%	12.6%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Midsize
Dormitory capacity	2,153	3,551
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Texas Oklahoma California Arizona Tennessee	California Washington Colorado Oregon Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Education Business Psychology Kinesiology & Leisure Studies	Business Engineering Legal Profession Education Psychology
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	11:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	60.2%	90.9%
Dropout rate	38.8%	9.0%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,955 Year 2: $64,068 Year 3: $76,106 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,092 Year 2: $58,522 Year 3: $66,013 Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,144 Year 2: $53,358 Year 3: $65,252 Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $54,661 Year 3: $59,374 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $41,079 Year 2: $49,631 Year 3: $53,274 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,118 Year 2: $63,005 Year 3: $52,550 Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $40,619 Year 2: $39,009 Year 3: $50,422 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $41,737 Year 2: $44,170 Year 3: $46,207 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,484 Year 2: $42,682 Year 3: $45,767 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $39,141 Year 2: $44,747 Year 3: $43,080	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $125,643 Year 2: $128,588 Year 3: $140,820 Computer Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $83,523 Year 2: $103,449 Year 3: $131,051 Computer Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $125,788 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $129,018 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $74,729 Year 2: $68,379 Year 3: $100,639 Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,066 Year 2: $86,424 Year 3: $96,312 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $74,547 Year 2: $74,576 Year 3: $94,288 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $86,424 Year 3: $93,193 Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $68,821 Year 2: $70,456 Year 3: $90,013 Civil Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $79,473 Year 3: $88,047 Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,828 Year 2: $69,740 Year 3: $87,254

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