University of San Diego vs Santa Clara University: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

University of San Diego and Santa Clara University are about equally selective, admitting 52.4% and 48.0% of applicants respectively. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $19,557 per year at University of San Diego versus $26,531 at Santa Clara University. University of San Diego's yield rate is 12.0%, versus 19.0% at Santa Clara University.

University of San Diego vs Santa Clara University: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricUniversity of San DiegoSanta Clara University
Overall acceptance rate52.4%48.0%
Avg unweighted GPA3.73.7
Yield rate12.0%19.0%
Class size1,1041,641
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$19,557$26,531
Net price, over $110,000 income$46,989$60,678

Admissions and cost data as of July 3, 2026 (CDS 2024–25 cycle), from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard. Rows appear only where both colleges report the statistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is University of San Diego harder to get into than Santa Clara University?

The two are about equally selective: University of San Diego admits 52.4% of applicants and Santa Clara University admits 48.0%, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, University of San Diego or Santa Clara University?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $19,557 per year at University of San Diego and $26,531 at Santa Clara University, so University of San Diego is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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