Hey Everyone!
My name is Veronica, I am a sophomore, and I work in Undergrad Admission at Santa Clara University. I’m here to answer any questions that you might have about SCU surrounding campus life, applications, financial aid, clubs/activities, or if you just have general questions, ask away!
Hi: I live in San Mateo and very much interested in SCU. I would like to know the difference between Computer Science from Arts & Sciences department Vs College of Engineering. Also, Entrance Difficulty which one is higher? Is there a Eligibility Index (minimum GPA + ACT) for these two? Thank you.
Please help, thanks.
Hi @LKPUTRA,
Computer Science in the College of Arts & Sciences tends to focus more on algorithmic and theoretical aspects of computing, because it is coupled with Mathematics. In the College of Engineering, Computer Science is coupled with Engineering, and focuses on hardware, technical details, or specific currently-popular software.
The school of Engineering is a lot smaller than the college of arts and sciences, so it is a bit more difficult to get in. There isn’t an official eligibility index that I can find online, but the average GPA and ACT scores of the most recently admitted class are 3.64 and 27-31 respectively for Arts & Sciences, and 3.76 and 30-33 for the School of Engineering.
Hope that helps!
We will be attending an open house next week. Will be flying to San Jose airport. What is the easiest way to get to SCU without car?
Super close to airport, cab will do it.
You can also take the VTA shuttle #10, it’s free, and is constantly making stops between Scu and the airport about every 20 minutes!
Shuttle is good idea, I wasn’t sure what would get you round trip, so that could work. If not into the public transportation thing, a cab from airport should take 5-7 minutes, what does that cost nowadays - 10 bucks? 3.4 miles, they are an exit apart from each other, but you don’t even have to get back on the highway. Airport Blvd to Coleman to El Camino will do it. Or if you want to be able to check out area, rent a small car for the day. On weekends, Enterprise has rates around $15 a day sometimes, even for a full size cause they cater to business travelers. So on weekends they offer good deals.
Thank you everyone. Yes. It is a quick same day round trip. We would also have about 3 hours after open house to spend. We would like to have a lunch and check out an Intel museum. I don’t think we want to rent a car, so any public transportation options odor Über will work.
We will also be at the open house this weekend. Question - is it difficult to hail a cab from campus?
Hi @msdarcy,
There’s not many cabs that drive by campus, however there is a large uber and lyft presence off campus, which would probably be your best bet. If you prefer a cab, here’s a link to local cab service in the area: http://www.santaclaracabs.com/
Uber
Where’s the best place to eat lunch on campus on Saturday? I checked dining services on the website and there didn’t seem to be many options other than breakfast stuff.
On campus, Benson (the dining hall) is pretty much your main option for breakfast and brunch on the weekends. If you don’t mind walking a bit, there’s two other great options off campus.
Cramer’s is right off campus and has bagels and bagel sandwiches, which is also located next to Quiznos and a shop that sells gourmet hot dogs.
Delicious Crepes bistro is a little bit further, but definitely worth it. They have lots of savory and sweet crepes, as well as many vegetarian options if that is something you’re looking out for.
After attending an open house I have few questions. Why engineering is not a popular major at SCU? Only 17% choose engineering. What is the most popular major? Do engineers interact with other majors a lot? What is the number of Jewish students on campus? Do you have any Jewish students organizations or clubs?
I had a question about the geographic breakdown of the students. SCU has only 4% international students, which is low compared to other Catholic/Jesuit schools. Why so low? Where do most of the internationals come from?
@Alamalaki - we were at the open house yesterday and one of the students on the student panel was Jewish. She said she was very happy there.
Piggybacking on Alamalaki’s question, are there Christian student organizations on campus? If so, which ones?
Hi @Alamalaki,
It’s hard to say why engineering isn’t more popular at Santa Clara, but what comes to mind is that SCU offers a lot of majors that students are interested in, and not all of the students that apply to SCU come for the engineering program, as you can see here: http://www.scu.edu/institutionalresearch/academic_profile/popular_majors_minors.cfm . Another reason that comes to mind is that it’s a bit more difficult for students to be accepted into the School of Engineering, so some students will apply as a College of Arts & Sciences major and then try to transfer into the program later.
No matter what major a student is, all Santa Clara Students are required to complete the core requirements to graduate, some of which are history, writing, religion, political science, and social justice courses, just to name a few. Students select these class based on what works best for their schedules, so students from all majors come together in these classes and interact with each other, for almost all of their time at SCU.
While SCU is a Catholic, Jesuit University, the Jesuits and members of the SCU do their best and work with students that are Jewish to make sure their comfortable practicing their religion at SCU. Here’s an excerpt taken directly from the campus ministry webpage:
Campus Ministry partners with the SCU Jewish Student Union to educate the SCU community about Jewish culture, religion and values, and to provide a community for Jewish SCU students. The JSU works in close collaboration with Hillel of Silicon Valley: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, which serves free Shabbat dinner every Friday night at the Hillel House, and a carpool is provided for SCU students. Past Hillel/JSU events on campus include the Welcome Weekend Havdallah, a Passover Seder dinner, and participation in interfaith programs. Hillel also helps Jewish young adults (age 18-26) participate in a free 10-day trip to Israel during winter and summer breaks (the “birthright trip”). For more information, call 408-286-6669, or email advisor Michal Strutin.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find exactly how many students at SCU are jewish, but I’m sure Michal Strutin could help answer that question.
Hope that helped!
Veronica
Hi @londondad,
Currently, there are 44 countries being represented at SCU, with 189 international students as of last year. I think SCU is just starting to come into international students’ radars as they search for their university, and admission counselors are doing their best to travel to international countries and spread the word about SCU. There’s no one answer as to why there aren’t as many international students, but part of it could be due to the fact that 57% of SCU students come from California.
Most international students do come from China, with about 35% in the Leavey School of Business, and about 24% in the School of Engineering.
Hi @msdarcy,
There are a lot of great ways that Christians can get involved on campus. Here’s a few of the ways, taken from the SCU website:
-Christian Life Community: Small groups rooted in Ignatian spirituality that meet for reflection, social events, worship and service projects. Contact Jill Murray.
-Christians In Action: Put your faith into action through service and advocacy. Contact Kaitlin Boone.
-Core Christian Fellowship: An interdenominational Christian club that offers small groups, prayer, church carpools and weekly Nightlife events. Core also arranges carpools to local churches. Contact Kaitlin Boone.
-Make a Joyful Noise Gospel Choir: For anyone with a love for gospel music to come together for singing and fellowship. Contact Audrey Gomes or Dominique Terry.
-Orthodox Bronco: Connect with other SCU Orthodox students and learn more about the Orthodox tradition. Contact Rev. Laura Brekke
-Tuesday Bible study: Tuesdays @ 5:30 p.m. in Campus Ministry. Come anytime, even if you’ve never been and it’s halfway through the quarter already! Contact Kaitlin Boone
-Wonderfully Made: a collegiate Christian ministry helping young women grow spiritually, emotionally, and interpersonally. Click here to be brought to their webpage.
-Worship: For services on campus, or to connect with a local church or carpool, contact Laura Brekke.
A lot of my friends are in Christian Life Community, and they say it’s one of their favorite organizations on campus, and students can be as involved as they want to be.