<p>Do you attend a catholic/jesuit or other religiously affiliated school?</p>
<p>Do you have any alumni affiliation that has donated money - a substantial amount and recently?</p>
<p>What might be your intended major?</p>
<p>Do you anticipate to have a high level of need for financial aid purposes?</p>
<p>All things constant you should expect to be a competitive admissions applicant. Financial competitiveness may be another thing.</p>
<p>[Santa</a> Clara University - Financial AidSCU Awards](<a href=“http://scu.edu/financialaid/SCU-Awards.cfm]Santa”>Financial Aid - Santa Clara University)</p>
<p>I agree that the SCU FA institutional based scholarship descriptions are vague in price, but I think it’s purposeful as the amounts may change every year. The only guaranteed figure they can give you is NMF @ $2,000 because that’s nation wide.</p>
<p>Provost and Dean’s awards are supposed to be given based on merit, but that merit criteria may vary year to year depending on how strong of applicants are in the applying incoming class. If you answered yes to my first question above, then you should expect the Ignatian award (varied amount) that is renewable for 4 years, but is not indexed to tuition increases.</p>
<p>The golden ticket would be the Presidential Scholarship - full tuition indexed to increases based on “freshman who demonstrate other qualities identified and emphasized by the president as critical to the University’s mission.”
If you know that SCU is a 1st or top choice for you, then you may want to consider reviewing the University Mission and getting involved with something that can relate to it and show it through your application essays in a strong and focused manner, while also increasing your academic stature (ACT in the 30s would be great) and applying through Early Admission. Caveat: You will only be awarded SCU institutional award funds if you also fill out their participation in the CSS Profile. If you only file FAFSA, you will not be considered for those awards.
[Santa</a> Clara University - University Mission, Vision, and Values Statement](<a href=“http://www.scu.edu/jesuit/University-Mission.cfm]Santa”>Mission, Vision, Values - About SCU - Santa Clara University)</p>
<p>Your only calculable grants will be those not from SCU but from the state and federal level through Cal and Pell respectively. You will have a good notion on those amounts once you have your school submit for the Cal and you file FAFSA for Pell. You can also research private scholarships if you think it’s worth your time.</p>
<p>Would you be trying to cover tuition and fees only, or will you also need to cover room & board and other living expenses? Housing will increase your yearly bill by 30-50% depending on which living arrangement you choose: [Santa</a> Clara University Housing - Cost and Rates](<a href=“http://www.scu.edu/housing/2012-2013-Undergraduate-Rates.cfm]Santa”>On-Campus Living - Santa Clara University)</p>
<p>Also bear in mind that student employment typically goes to those who demonstrate the financial need, so if it shows up in the NPC (Net Price Calculator), then use wise judgement on if there is a chance you can realistically expect that benefit.</p>