The school really markets the location in the heart of Silicon Valley, but I cannot find any data that suggests these large tech companies actually use interns from SCU. Is this just a marketing gimmick or does Santa Clara actually have a relationship with companies in Silicon Valley?
SCU has a great reputation in SV. In my short time here (1.5 quarters) I have met many upperclassmen with internships at top tech companies including Tesla, Google, Apple and Texas Instruments. Indeed, Google and Apple are the firms that recruit the most SCU grads although many positions are non-stem. Additionally, check out the stats on payscale and you will find that SCU alums make generous salaries. Hope this helps.
Thanks for this reply. From what I have learned SCU students do indeed find Silicon Valley internships, but many of those students have to search for those opportunities through friends/fellow students. The top tech firms do not line up at Santa Clara asking for interns so the students need to do work on their own.
@LokiLives Source on that? I’m interested in this as well
Of course they do! Let me say, as a bay native with family at Cisco and contacts at Google, Apple and Facebook, SCU is held in a very high regard around here. Trust me, at SCU you’ll have name recognition roughly equal to UCB as far as SV companies are concerned, you’ll be seen at least as well as UCD and UCSC.
I personally know some people in some very high positions at the aformented companies including Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, UCSB and UCSC grads – they all hold SCU in high regard.
So yes, (lol), SCU students can intern anywhere they’d like (in SV), and they’d likely be hired after graduation too.
Silly question! Santa Clara is also the oldest university in CA, fun fact. Opened in 1851.
While I think it’s very good, I would say it is stretching a bit with the comment it is hold the name recognition roughly equal to UCB.
I am sure UCB has more name recognition, but what SCU offers is a well educated student that is also well rounded and confident as a whole person. SV firms, whether tech, accounting, development, manufacturing et al., are more than aware of the importance of this in the workplace and really like SCU grads because of it. So in this sense I would definitely put SCU on par with UCB if not ahead of it in some majors, and so do many of the hiring managers I work with. Both good schools with good things to offer, just very different in approach.
My son will be starting SCU in the fall as a computer science engineering major. When we attended a reception for admitted engineering students at Google, a Google representative encouraged all the girls to introduce themselves to her. She indicated she wanted to promote women at Google. Good for women but how about our young men? Well, I was relieved to meet several male students who had gotten internship offers at a variety of Silicon Valley companies after their sophomore year.
As a former prospective parent who was curious about job placement after Santa Clara I will keep this thread updated as my kid works through SCU. So far the school career center has already reached out via email to our incoming freshman about engaging with that office. Once there is something specific about Silicon Valley Internships I will update.
Alumnus here ('07 mathematics), the honest truth is that it’s extremely variable and lands squarely on the student. I have classmates who ended up at the likes of Google, Goldman Sachs, Facebook, et al. and even one who founded a VC funded (e.g. Accel, Kholsa, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia) startup. However also saw others who ended up working menial jobs (e.g. retail) after they graduated.
Personally, I didn’t really have much difficulty landing interviews – facebook, google, twitter, and palantir just to name a few but ended up on wall street. That being said I also had a fairly focused skillset upon graduation which was an intersection between computer science and probability theory which lent itself well to machine learning. This was all around the time when what we call big data now was taking off, so maybe I was just lucky?
I think it’s fair to say that SCU doesn’t carry the same weight as say Stanford, so that just means the student will have to be willing to work for it.
Hope that helps.
Hi I was just reading all the Santa Clara posts as it is one of my top choices and I may be going there in the fall. I was wondering if the you think the silicon valley potential/SCU in general is worth turning down the likes of USC, Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia(GS). Or if you wouldn’t put it above do you think it is on par with some of these schools academically?
SCU is very well respected in Silicon Valley. I think it is really more a matter of it’s name recognition outside of this region. Stanford for example is recognized worldwide. SCU of course does not have that level of global recognition. CTO’s here think highly for example of SCU Comp Sci students and readily offer internships. SCU also as another example has a very focused and unparalleled feeder program for Accounting majors into the Big 4 CPA firms. If your interests lie in that realm there are few programs that match the rigor of SCU. The SCU MBA and JD programs also are very highly respected. As far as permanent job placement. I have known SCU students, Cal (Berkeley), UC Davis, and yes Harvard students that have struggled for employment matching their degree potential. One important take away related to SCU is the Jesuit influence…that of teaching to the whole person. An earlier post nailed their philosphy. SCU turns out well rounded, well educated adults who are comfortable in their own skin.
@Eugiebalfj if you’d like to work in Silicon Valley, SCU is terrific. My daughter just graduated from there, and many of her friends were in computer science. They landed good internships after their junior year, and now work for those companies. Her boyfriend works for Apple.
What @chel17 says is spot-on. As for name recognition, I don’t know, but my daughter will be going to grad school at Wake Forest next year with a stipend and tuition waived, so for her it didn’t seem to be much of a hindrance.
I started this thread two years ago and now my son is a sophomore at SCU. So far the school has not reached out to help find Silicon Valley internships. But SCU has done a great job helping find on campus jobs. From what I see the student needs to take the initiative to get internships and jobs at tech firms. Santa Clara will help kids put together a good resume and will coach them on interviews. They do not steer firms towards students from what I’ve seen. After almost two years my son continues to enjoy Santa Clara.
@lokilives As i recall, the on campus interview process for full time positions begins in the fall of Senior year and internship opportunities come along in the Junior year. It’s may be pretty as a Freshman or Sophomore to have a meaningful internship opportunity. Maybe your S can visit the career center and ask them about internships for next year?
A good number of tech executives and company founders graduated from SCU so that certainly helps!
With respect, it’s not the school’s job to secure internships for the students. My daughter went to SCU and her friends had absolutely no trouble finding internships in Silicon Valley the summer after junior year. They all went on to work at these firms after graduation, and her best friend works at Apple. She took a year “off” and is going to grad school next year on the east coast, but also had no trouble finding an internship in her field (psychology) with a job to tide her over until she starts grad school.
In addition, I have an older son who works for the gov’t in nuclear security after graduating from the Colorado School of Mines & Texas A & M, and he found his own internship/fellowship the summer after junior year in undergrad, then secured a fellowship in grad school, again, without much help fro A & M, aside from a list of possibilities and assistance with resumes and interview techniques.
I think finding an internship is up to the student at most schools, but SCU certainly seems to funnel a lot of kids to the Valley.
I should add that due to the fact that they’re actually in Silicon Valley, one or two of the kids I know worked part-time during their senior year while between their internships and full-time jobs.
I started this thread 3 years ago and thought I would give an update. Yes, our junior at Santa Clara did find a Silicon Valley internship and yes, the internship came through the SCU networks. It’s not at Facebook/Google/Apple etc, but it is with a name brand Fortune 100 company. Our kid is pretty private so apologies if this post is too vague. The Santa Clara experience has been a good one for our family, though it is expensive. Best of luck to all students and families who are going through the college selection process now.
My student and friends in engineering got fantastic internships this summer. SCU was super helpful in making connections and the name SCU certainly opened doors in the valley. Super easy process. It is one of the coveted places to work.