went by the SCU campus with my kid just for nostalgic purposes this evening on a Saturday. Campus was pretty deserted, not sure where all the students went. I know it’s a long holiday weekend but still. Not at the library, not many at Benson Hall, and hardly anyone at the Wicked Chicken (formerly Cluck U) restaurant which is normally a pretty good place for students to hang out especially tonight with a big UFC event.
@quarkpie I have a CS student graduating this May and know many CS and engineering students and have been (still am) through this college thing several times. Ask away…
We aren’t catholic, and the “religion” classes are very broad, many more like philosophy or societal, mine found them super interesting because at least it is different than all the engineering classes they have to take. Sounds like he will really enjoy them. SCU is not the school it was 20+ years ago when my H did law school there. Engineering, business, and law are obviously strong and other Jesuit/Catholic west coast schools not on same level in these areas. They are constantly updating. There is a new super fancy engineering/science facility in process, new law school just built, new athletic center going up - the school has really made some investment and has huge donors. Also new dorm almost done and most of others are pretty new so housing can be fantastic (there are still a couple oldies but goodies). Internships were easy to come by (and has FT job next fall) and SCU was very helpful with the process. Went to networking events around the country arranged for by the school. Lots of west coast opportunities which we liked. Resources have been good. CS super competitive there now and scholarships are tougher to come by particularly in the sciences, compared with other Jesuit schools. There are certainly your share of nerds there. Because Greek isn’t on campus, it isn’t in your face and takes effort to be part of it. The campus is beautiful and freakishly clean, even the bathrooms are spotless. Reminds me of Disneyland, ya never see a piece of trash on the ground. I think someone hides behind bushes and picks it up the minute something is dropped.
Uber, etc., has certainly made it easier to spread your wings rather than stay right next to campus on weekends, they do that during the week. They have only been back a week, so it’s too early for the library to be full on a Saturday 
I also have students at USC and on a Saturday of a 3 day weekend the campus is pretty quiet there too, unless there is an event/concert on campus. If early in the day they are sleeping or lounging, if later, they are doing things around/off campus. I have been there weekends where it is full of life and others super quiet, but I think overall, it is a quieter campus on weekends than a lot of schools.
The more you visit the more you will start narrowing down what he really likes. And the visits are such a great time with them before they head off to college - enjoy each one you are able to do!
If I remember correctly, the religion classes I took were the following-a history of the Bible (Old and New Teststaments), a class exploring the afterlife from diferent religions, and a class on the Holocaust.
@quarkpie The Bible class could be controversial though since the Catholic edition is way different than the KJV or NIV. The Old Testament includes books that are not recognized by many mainline Protestant denominations. And the class actually talked about the Gnostic Gospels.
The Jesuits have always been willing to examine differing viewpoints. Ignatius Loyola was a major participant in the Counter Reformation. Just some food for thought.
The religious aspect is pretty overblown. You take the classes and that’s it. In undergrad at DePaul, I had the same required religion and philosophy classes and learned a lot about the history and the inner workings of religions, but that’s about it. There’s no one trying to preach or get you to convert to Catholicism or anything remotely close to that, and SCU is the same. Other than the Mission Santa Clara Church being smack in the middle of campus, there’s nothing else to indicate that Santa Clara is a Jesuit institution, and I would say there’s a 99% secular atmosphere to the campus.
I have a freshman at Santa Clara (not CS, so I don’t know about that), but there seems to be a mix of kids. As far as things to do, I don’t think they’re on campus all weekend unless there’s something going on. My kid was in SF last weekend (there’s a caltrain station right across the street from the campus), went hiking yesterday, and had dinner with a group of kids somewhere off-campus Friday night. I don’t have the sense it’s a huge party school, but.that seems like a plus to me.
I’m currently a freshman at SCU and I would say that while the school does have a significant party scene ( for its size) there are a lot of students who don’t party and enjoy spending time with others in their rooms/residential lounges. As for Saturday, some people go to day parties/go on treks, so by the afternoon most students are just relaxing in their rooms.
My son and husband just got back from their trip to SCU. They had a Friday visit, and unfortunately it was raining that day. It was my son’s first college visit, but my husband has already been on many with our eldest. He said the tour guide was the worst he’s ever seen, and she only showed them about 4 buildings on campus. So they did a self-walking tour as well-- seeing the library book machine at work was a highlight! My son would still like to apply, but got the impression that the school was “bland” (his word). I think it’s hard to get an accurate picture of a campus when it’s raining, so that’s too bad. Still, it was a useful visit, and it is already helping him figure out what kind of college he is looking for. There’s still a lot of time for things to unfold. Thank you all for your comments.
Wow I was just about to post, I was at the campus for a good part of yesterday morning as I went to Mass there Sunday morning. Sunday was very nice all day, too bad Friday and Saturday was off and on with rain all day. Once again I still didn’t see many students out and about Sunday late morning but they could have all been sleeping. Definitely a different feel than say at Berkeley, where I was at all Saturday afternoon and early evening visiting my kid. Thousands wandering around all over even in the evening.
Anyone know when decisions come out?
So wanted to bring this thread up with a bit of info for the OP. I happened to be doing some research for facility space for a yearly gaming event that I run (chess) so I was in the SCU area this afternoon and there are 2 prominent “fantasy” places that SCU students (and adults and some high schoolers) go to. The first is ChannelFireBall Game Center which is more geared towards training activities such as Magic and Pokémon. The other place is Game Kastle which has a few locations but there’s a big one pretty close to campus with a big community in D&D and Adventure.
ChannelFireBall is 3 blocks from the SCU campus. GameKastle is also in Santa Clara not too far away if you were a bird, but because of the railroad tracks you’d probably have to take a bus or Uber there. Right across the street from a Costco.
@ProfessorPlum168 That is great to know-- thanks for thinking to tell us!