Cost & financial aid brief
Santa Clara University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Santa Clara University cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 39% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, but the size of that reduction differs across family incomes. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that for the 2025-26 academic year, first-year students determined to have need received an average need-based package of $54,874.
That met 87% of need on average, across 2,145 students. For the same year, first-year students who received merit aid averaged $9,849.
The lowest income band (under $30,000) averages $22,985, while the highest (over $110,000) averages $60,678. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $37,693, a pattern of lower average net prices at lower incomes rather than an individual aid package.
Santa Clara University carries a high published cost of attendance of $82,026, but aid recipients’ prices differ widely by family-income band. The average net price is $22,985 for the low-income family band, $19,154 for the lower-middle band, and $26,531 for the middle band.
It reaches $37,219 in the upper-middle family-income band and $60,678 for the high-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $37,693.
Azimuth ranks the university #1,387 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 39% of the published cost, a savings of $31,964 against the sticker price.
Across all aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $50,062. That is $22,691 above the peer median net price of $27,371, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Aid reduces the published charge, yet the overall price remains above the comparable-institution midpoint. Among federal student loan borrowers who complete, median federal student debt is $19,162, and 88.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.
The peer median federal debt is $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size), making Santa Clara’s figure $5,037 below that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.
Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $56,271.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Borrowing is widespread at Santa Clara University, yet the typical completed borrower’s federal balance is lower than the midpoint at comparable institutions. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,162.
Federal loans are used by 88.0% of federal aid recipients. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, putting the university’s median $5,037 below it.
Separate parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $56,271.
Median earnings of $108,517 four years after completion set the return picture at Santa Clara University. Azimuth places this earnings measure in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what expects for similar students, also ranks highly. Graduates earn about $23,083 more than the model expects for similar students.
Azimuth places that measure in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios range from $56,467 in a downside case to $141,633 in an upside case, with $108,517 as the typical scenario.
Median federal debt of $19,162 is $5,037 below the peer median of $24,199. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years. The earnings measures and below-peer debt point in the same direction.
Parent borrowing is a separate part of the cost picture: parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $56,271. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $56,271
- Estimated parent payment
- $715/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Caution |
| $200,000 | Caution |
The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- $19,162
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $56,271
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $218/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $715/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $933/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Student payment as a share of available income
At median graduate earnings of $108,517, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
3.0% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- Concerning 12–20%
- High risk Over 20%
How this estimate works
These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Net price and borrowing. The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. College Scorecard data and documentation.
A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.