Saturday, February 29, 2020

Santa Clara College Tour

Being a junior at Bellarmine College Prep, Alex wanted to explore Santa Clara University as a possible college for engineering or finance. He registered for a 9:00am tour on February 29 (leap day)!


We arrived on time, parking in the garage near the Stephen C. Schott Admission building. Once registered, we were seated in a large conference room where Randy Wang - the undergraduate admissions director - highlighted the beautiful aspects of Santa Clara University and the steps in the admission process.

One exciting recommendation  Randy made was to avoid writing about concussions. He has received so many essays on the subject that he thought there might be a concussion epidemic.

He also suggested contacting your admission counselor and asking some interesting questions (and not "Hey, how are you doing?".

Questions to ask your Santa Clara admission counselor:
  1. "Which Events Should I Attend to Learn About Campus Life at Santa Clara?"
  2. "Are there Honors programs for Engineering  & Computer Science? The Santa Clara University website suggests that ACT 32+ above is required to be admitted. Is it true for Engineering Honors as well? Is there a separate application process to enroll in the Honors Program?"
  3. "For the 5-year Master's Program in Engineering, are there thesis requirements, or is it a purely course-work driven program?"
  4. "I am interested in taking some of my classes abroad. As an engineering major, will it be more difficult to study abroad? Do engineering classes abroad satisfy major requirements? Are they covered by tuition?"

According to Randy, 88% of Santa Clara undergraduates graduate within 4 years - compared to 33% of most 4-year universities.

Since Santa Clara is a Catholic University, it has "Mass" services for students (though participation is not required). However, graduation requirements dictate that all undergraduates complete 3 religious classes.


Our student tour guide (a recent Bellarmine graduate) showed us the insides of the Engineering, Arts & Letters, and Business buildings.

We visited the Benson Center Dining Hall and were impressed by the clear layout and the variety of dining options. It was significantly superior to the dining hall at my alma mater, Lehigh University.



The business building was exceptionally luxurious. It's much better than the classrooms at Lehigh University (where I did my undergraduate studies).





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