1. What is the Wait List?
Santa Clara has finished reviewing your application and made a decision to put you on our Wait List for admission. Being on the Wait List means that your application is placed in a holding pattern to see if space becomes available. As Santa Clara waits for students to accept or decline their admission offers, seats may become available. By remaining on our Wait List, we have an opportunity to reconsider your application with updated information and transcripts.
2. Why am I on the Wait List?
You are not on our active Wait List until you accept our offer through your student portal. The Wait List is a necessity when you consider over 16,000 applicants and try to correctly predict how many to accept to end up with a class we can accommodate.
3. Do I need to submit any paperwork in addition to the Wait List form?
While not required, we highly encourage you to provide us with unofficial updated transcripts, new awards, letters of recommendation, resumes, or letters of intent by May 1. All supporting documents should be uploaded through your application status portal.
4. Is the Wait List ranked?
Wait List positions are not ranked.
5. Will financial aid be available if I am chosen from the Wait List?
Financial aid opportunities for students admitted from the Wait List will be mostly limited to state and federal grant and loan programs for which you may be eligible. Availability of Santa Clara University grant funds may become available, but will be limited.
6. What are the chances that you will make offers to those on the Wait List this year?
In each of the past four years, Santa Clara has enrolled students from the Wait List ranging from a dozen to over a hundred. Every year the number of students depends on the openings available after students who have been accepted have responded to the enrollment deadline.
7. How will I be notified if I have been selected from the Wait List?
In April, we will get a sense of the ratio of deposits and withdrawals of accepted students. If we decide to make additional offers, we will call students to confirm continued interest. If you are offered admission over the phone, we will ask that you discuss it with your parents and email us with your decision the next day. As space becomes available, we will continue to offer admission to students on our Wait List from May through August in preparation for fall quarter in September.
8. What do I do if I need to deposit at another institution by May 1st but I am really interested in Santa Clara?
We cannot guarantee that you will be admitted off of our Wait List. Therefore we recommend that you also consider other schools and follow-up with them directly regarding their enrollment deposit and refund policies.
9. What if I am not taken off the Wait List?
You may want to consider transferring to SCU. Each fall and winter we enroll close to 300 transfer students after they have attended another university. Our transfer guidelines are on our website.