Cut and Dry, the things you need to know are in several categories: Admissions, the campus, the religious issue, living conditions, Food, discounts/management of food points, classes/teachers,

1.Admission: As an incoming freshman you can expect competition. Santa Clara has been rated the second best western-regional private university due to a strong academic and athletic tradition. A 1200 on the SAT's is standard, and they place a great deal of emphasis on your ability to write a solid entrance essay. If you are accepted you may also be given the opportunity to participate in the honors program (I know this because I am in it, and it has definite benefits to offer.)Summer orientation is broken down into six sessions where students are given the chance to make friends, register, and get acquainted with the college atmosphere.
One really nasty problem with Santa Clara is the price of admission.Expect to dish out 30,000 dollars by the time you are through. Scholarships are abundant, but don't expect them to throw money at you like Cal Tech would. Santa Clara is the miser of the West. (It could be worse... You could be going to Stanford)

2.The Campus: Santa Clara is located within an hour or two of several major cities (including San Francisco, Oakland, and Santa Cruz) as well as being in the heart of the Silicon Valley (San Jose.) The campus itself is classical California. The Mission sits right up against its own rose garden (there are roses EVERYWHERE), and if you go down a ways you run into the Benson center where students usually eat. It is a small campus, but that definately has its benefits when you have an 8 am class and you wake up at 7:55.

3. I am compelled to attempt the religious issue, due to the fact that it is a Jesuit school and I myself am not a Catholic. I was worried at first that this might be a problem. DON'T WORRY. The people here uphold the typical 'laid back' California approach to things. They are very accepting and we tend to despise evangelists. You do not need to be Catholic to be comfortable here. In fact, if you yourself have issues with other religions I would advise against Santa Clara.

4. Living Conditions: Let's talk dorms. If you come here you have the choice between four dorms: Swig, Campisi,Graham, and Unity. Each one has its own attributes. Swig is the biggest, and the choice of most incoming freshmen. Although I do not live there I know for a fact that it is loud and that the rooms are slightly smaller. They do however have a sink, which we, in Graham, do not. Graham is a mix between the loud Swig and the quiet, socially dull Campisi. I personally think we have the best of both worlds. The rooms are abnormally large for college housing, and the bathrooms are always clean. We have an official no alcohol policy, but it is bypassed daily by people in all of the aforementioned buildings. Graham itself is broken up into 4 buildings. They are each 2 stories high (girls on top, boys on bottom.)IHC (inter-hall counsel) does its best to get us all together and provide some fun activities. Sleep is a precious commodity (AKA rare), but that is true of almost any college, and the fun doesn't stop at midnight... ever.

5. Food: I remember something I did occasionally in high school... It is called eating breakfast. You probably won't do that anymore. The food here is very good for college food, but it is also the same thing day in and day out. They will put all 950 of your dining points (no we don't deal in real money)on your access card and expect you to budget it. Do not freak out if you are running a little low. Most people end up with money to burn, and they will give you plenty of ways to burn it at the end of the year.
Something new came in this year. It is called Calfresh. All the workers are Hispanic and speak little English, and we had some food poisoning cases, but I think this may make it seem worse than it is. It is a separate dining area open till midnight that basically serves fast food. If you can, MAKE SURE TO BUY THE STUDENT'S ATHLETIC PASS before school starts. You get a free medium soft drink with every meal. That is like saving a hundred dollars if you eat as much as I do. You also get other discounts and you have already paid for any sporting event on campus. It is a really good deal (+ you get a nice red T-shirt to make all your laundry pink in true college style!)

6. Classes and Teachers: This is undoubtedly the best thing about Santa Clara: The teacher to student ratio is minimal. I had 13 people in my Calc. 3H class, and we were taught by the head of the math department. TA's are horrible, but here they are very rare. At a school like UCLA you won't see a Prof. until junior year. Not only are the freshmen here taught by the prof's, they get to know them and can speak to them almost any time. Granted, some teachers are better than others, but we have a host of brain's here, and they are waiting to be tapped. You will probably have 4 classes a quarter, unless you are a genius workaholic, and the work load is sufficient to keep you pretty busy. I have to be honest though. I took 8 Advanced Placement course in high school and played a sport, and college isn't any harder than the work load I am used to. Don't sweat it.

I'll sum this up in saying that I'm having a great time at Santa Clara and I think I've made the right decision. The people and faculty are friendly, and you can get away with being late to class every once in a while. We stay up until 3 every night, not because we have to to get our work done, but because there are so many cool things and people to experience that nobody wants to go to bed. College should be the best time in your life. Enjoy it while it lasts, and don't stress out. When you get there, Tell them Tristan sent you. Good Luck.



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