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Overall Score: 78.41

San Jose State University

San Jose, CA http://www.sjsu.edu/
California's oldest public institution of higher education, SJSU is located in downtown San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley – an advantage for students interested in exploring professional opportunities or internships at one of the many tech companies and startups in the area. Apple, Intuit, Salesforce, PayPal and IBM are among the companies that have hired SJSU students, and alumni in the tech sector include Intel's Gordon Moore, Dolby Labs' Ray Dolby, and Oracle's Ed Oates. SJSU students have likewise excelled in other areas: look no further than singer Stevie Nicks, writer Amy Tan, and the late gorilla researcher and advocate Dian Fossey. The average annual cost is relatively inexpensive, around $15,000, and approximately 42% of the undergraduate population receives income-based Pell Grants. There are more than 450 student organizations on campus, including 40 fraternities or sororities, multiple cultural and religious groups, and around 40 club sports. The cultural center on campus, MOSAIC, hosts conferences and events supporting social justice issues for marginalized groups. The school is remarkably diverse. Less than one-fifth of the student body is white, Hispanic students make up 29% of the population, and Asians comprise 36%. At 72%, its graduation rate is 11% higher than expected of universities with similar demographics.

Costs

Est. full price 2022-2023
$29,800
% of students who get any grants
60%
Est. price for students who receive aid
$16,900
Average price for low-income students
$12,160

Admissions

Acceptance rate
64%
Median SAT/ACT score
1140/23
SAT/ACT required?
No
Undergraduate enrollment
27,720

Financial Aid

% of students with need who get grants
89%
% of need met
83%
% of students who get merit grants
N/A
Average merit grant
N/A

Student Success

Graduation rate
65%
Average time to a degree
4.9 years
Median student debt
$15,513
Early career earnings
$67,370
% earning more than a high school grad
80%

Notes: Students who get merit grants are full-time undergraduates who had no financial need and were awarded grants. Graduation rate measures degree completion within six years for both transfer students and first-time students. Early career earnings are the median earnings for both graduates and non-completers, 10 years after they first enrolled.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, Money/Witlytic calculations.

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