University of
Silicon Valley
For-profit College in San Jose, CA. Six-year graduation rate 29%. Median 10-year earnings $51,017.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $51,017 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 29% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $31,000 at graduation.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.61 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 29% — below national average
Admissions
University of Silicon Valley admits 51% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly one in two applicants are turned away. The applicant pool is small at 340, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. Yield is high — 42% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Silicon Valley →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 29% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention of 69% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. At 13:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a for-profit four-year institution, outcomes here deserve a harder look than the sector average suggests: for-profit institutions vary enormously, and the sector's aggregate numbers hide both strong and very weak performers.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 375 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $31,594 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $24,350 while those at $110k+ pay $34,379. Grant aid is widespread — 88% of students receive it, averaging $11,846. Most students borrow — 68% take federal loans to cover the gap.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 48 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $24,350 |
| $30–48k | $27,140 |
| $48–75k | $28,102 |
| $75–110k | $28,144 |
| $110k+ | $34,379 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 255 of these 375 students, totalling $2,300,908 — an average of $9,023 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Santa Clara County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)