<p>Also, regardless as to the validity of the previous posts (which I do hope they are valid), I personally KNOW other freshman who chose Santa Clara because of scholarships, culture, location, etc. over Notre Dame, USC, Pepperdine, all the UC’s including UCLA and Berkeley, North Carolina, Duke, Scripps, University of San Diego, etc. I personally chose Santa Clara over Boston College. I cannot say that I know anyone who chose Santa Clara over Northwestern or Rutgers, but I’m sure some have. We have some brilliant students here that would be successful at any school in the country but chose Santa Clara. You will be challenged by your classmates regardless of how big of an overachiever you are.</p>