My perception is that Santa Clara is not “less prestigious or well known.” It seems to be a rising star in terms of west coast private universities and is becoming something of a mini-USC in that it is attracting a lot of money and new applicants compared to the past. It has been climbing in all the rankings over the past two decades. It seems to be shooting past the other west coast Catholic schools like Gonzaga, LMU, and USD in terms of endowment and selectivity when that didn’t used to be the case. For example, it now has double the endowment of both LMU and USD.
It is on my daughter’s list of schools to visit as she is still a year away. But from the perspective of an out-of-stater, I don’t think UCSB ranks higher than Santa Clara. Of course we many change our opinion if we ever get the chance to actually visit.