By Sue Luse
Overview
The University of San Diego is a private, catholic university founded in 1949. Beautiful campus on 180 acres with new buildings. Easy to navigate and pedestrian-friendly campus. Beaches, mountains, downtown and the Mexican border are all within a short drive. The student body is approximately 50% Catholic and about 46% of students are from out of state. International students comprise 6% of the student population.
Academics
State of the art academics with small class sizes that average 22 students. USD offers 42 majors and it’s easy to double major. They offer an MBA program, a law school and and a PhD in Nursing. Their core curriculum includes three classes in religious studies. Students have access to great internships in San Diego. Plenty of military internships are available in engineering. USD has an Honors Program – the top 10% of incoming freshman are invited to apply. Great alumni network.
Admissions
- 49% acceptance rate
- Application deadline is Dec. 15; reply to students around end of February
- Average GPA is 3.94
- Average ACT score is 28
- Average SAT is 1890
- They superscore the SAT, but not the ACT
- Up to three letters of recommendation
- 300 to 400 students transfer in for junior year
- $55,000 a year
- Merit based for top 35%
- Need based financial aid offered
- Christine Killoran, Admissions Counselor for Minnesota, conducts the interviews
Housing
Very nice housing. Students have to live on campus the first two years. There are four first-year residential areas and campus apartments are available to sophomores. Five different Campus apartments are available for junior, senior and transfer undergraduate students. Some seniors live in beach rentals -supposedly this
is where the parties are.
Study Abroad
Very popular at USD! Ranked #1 for undergraduate participation. Undergraduate students have the opportunity to live and study in over 30 countries for a year, semester, summer or intersession while earning USD credit. Their Madrid Program is very well-liked and they even offer a Semester at Sea program.
