Saint Mary's College of California: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
San Francisco, California · Public · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
Saint Mary's College of California is a public university in San Francisco, California that admits about 96% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $12,882 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Business Administration, Management and Operations, Psychology, General and Biology, General, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 3.5 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Saint Mary's College of California is a public institution located in San Francisco, California. For the most recent reporting cycle, Saint Mary's College of California admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 96%. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,882 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Saint Mary's College of California is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Saint Mary's College of California?
Saint Mary's College of California has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Saint Mary's College of California typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
How much does Saint Mary's College of California actually cost?
Published tuition is $7,424 for in-state students and $19,304 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,955 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $12,882 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 41% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
Most popular majors at Saint Mary's College of California
The most popular undergraduate programs at Saint Mary's College of California, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Psychology, General and Biology, General. Across all programs, Saint Mary's College of California confers roughly 3,381 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Business Administration, Management and Operations program report a median income of about $79,995 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 1,314 | $79,995 |
| Psychology, General | 398 | $60,290 |
| Biology, General | 362 | $67,380 |
| Computer Science | 293 | $112,049 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | 266 | $64,458 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 264 | $69,437 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 258 | $58,169 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 226 | $48,379 |
Is Saint Mary's College of California safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Saint Mary's College of California disclosed 66 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 3.5 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 7 violent offenses and 17 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in California parents ask about
- Stanford University4% acceptance
- University of California-Berkeley12% acceptance
- University of California-Los Angeles9% acceptance
- University of Southern California10% acceptance
- University of California-Davis42% acceptance
- University of California-Irvine26% acceptance
- University of California-San Diego25% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Barbara63% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Saint Mary's College of California
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Saint Mary's College of California recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Saint Mary's College of California
What GPA do I need for Saint Mary's College of California?
Saint Mary's College of California has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does Saint Mary's College of California typically admit?
Saint Mary's College of California does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does Saint Mary's College of California actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Saint Mary's College of California after grants and scholarships is $12,882 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Saint Mary's College of California realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Saint Mary's College of California is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Saint Mary's College of California?
Saint Mary's College of California accepts about 96% of applicants. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is Saint Mary's College of California a public or private school, and where is it located?
Saint Mary's College of California is a public institution located in San Francisco, California.
What are the most popular majors at Saint Mary's College of California?
The largest undergraduate majors at Saint Mary's College of California by annual graduates are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Psychology, General and Biology, General. The school awards about 3,381 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Saint Mary's College of California safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Saint Mary's College of California reported 66 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 3.5 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Saint Mary's College of California, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.