University of Southern California Admission Requirements and Statistics

[updated for 2024-2025 admission data]

How hard is USC to get into?

This page provides the latest information on University of Southern California (USC)'s admission process, acceptance rate, and student profile. USC's acceptance rate is 9.81% for 2024-2025 admission. A total of 82,027 students applied and 8,050 were admitted to the school. Its acceptance rate is very low, which means it is very hard to get into USC.

To apply to USC, recommendations and personal statement (or essay) are required to submit. The SAT and ACT score is not required, but considered for admission. In addition, english proficiency test score is also considered (required).

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Admission Statistics

For the academic year 2024-25, USC's acceptance rate is 9.81% and the yield (also known as enrollment rate) is 43.34%. 36,539 men and 44,530 women applied to USC and 3,870 men and 4,067 women students were accepted.

958 applicants who has another gender applied and 113 were accepted.

Among them, 1,623 men and 1,866 women were enrolled in USC. You can explore the USC's admission rates and SAT score trends over the past decade, including year-by-year data and analysis, by visiting Admission Trends page.

Acceptance Rate and Admission Statistics at USC
TotalMenWomenAnother GenderGender Unknown
Applicants82,02736,53944,5309580
Admitted8,0503,8704,0671130
Enrolled3,4891,6231,86600
Acceptance Rate 9.81%10.59%9.13%11.80%-
Yield 43.34%41.94%45.88%0.00%-

Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)

University of Southern California 2025 Acceptance Rate By Gender chart

Median SAT and ACT Score

For the academic year 2025, 1,191 students (34% of enrolled students) submitted SAT scores and 432 students (12% of enrolled students) submitted ACT scores as part of the admission process at USC.

The median SAT score for admitted students is 1,500, including 730 in SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and 770 in SAT Math. The 75th percentile SAT EBRW score is 760 and the 25th percentile is 710. For SAT Math, the 75th percentile score is 790 and the 25th percentile is 740.

The median ACT composite score is 33, with a 75th percentile score of 35 and a 25th percentile score of 32 at USC. The median ACT Math score is 33 and the median ACT English score is 35.

How competitive is USC's score?

The SAT and ACT scores at University of Southern California are similar to the average score compared to similar colleges (SAT: 1,497, ACT: 34 - private (not-for-profit) research university with very high research activity).

2025 SAT and ACT Scores at USC
25th Percentile50th Percentile (Median)75th Percentile
SAT Total1,4501,5001,550
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing710730760
SAT Math740770790
ACT Composite323335
ACT Math293335
ACT English333535

Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)

University of Southern California 2025 SAT and ACT Score Chart

First-year Enrollment by Gender and Enrolled Type

For the academic year 2024-25, total 3,489 first-year students enrolled in USC. The proportion of full-time students is 99.94% and part-time students is 0.06%.

By gender, the proportion of men students is 46.52% and women students is 53.48%.

The following table shows the first-year students by gender and enrolled type at USC.

First-Year Students by Gender and Enrolled Type at USC
TotalMenWomenAnother GenderGender Unknown
Total3,4891,6231,86600
Full-time3,4871,6221,86500
Part-time21100

Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2024)

Application Requirements

It requires to submit High School GPA, High School Record (or Transcript), Completion of College Preparatory Program, Recommendations, Formal Demonstration of Competencies, English Proficiency Test, and Personal statement or essay to its applicants.

The SAT and ACT test score is not required, but considered in admission process at USC. The english proficiency test is required .

The next table summarizes the application requirements to apply University of Southern California.

For more admission information such as minimum GPA and deadlines, see its online application page .

USC Admission Requirements
High School GPARequired
High School RankConsidered, if submitted
High School Record (or Transcript)Required
Completion of College Preparatory ProgramRequired
RecommendationsRequired
Formal Demonstration of CompetenciesRequired
SAT / ACTConsidered, if submitted
English Proficiency TestRequired
Other Test (Wonderlic,WISC-III,etc)Not Considered
Work experienceConsidered, if submitted
Personal statement or essayRequired
Legacy statusConsidered, if submitted

General Admissions Information

The following provides general admission information for applying to USC:

  • Open Admission Policy: No
  • Undergraduate Application Fees: -
  • Graduate Application Fees: -
  • Admission Information: https://admission.usc.edu/
  • Online Application: https://www.commonapp.org/
  • Calendar System: Semester
  • Course for High School Students: Not Offered
  • Credits Accepted: Advanced placement (AP) Credits
  • Degree Offered: Bachelor, Post-Bachelor Certificate, Master, Post-Master Certificate, Doctoral (Research), Doctoral (Professional Practice), Doctoral (Other)

USC Admission Frequently Asked Questions

USC is extremely competitive to get into, with an acceptance rate of 9.81%.
USC recommends submitting SAT or ACT scores, but they are not strictly required for admission. The average SAT score required for admission to USC is 1,500, and the average ACT score is 33. Meeting or exceeding these scores will improve your chances of admission.
Yes, USC requires applicants to submit a personal essay or statement as part of the application.
Yes, USC requires applicants to submit a recommendation letter as part of the application.
USC does not require an application fee for undergraduate or graduate admission.
Yes, USC requires applicants to submit high school GPA, high school record or transcript as part of the admission process.
Yes, USC requires international applicants to submit an English proficiency test (like TOEFL or IELTS) as part of the application.

The institutional SAT code for USC is 4852 and 4-digit ACT code is 0470.

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