Applying to USC

Acceptance RateSAT Median
12.02% 1,520
University of Southern California's acceptance rate is 12.02% for 2023 admission. A total of 69,062 students applied and 8,304 were admitted to the school. Judging by the acceptance rate, it is very hard to get into USC.
USC's acceptance rate is the 7th lowest among 116 California colleges with competitive admission.
The median SAT score is 1,520 and the ACT score is 34 at USC. USC's SAT score ranks 3rd out of 27 California colleges that consider SAT score for admission.
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).
Explore University of Southern California

Admission Statistics

For the academic year 2022-23, the acceptance rate of University of Southern California is 12.02% and the yield (also known as enrollment rate) is 41.18%. 30,701 men and 38,330 women applied to USC and 3,869 men and 4,424 women students were accepted.
31 applicants who has another gender applied and 11 were accepted.
Among them, 1,571 men and 1,840 women were enrolled in the school (Fall 2022). The following table and chart show the admission statistics including the number of applicants, acceptance rate, and yield at USC.
Acceptance Rate and Admission Statistics at USC
TotalMenWomenAnother GenderGender Unknown
Applicants69,06230,70138,330310
Admitted8,3043,8694,424110
Enrolled3,4201,5711,84090
Acceptance Rate 12.02%12.60%11.54%35.48%-
Yield 41.18%40.60%41.59%81.82%-
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2023)
University of Southern California 2023 Acceptance Rate By Gender chart

SAT and ACT Score Distribution

In 2023, 1,173 students (34% of enrolled) have submitted their SAT scores and 559 students (16%) have submitted their ACT scores for seeking degrees at USC.
The median SAT score is 1,520 with 740 SAT EBRW and 780 SAT Math median scores. The 75th percentile SAT score of EBRW (Evidence-Based Reading / Writing) is 760 and the 25th percentile is 710. The SAT Math 75th percentile score is 790 and 25th percentile is 740 .
The median ACT composite score is 34 with 75th percentile score of 35 and 25th percentile score of 32 at USC. The median ACT math score is 33 and the ACT English score is 35.
The SAT and ACT scores at University of Southern California are similar to the average score compared to similar colleges (SAT: 1,492, ACT: 34 - private (not-for-profit) research university with very high research activity).
2023 SAT and ACT Scores at USC
25th Percentile50th Percentile (Median)75th Percentile
SAT Total145015201550
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing710740760
SAT Math740780790
ACT Composite323435
ACT Math303335
ACT English343535
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2023)
University of Southern California 2023 SAT and ACT Score Chart

First-year Enrollment by Gender and Enrolled Type

For the academic year 2022-23, total 3,420 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 45.94% and women students is 53.80%. 0.26% of students has another gender.
The following table and chart visualize the first-year students by gender and enrolled type at USC.
First-Year Students by Gender and Enrolled Type at USC
TotalMenWomenAnother GenderGender Unknown
Total3,4201,5711,84090
Full-time3,4181,5701,83990
Part-time21100
Data source: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) (Last update: December 11, 2023)

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 reqired, but considered in admission process at USC. The english proficiency test is reqired .
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 application fee is $85 for undergraduate schools and $90 for graduate schools of University of Southern California. The next table provides general admission information for applying to USC.
Admission Information for Applying to USC
Open Admission PolicyNo
Undergraduate Application Fees$85
Graduate Application Fees$90
Admission Informationwww.usc.edu/admission/
Online Applicationhttps://www.commonapp.org/
Calendar SystemSemester
Credits AcceptedAdvanced placement (AP) Credits
Degree OfferedBachelor, Post-Bachelor Certificate, Master, Post-Master Certificate, Doctoral (Research), Doctoral (Professional Practice), Doctoral (Other)
Related Articles and Ads