University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
University of Southern California is a private research university in Los Angeles, California, a large city, with 20,443 undergraduates. The arts is its signature field: 12% of its bachelor's degrees, two and a half times its share across the colleges we cover. 92% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $92,498 ten years after starting.
University of Southern California admitted 9,345 of 83,488 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (11.2%).
- Acceptance rate
- 11.2%
- Fall 2025 class
- Tuition and fees
- $72,097
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $32,740
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1470–1540
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of Southern California is known for
Measured by the 5,440 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
The arts
12.1%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods1,22122.4% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
- Computer Science3055.6% of degrees$192,897+80% vs $107,009 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies2694.9% of degrees$75,864+35% vs $56,359 nationally
- Human Biology2414.4% of degrees$69,751+8% vs $64,732 nationally
- Psychology1893.5% of degrees$70,461+39% vs $50,706 nationally
- Economics1783.3% of degrees$94,435+14% vs $82,686 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Los Angeles, CA
Undergraduates
20,443
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
9 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
13%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of Southern California
Three things University of Southern California published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
University of Southern California files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor, GPA and Recommendations.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
33% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 12% sent an ACT. University of Southern California files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $32,740 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
11.2%
9,345 admitted of 83,488 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1470–1540
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
32–35
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.85
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
33%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
12%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at University of Southern California?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What University of Southern California costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $72,097, and the full cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $90,300. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $32,740 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$72,097
2024–25 school year
Full cost of attendance
$90,300
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$32,740
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $90,300 full cost.
- Under $30k$13,516Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$14,394Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$19,539Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$24,976Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$56,116Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
92%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
96%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$92,498
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$18,000
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What University of Southern California says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
15 essay prompts on the application: you would write 1, and 10 are optional.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
Guides for University of Southern California applicants
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in California
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of California-Berkeley11.4%
- Harvey Mudd College12.3%
- Claremont McKenna College9.4%
- University of California-Los Angeles9.4%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
