University of Southern California

What University of Southern California's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2025-26.

All 1 insights at University of Southern California PRO

4 more things the data says PRO

1. The share of international students in the first-year class has risen from 14% to 20% since 2019-20, about 1.1 points a year.
2. Only 33% of enrolled first-years sent an SAT score, so its SAT range describes a minority of the class.
3. Women were admitted at a lower rate: 10.3% for women against 12.4% for men.
4. Applications rose 30% from 2018-19 to 2025-26 (64,352 to 83,488).

What students say PRO

From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.

• Most admits who named a round (26 of 34) applied Early Action; 8 applied Regular Decision.
• About 51 admits held a top role built over years: founder, president, captain or editor of a club, team or nonprofit.
• About 38 admits did real research or published work, such as lab projects, research internships, papers or conference talks.
• About 53 admits did steady community service, tutoring or nonprofit work, often alongside leadership in the same area.
• About 13 admits did speech, debate, Model UN, mock trial or quiz bowl, many as captain or president.
• Students report USC holds a holistic review: a perfect GPA and scores do not guarantee entry, and a few admits had thin activity lists or no test scores.
• Students report USC's early round mostly produces admits or deferrals, and deferred applicants may lose out on early-round scholarships.
• Students report the biggest USC merit scholarships have a Dec 1 deadline, earlier than the regular deadline, and National Merit status gets no admission boost.
• Students report USC's aid office is slow and hard to reach, with aid packages arriving late and document requests continuing until decisions.
• Students report USC aid is often too small for low-income or out-of-state admits, who face costs near $100K a year or large loans.

Every number, year by year: University of Southern California on Open College Data. Something wrong? Suggest a correction.