How to Get Into USC: Acceptance Rate and Strategies

May 22, 2023

usc acceptance rate, how to get in

In the wake of the Varsity Blues scandal of 2019, it wouldn’t be hard to come up with a number of cynical, mocking responses on the topic of “How to get into USC.” Such a list would likely include: 1) Hire someone else to take the SATs for you. 2) Photoshop your way to becoming a rowing team recruit. 3) Pay 1.3 million dollars directly to a water polo coach. Okay, that’s enough for now. Despite these embarrassing and deplorable incidents of a few years ago, the University of Southern California remains one of the elite private universities in the United States, with countless world-renowned academic programs. The overall trajectory at this school is in the increasingly-selective direction. In the late ’90s, USC still accepted 45% of those who applied. The number of applications has tripled since that time and the USC acceptance rate is now in the single digits.

Given this meteoric rise in prestige, aspiring Trojans need to be well informed and understand the level of competition at this university in 2023-24. Toward that aim, this article will cover:

  • USC’s Class of 2027 acceptance rate
  • SAT, ACT, and GPA of accepted USC applicants
  • Admissions trends from the Class of 2027
  • The demographics of current USC undergraduates
  • USC’s yield rate
  • How USC’s admissions officers evaluate candidates
  • Tips for applying to USC
  • The USC supplemental essays and short answer prompts
  • How to assess whether applying to USC is even worth the $85 application fee (for you)

Many students applying to USC may also find the following “How to Get Into” blogs to be of interest:

Let’s begin with an examination of the most recent admissions data.

USC Acceptance Rate – Class of 2027

Out of 80,790 applicants, 8,032 were offered admission for the 2023-24 academic year. This means that the USC acceptance rate is 9.9%.

This institution does not offer an Early Decision option. However, the university did add an EA option this cycle for students applying to most majors.

USC Early Action Acceptance Rate – Class of 2027

55% of admitted students received their letter of acceptance through the Early Action round. Over 40,600 students applied EA and the USC Early Action acceptance rate was a meager 6%.

USC SAT scores, ACT scores, and Class Rank

Those enrolled in the Class of 2026 sported a median SAT score of 1490. The median USC ACT score was 33.  The average unweighted GPA was 3.8 and 80% placed in the top 10% of their high school class; 95% were in the top quarter.

48% of those admitted into the Class of 2026 submitted test scores as part of their application.

Admissions Trends & Notes – (Class of 2027)

  • The average unweighted GPA for students accepted into the Class of 2027 was 3.90.
  • 19% of those accepted into the 2023-24 freshman class were international students.
  • 38% of the admitted Class of 2027 hailed from the Golden State.
  • The accepted Class of 2027 included 23% first-generation students, up from 20% in the Class of 2026.
  • The total number of applicants increased 17% from the previous cycle.

Who Actually Gets Into USC?

Let’s now look at the demographics of the USC Class of 2026.

The states producing the greatest number of 2022-23 freshmen were:

  • California
  • New York
  • Washington
  • Texas
  • Illinois
  • Florida
  • New Jersey

USC Acceptance Rate (Continued)

The countries producing the greatest number of 2023-24 freshmen admits were:

  • China
  • India
  • Canada
  • South Korea
  • Singapore

As at any highly-selective university, competition is toughest among those residing in states with thousands of qualified applicants (the entire Northeast & the West Coast). If you hail from a less populated state like Alaska, North Dakota, or Montana, your location is more likely to provide a boost to your admissions chances. USC does like to have a substantial percentage of students from its home state of California (typically close to 40%). It was 42% for the Class of 2026.

Within the state of California, there are a number of high schools that send a large number of students to USC each year. These are the high schools that sent the most graduates to USC in 2022:

  • Foshay Learning Center (Los Angeles): 31
  • Orange County High School for the Arts (Santa Ana): 16
  • La Canada High School (La Canada): 13
  • Mater Dei (Private, Santa Ana): 13
  • West Ranch High School (Valencia): 12
  • Arcadia HS (Arcadia): 11

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown of the Class of 2026 was as follows:

  • Asian American: 22%
  • Hispanic: 17%
  • African American: 8%
  • International: 18%
  • White: 25%
  • Multiple Ethnicities: 7%

The breakdown by gender of the Class of 2026 notably favored women:

  • Male: 46%
  • Female: 54%

The academic schools in which the Class of 2026 were enrolled was distributed as follows:

  • Dornslife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences: 41%
  • Marshall School of Business: 17%
  • USC’s Schools of Visual and Performing Arts: 17%
  • Viterbi School of Engineering: 14%
  • Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism: 5%

Yield Rate

USC’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted was 41% for the Class of 2026. For comparison, many other top private universities have superior yield rates such as Northwestern, Duke, and Georgetown University.

How USC Rates Applicants

This school gives a genuinely comprehensive and holistic review of each application. They pay close attention to an applicant’s “performance in school, the rigor of your program, writing skills and test scores” and “also consider personal qualities, as revealed in community involvement, leadership and achievements.” They are looking for people who are ambitious intellectually and professionally but also bring a global perspective, show a history of getting involved in their community, and “are willing to venture outside of their comfort zones.”

There are five factors that USC officially ranks as being “very important” to their admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, GPA, standardized test scores, the essays, and recommendations. The three factors that rate as “important” are extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and character/personal characteristics. “Considered” factors include first-generation status, legacy status, race/ethnicity, volunteer work, and paid work.

It definitely helps if you are recruited as an athlete to join one of USC’s 23 NCAA Division I sports teams. USC recruits (particularly non-Photoshopped ones) are given preference, as the school has the best (or at least one of the best) athletic programs in the entire country.

Tips for Applying to USC

If you plan on joining the 80,000+ Trojan hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

  • USC expects to see evidence of advanced coursework in high school. Taking multiple advanced classes, particularly within your area of academic interest is a must. A minimum of 7-8 AP courses is a good target to aim for.
  • You must list your “first-choice major” on the Common App and have the option of selecting a second-choice major or pre-professional emphasis.
  • USC does not conduct admissions interviews of any kind so your best way to connect with an admissions officer on a personal level is via your Common App and supplemental essays/short answers.
  • USC does not weigh “demonstrated interest” in the admissions process. Therefore, you will not be judged on whether or not you made a campus visit (in non-pandemic times), contacted an admissions officer, etc.
  • Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the supplemental essays required by USC. In the 2022-23 cycle they were as follows:

All applicants must respond to one of the prompts below in 250 words.

1A) USC believes that one learns best when interacting with people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Tell us about a time you were exposed to a new idea or when your beliefs were challenged by another point of view. Please discuss the significance of the experience and its effect on you.

1B) USC faculty place an emphasis on interdisciplinary academic opportunities. Describe something outside of your intended academic focus about which you are interested in learning.

1C) What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you?

The rest of the prompts are mandatory. They are as follows:

2) Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)*

3) Short Answers

Describe yourself in three words (25 characters).

First Word:*

Second Word:*

Third Word:*

The following have a 100-word limit:

What is your favorite snack?*

Best movie of all time:*

Dream job:*

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?*

Dream trip:*

What TV show will you binge watch next? *

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?*

Favorite book:*

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

For detailed advice on how to approach each USC prompt, visit our blog: USC Supplemental Essay Prompts and Tips.

USC Acceptance Rate – Final Thoughts

With admit rates now officially under 10%, USC is a school that is looking for students who sit among the very top of their high school class and have posted SAT/ACT scores in at least the 90th percentile. With such a competitive admissions process, all students need to make sure that they, in conjunction with a counselor, formulate an appropriate college list, containing a complement of “target” and “safety” schools. Hopefully, your dream of becoming a Trojan becomes a reality, but, in the event that things don’t unfold as hoped, you’ll still end up at an institution with comparable attributes and opportunities.