University of South Carolina acceptance rate and admissions statistics
University of South Carolina admitted 33,695 of 59,630 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 56.5%. Every number below comes from the college’s own Common Data Set, each year linked to its document; a figure the college leaves blank says “Not published”, and the notes at the foot of the page say where a total is the sum of rows the college printed.
What did admitted applicants have? How to get into University of South Carolina counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
University of South Carolina acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 59,630 | 33,695 | 56.5% | 7,818 | 23.2% |
| 2024-25 | 52,703 | 31,701 | 60.2% | 7,272 | 22.9% |
| 2023-24 | 46,682 | 28,706 | 61.5% | 7,319 | 25.5% |
Acceptance rate is admitted divided by applied; yield is enrolled divided by admitted. Both are computed by Aristo Scholars from the two counts printed beside them.
Early decision at University of South Carolina
Early decision counts: Not published. University of South Carolina’s Common Data Set prints no early decision applicant or admit counts (section C21) for any year shown.
University of South Carolina waitlist
University of South Carolina SAT and ACT scores
What University of South Carolina says matters in admission
In section C7 each college rates its own admission factors as Very Important, Important, Considered or Not Considered. These are the factors University of South Carolina rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Academic GPA
- Important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Standardized test scores
- 2024-25
- Very important: Academic GPA
- Important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Standardized test scores
- 2023-24
- Very important: Academic GPA
- Important: Rigor of secondary school record, Class rank, Standardized test scores
University of South Carolina testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional through the fall, spring and summer 2027 terms. Applicants choose whether USC considers their ACT/SAT scores.
From University of South Carolina’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
South Carolina offers early action, not early decision. The 2024-25 and 2023-24 C1 totals are the residency table totals.
University of South Carolina acceptance rate questions
- What is the University of South Carolina acceptance rate?
- University of South Carolina's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 59,630 first-year applicants and 33,695 admitted, an acceptance rate of 56.5%. It was 60.2% in 2024-25 and 61.5% in 2023-24.
- What SAT scores do University of South Carolina students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1200 to 1360, and ACT submitters scored 26 to 32. 32.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- How many students get off the University of South Carolina waitlist?
- In 2025-26, University of South Carolina offered 8,805 applicants a place on the waitlist; 3,395 accepted one, and 293 were admitted from it.
- Does University of South Carolina require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional through the fall, spring and summer 2027 terms. Applicants choose whether USC considers their ACT/SAT scores.
Applying to University of South Carolina?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what University of South Carolina says it weighs.
Source: University of South Carolina Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with University of South Carolina. All official acceptance rates