USC acceptance rate and admissions statistics
USC admitted 9,345 of 83,488 first-year applicants in its 2025-26 Common Data Set, an official acceptance rate of 11.2%. 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 USC counts the grades, scores and activities they posted.
USC acceptance rate by year
| CDS year | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 83,488 | 9,345 | 11.2% | 3,759 | 40.2% |
| 2024-25 | 82,027 | 8,050 | 9.8% | 3,489 | 43.3% |
| 2023-24 | 80,808 | 8,094 | 10.0% | 3,633 | 44.9% |
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 USC
Early decision counts: Not published. USC’s Common Data Set prints no early decision applicant or admit counts (section C21) for any year shown.
USC waitlist
Waitlist counts: Not published. USC’s Common Data Set prints no waitlist numbers (section C2) for any year shown.
USC SAT and ACT scores
| CDS year | Composite SAT 25th to 75th | EBRW 25th to 75th | Math 25th to 75th | ACT 25th to 75th | Submitted an SAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 1470 to 1540 | Not published | Not published | 32 to 35 | 33.0% |
| 2024-25 | Not published | 710 to 760 | 740 to 790 | 32 to 35 | 30.0% |
| 2023-24 | 1450 to 1530 | Not published | Not published | 32 to 35 | 32.0% |
What USC 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 USC rated in the top two tiers.
- 2025-26
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Application essay, Recommendations, Character/personal qualities
- Important: Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability
- 2024-25
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Standardized test scores, Application essay, Recommendations
- Important: Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
- 2023-24
- Very important: Rigor of secondary school record, Academic GPA, Recommendations, Application essay
- Important: Standardized test scores, Extracurricular activities, Talent/ability, Character/personal qualities
USC testing policy for students applying in 2026-27
Test-optional: 'Under this policy, the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered.' Non-submitters are not penalized. The FAQ names no cycle or end date and mentions no plan to require tests.
From USC’s admissions site, read 2026-11-05. Policies change; the college’s page is the authority.
How these numbers were read
USC reports no early decision plan and no waitlist in C21 and C2. The 2024-25 C9 prints EBRW and Math ranges but no composite SAT range, so the SAT table gives the two section ranges and the composite reads Not published. Some inner pages of the 2025-26 document still carry the 2024-25 header; its data are for Fall 2025.
USC acceptance rate questions
- What is the USC acceptance rate?
- USC's Common Data Set for 2025-26 reports 83,488 first-year applicants and 9,345 admitted, an acceptance rate of 11.2%. It was 9.8% in 2024-25 and 10.0% in 2023-24.
- What SAT scores do USC students have?
- In 2025-26, the middle half of enrolled first-year students who submitted the SAT scored 1470 to 1540, and ACT submitters scored 32 to 35. 33.0% of enrolled students submitted an SAT score.
- Does USC require the SAT or ACT for students applying in 2026-27?
- Test-optional: 'Under this policy, the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered.' Non-submitters are not penalized. The FAQ names no cycle or end date and mentions no plan to require tests.
Applying to USC?
An acceptance rate describes the whole pool, not one student. A Specialist can read your student’s file against what USC says it weighs.
Source: USC Common Data Set, sections C1, C2, C7, C9 and C21, each year linked above, read 2026-11-05. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with USC. All official acceptance rates