Private nonprofit · University

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California · Large city

9.8%
Admit rate
$32,740
Avg net price
92%
Graduation rate
$92,498
Median earnings

University of Southern California is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Los Angeles, California (large city setting), enrolling 20,443 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitLarge · 20,443 undergradsLarge cityHighly selective · 10% admitNCAA Division I-FBS · Big Ten ConferenceNear the coast

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against University of Southern California's admitted students.

Admit rate
9.8%
SAT (mid 50%)
1450–1550
Avg GPA
3.80

Enter a test score to see where you land against University of Southern California's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and University of Southern California's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. The historic center of Tongva power in the region was the settlement of Yaanga (Tongva: Iyáangẚ), meaning "place of the poison oak", which would eventually be the site where the Spanish founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles. Iyáangẚ has also been translated as "the valley of smoke". Los Angeles is often billed as the creative capital of the world because one in every six of its residents works in a creative industry and there are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any other time in world history. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
10 miles
Nearest airport
7 miles to Jack Northrop Field Hawthorne (HHR)

How University of Southern California compares

Selectivity9.8%

More selective than 98% · #7 most selective of 107 in California

SAT average1495

Higher than 95%

Graduation rate92%

Higher than 96% · #13 of 122 in California

First-year retention96%

Higher than 94%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$92,498

Higher than 97% · #15 of 130 in California

Average net price$32,740

Cheaper than 11% · #83 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$18,000

Lower than 84%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment20,443

Larger than 95%

Percentiles compare University of Southern California with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.

University of Southern California campus

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

46,379students
  • Undergraduate20,44344%
  • Graduate25,93656%

Undergraduates by gender

20,443undergrads
  • Women11,32755%
  • Men9,11645%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White26%
  • Black7.1%
  • Hispanic20%
  • Asian23%
  • Other or multiracial24%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
20,443
Graduate enrollment
25,936
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
22%
First-generation students
25%
Students over 25
61%
Median family income
$45,149
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$161,316
Endowment
$8,092,846,000

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 3,633 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From California43%
  • Other U.S. states38%
  • International19%

A national draw — only 43% of first-years come from California; 38% arrive from other states.

19% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
9.8%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1450–1550
SAT average
1495
SAT reading
710–760
SAT math
740–790
ACT composite
32–35
Average GPA
3.80

Cost

In-state tuition
$72,097
Room & board
$19,931
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$90,300
Average net price
$32,740

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
92%
Graduated on time (4 years)
74%
First-year retention
96%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$74,461
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$92,498
Median debt at graduation
$18,000
Students with federal loans
24%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
76%

About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
74%
Low-income (Pell)
84%
First-generation
84%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
8,500
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
42%
Housing charge (year)
$11,908
Meal plan (year)
$7,290
Application fee
$85
Athletics
NCAA Division I-FBS
Football conference
Big Ten Conference
Varsity athletes
716 (356 men · 360 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (13)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)170
Football116
Swimming and Diving (combined)68
Rowing51
Water Polo51
Basketball47
Volleyball45
Baseball40
Lacrosse38
Soccer36
Beach Volleyball20
Tennis19
Golf15

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
8.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
219
Property offenses (2022–2024)
922

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 9 campuses (46,566 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

380reported offenses a year
73 violent a year307 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
271
Burglary
30
Fondling
24
Rape
20
Aggravated assault
17
Robbery
11
Arson
5.7
Statutory rape
0.7

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$13,516
$30–48k
$14,394
$48–75k
$19,539
$75–110k
$24,976
$110k+
$56,116

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$83,693

$19,539/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

67%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$39,554
average award, among those who get one

University of Southern California discounts heavily: 67% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $39,554. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 3,418 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$92,498
Typical debt at graduation
$18,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
19%
Out-earn a HS grad
80%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$88,578
Men
$98,866

Men out-earn women by $10,288 (12%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
84°F
Winter low
48°F
Annual rain
14.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.83.6JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Los Angeles Dwtn Usc Campus, CA US station (3.5 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to University of Southern California

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of Southern California side by side →

Colleges near University of Southern California

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.