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.
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
- Nearest big city
- 3 miles to Los Angeles, CA
- To the ocean
- 10 miles
- Nearest airport
- 7 miles to Jack Northrop Field Hawthorne (HHR)
How University of Southern California compares
More selective than 98% · #7 most selective of 107 in California
Higher than 95%
Higher than 96% · #13 of 122 in California
Higher than 94%
Higher than 97% · #15 of 130 in California
Cheaper than 11% · #83 cheapest of 118 in California
Lower than 84%
Lower than 83%
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
- Undergraduate20,44344%
- Graduate25,93656%
Undergraduates by gender
- 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)
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)
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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Los Angeles Dwtn Usc Campus, CA US station (3.5 mi from campus).
What University of Southern California graduates study — and earn
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 →
Northeastern University
Boston, Massachusetts · Large city · 2 mi to Boston
- Students
- 17,326
- Admission
- 5%
- Net price
- $31k
- SAT
- 1497
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $93k
New York University
New York, New York · Large city · 1 mi to New York
- Students
- 28,663
- Admission
- 9%
- Net price
- $37k
- SAT
- 1520
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $83k
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts · Large city · 3 mi to Boston
- Students
- 18,248
- Admission
- 11%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1480
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $83k
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York · Small city · 45 mi to Syracuse
- Students
- 15,995
- Admission
- 9%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1535
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $104k
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois · Small city · 12 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 9,201
- Admission
- 8%
- Net price
- $29k
- SAT
- 1533
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $89k
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana · Large suburb · 2 mi to South Bend
- Students
- 8,818
- Admission
- 11%
- Net price
- $27k
- SAT
- 1520
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $100k
Colleges near University of Southern California
Los Angeles Trade Technical College
Los Angeles, CA · Public · Certificate · 9,998 students
Universal Healthcare Careers College
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 287 students
Los Angeles College of Aesthetics
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 117 students
The Chicago School at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 337 students
Associated Technical College-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 315 students
Diversified Vocational College
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 264 students
Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Angeles College
Los Angeles, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 598 students
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.















