Los Angeles, CA
Common questions prospective students and families ask about University of Southern California.
About 97% of first-time, full-time students who start at University of Southern California return for their second year, a commonly used early signal of student satisfaction and fit.
University of Southern California reports a student-to-faculty ratio of about 9:1.
University of Southern California reports that SAT/ACT scores are considered but not required (test-optional) as part of undergraduate admission.
University of Southern California offers programs including Accounting and Related Services, Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, Air Transportation, Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions, Anthropology, Applied Mathematics, Archeology, and 160 more programs.
USC is a private research university in Los Angeles founded in 1880; Wikipedia describes it as California's oldest private research university and says it joined the Association of American Universities in 1969.
USC's main University Park campus is in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, two miles southwest of downtown, with the Shrine Auditorium and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum within walking distance; USC's first-year page also points students to campus and Los Angeles architecture, museums and theaters.
USC's official pages frame student identity around the Trojan Family and the Tommy Trojan qualities of being faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous and ambitious, while first-year programming emphasizes social, academic and cultural growth and belonging.
When USC opened in 1880, it had 53 students and 10 faculty members, and its first graduating class in 1884 consisted of three students, including a woman valedictorian. The Trojans have won 107 NCAA team championships, and as of 2021 Trojan athletes had won 326 Olympic medals, more than any other American university.
USC markets the undergraduate experience as combining the personal attention of a private school with the scale of a public one, supported by leading experts, supportive faculty and a dynamic global community.
University of Southern California is located in Los Angeles, CA, in a city setting.
University of Southern California is a private nonprofit institution.
University of Southern California enrolls approximately 20,443 undergraduate students.
University of Southern California admits approximately 10% of undergraduate applicants.
Admitted students at University of Southern California typically report SAT scores near 720 (Reading) and 755 (Math) and an ACT composite near 34 (midpoint of the reported range).
The total cost of attendance at University of Southern California is about $90,300 per year. Published tuition is about $72,097 for in-state students and $72,097 for out-of-state students. The average net price actually paid, after grants and scholarships, is about $32,740.
About 22% of students at University of Southern California receive a federal Pell Grant, a commonly used marker of how many lower-income students the institution serves.
About 92% of first-time, full-time students complete a degree within 150% of normal time (e.g. 6 years for a 4-year program) at University of Southern California.
Former students of University of Southern California report median earnings of about $92,498 ten years after entry.