by our College Data Analytics TeamUniversity of Southern California is a private not-for-profit institution in Los Angeles, California enrolling 20,443 undergraduates. It accepts 10% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 92%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #24 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
University of Southern California ranks #24 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
University of Southern California was awarded 1626 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked USC as #24 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
USC also holds the #4 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.
See all of the rankings for University of Southern California.
University of Southern California has a very low acceptance rate of 10%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to USC just in case you don’t make the cut.
About 34% of students accepted to USC submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 710 and 760. Math scores were between 740 and 790.
USC received ACT scores from 12% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 32 and 35.
Learn more about University of Southern California admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at USC is an impressive 9 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at University of Southern California is 59%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 96% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like University of Southern California enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at USC for first-time, full-time students is 92%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at University of Southern California.
The current enrollment includes 20,443 undergraduates at USC.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at University of Southern California.
The average net price of USC is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $13,516 | $14,394 | $19,539 | $24,976 | $56,116 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of USC, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At USC, approximately 24% of students took out student loans averaging $6,197 a year. That adds up to $24,788 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.4%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for University of Southern California.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from University of Southern California make around $92,498 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future University of Southern California graduates since it is 88% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at University of Southern California make the most money.
University of Southern California is an private not-for-profit institution found in Los Angeles, California. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of University of Southern California.
Get in touch with University of Southern California are given below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089 |
| Phone: | 2137402311 |
| Website: | www.usc.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Southern_California |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/usc |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/usc |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 29 majors graduated from University of Southern California. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 18,198 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 2,131 | $93,128 |
| Computer Science | 1,551 | $109,163 |
| Legal Research | 707 | $55,259 |
| Business Administration & Management | 535 | $117,150 |
| Social Work | 490 | $50,797 |
| Economics | 463 | $54,837 |
| Communication & Media Studies | 444 | $53,864 |
| Public Health | 400 | $45,830 |
| Computer Information Systems | 398 | NA |
2,036 students took at least one online class at University of Southern California.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at University of Southern California.
Interested in comparing USC? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References