by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students will not be asked to pay the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total price of attendance at University of Southern California can feel tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students receive some sort of financial help.
What financing options does USC offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Read on to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from University of Southern California.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
At University of Southern California, 73% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid around 2665 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 70% | $46,897 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 69% | $42,947 |
| Federal Pell grants | 21% | $6,014 |
| State/local grants | 14% | $9,342 |
| Federal student loans | 25% | $4,884 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Here, about 69% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $48,649 (across approximately 14521 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 69% | $48,649 |
| Federal Pell grants | 22% | $5,816 |
| Federal student loans | 24% | $6,197 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $57,560.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $14,814 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $16,555 |
| Over $75,000 | $48,257 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $32,740 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $31,927 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use USC’s official net price calculator: financialaid.usc.edu/npc.
Graduating students at USC carry a median federal student debt of $16,112 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $16,112 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $18,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $190.83/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The figures below chart the debt distribution at USC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $13,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,462 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,938 |
| Middle income | $17,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $23,000 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at USC.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at USC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 93526 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $4,262,050,485 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 754 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $22,590,128 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $29,960 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 67 |
| Total DoD amount | $131,486 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,962 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.