USC releases fall admission statistics

More than 47,000 accomplished high school seniors from the United States and 144 other countries applied for an estimated 2,650 places in this fall’s entering class, reflecting continued strong interest from international students and U.S. applicants alike.

“USC’s fall 2013 entering freshman class is shaping up to be the most impressive in the university’s 133-year history,” said Timothy Brunold, USC’s dean of admission. “The group of students we have selected is characterized by unprecedented levels of diversity: ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic. I am confident that our faculty will be pleased to teach this incredibly bright, talented and impressive group of young adults.”

The following points provide a broad academic and demographic overview of the fall 2013 pool of students admitted to USC (since enrollment commitments are due on May 1, these numbers may change):

• The vast majority of admitted freshmen rank in the top 10 percent of their high school’s graduating class, 75 percent have standardized test scores at or above the 95th percentile, and their average unweighted high school GPA is 3.82 (on a 4-point scale).

• The average admitted freshman completed six to eight advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses in high school.

• More than 3,100 high schools are represented in the admitted freshman class.

• Overall, 45 percent of admitted students are from California, with 17 percent representing 79 foreign countries. The remaining 38 percent come from the other 49 states and U.S. territories.

• Twenty-six percent of admitted students are Asian, 12 percent Latino, 7 percent black and 2 percent Native American/Pacific Islander. Overall, 21 percent are from underrepresented minority populations (black, Latino or Native American). In addition, 11 percent of admitted students would be the first in their families to attend college. USC enrolls more underrepresented minority undergraduates than most private research universities in the country: 3,398 as of fall 2012, or 19 percent of all undergraduates.

• Outside California, the leading U.S. metropolitan areas for students admitted to USC are, in order: New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Boston and Washington, D.C. The most represented foreign countries are China, South Korea, India, Canada and Singapore.

The admitted pool of 9,304 students was selected from a highly competitive and diverse group of 47,279 applicants with broad geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic representation. This year’s admission rate of 19.7 percent is slightly lower than last year’s final admission rate and is the lowest in USC’s history.

USC maintains a strong commitment to financial aid for undergraduate students and continues to increase the amount of funding available. The university offers what it believes is the largest pool of university-funded financial aid of any private university in the country. Two-thirds of USC undergraduates receive some form of financial aid. USC admits students without regard to ability to pay and meets the full demonstrated need of admitted students. In fall 2012, 23 percent of USC enrollees were low-income undergraduates, as defined by Pell Grant eligibility. The socioeconomic status of students has no impact on their graduation rate.

More facts about USC’s financial aid program are available at bitly.com/admissionfastfacts