USC’s most selective admit group ever

Nearly 52,000 accomplished high school seniors from every U.S. state and 80 other countries applied for a place in this fall’s entering class of USC, reflecting growing interest from international students and U.S. applicants.

The admitted group of 9,225 students was selected from a highly competitive and diverse pool of 51,800 applicants with broad geographic, ethnic and socioeconomic representation. This represents a 17.8 percent admission rate, the lowest in USC’s history.

Notably, one in eight admitted students would be the first in their families to attend college.

“Our admission committee enjoyed getting to know the largest, most interesting group of students it has ever had the privilege of reading. In fact, USC’s fall 2014 entering class represents the most accomplished group of first-year students our university has ever seen,” said Timothy Brunold, USC’s dean of admission. “Our faculty, students, staff and alumni are eagerly waiting to see who will enroll this fall. USC’s distinctive academic programs, incredible diversity, vibrant campus life, global perspective and location in the heart of Los Angeles make it a very attractive option for the best and brightest students, not just from across the U.S., but from around the world.”

One in eight admitted students would be the first in their families to attend college.

The strong academic records of this year’s applicants tell a large part of the story: Nearly half of the admitted freshmen completed eight or more Advanced Placement courses. Seventy-five percent of admits have standardized test scores at or above the 95th percentile. The average unweighted high school grade point average is 3.82.

Some other facts about the group of admitted students for fall:

• Overall, 44 percent of admitted students are from California, with 17 percent representing 80 foreign countries. The remaining 39 percent come from the other 49 states and U.S. territories.

• Twentysix 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, 13 percent of admitted students would be the first in their family to attend college. USC enrolls more underrepresented minority undergraduates than most private research universities in the country: 3,328 as of fall 2013, or 18 percent of all undergraduates.

• Outside California, the leading U.S. states for students admitted to USC are, in order: Texas, New York, Illinois, Washington, Florida and New Jersey. The most-represented foreign countries are China, South Korea, India, Canada and Taiwan.

USC maintains a 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, providing more than $285 million from all university sources to currently enrolled undergraduates.

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. USC enrolled 24 percent low-income undergraduate students in fall 2013, as defined by Pell Grant eligibility. Students’ socioeconomic status has no impact on their graduation rate.

Accepted freshmen have until May 1 to decide if they will enroll.