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The University of Southern California (USC) is a prominent private research university in Los Angeles, USA. The University of Southern California acceptance rate for international students 2024 is around 10%. For 2024, the university received over 80,000 applications from international students seeking admission to various courses.
Meanwhile, the university only accepted around 8,000 applicants resulting in approximately 10% of the total student population. The low acceptance rate of University of Southern California suggests a very competitive admission rate for international students all over the world.
The nationality of the candidate, choice of admission intake, and the consistently high ranking of University of Southern California are mainly responsible for the low acceptance rate of the university. The number of applications, availability of courses, and academic performance of the applicants can also influence the admission decision at the University of Southern California.
As per the past records, the University of Southern California acceptance rate for Indian students 2024 is the lowest in the last five years. Therefore, students who are planning to study in USA at the University of Southern California admission 2025 need to prepare a strong application to stand out among other applicants.
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The University of Southern California selection process is completely dependent on the academic persistence of the applicants along with standardised test scores. The average GPA requirement for admission ranges between 3.79-4.00. As per the latest QS World University Rankings 2025, the University of Southern California is listed among the top 150 world universities.
Therefore, prospective applicants should meet the cutoff requirements for the GRE, GMAT, SAT, and ACT exams to enhance their chances of securing admission. For non-English speaking candidates, the USC demands for IELTS, TOEFL, and other ELP scores to evaluate their English proficiency for specific programmes. Read the complete article to learn more about the University of Southern California acceptance rate.
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For the academic year 2023-2024, Southern California University received over 80,000 applications from all over the world. However, only 10% of applicants were accepted for different courses. In 2024, the university recorded the lowest rate of acceptance for international students admission.
Particulars | Details |
Fall Applicants | 80,808 |
Fall Admits | 8,094 |
Acceptance Rate | 10% |
Fall Enrolls | 3,633 (44.9% yield) |
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The University of Southern California accepts international students from different countries. Candidates from different races and ethnicities join the USC for better educational practice and employability. For fall 2023, over 12,000 applicants from different countries of the world were accepted by the USC for admission to popular courses. A detailed list of the total number of international students from different countries constituting the University of Southern California is given below.
Country | Number of Applicants |
China | 6,035 |
India | 2,682 |
South Korea | 518 |
Taiwan | 448 |
Canada | 382 |
Iran | 151 |
Indonesia | 148 |
Saudi Arabia | 129 |
Hong Kong | 87 |
Mexico | 79 |
All other countries | 2,094 |
Total | 12,753 |
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In the 2022-2023 academic session, the university reported the highest acceptance rate for international students. Whereas, in 2023-2024, the University of Southern California acceptance rate is 10%, which is the lowest in the last five years.
Admission Session | Acceptance Rate |
2020-2021 | 16% |
2021-2022 | 16% |
2022-2023 | 18% |
2023-2024 | 10% |
The USC University admits transfer students to various courses. The University of Southern California acceptance rate GPA for transfer students is 3.71 – 4.00. For fall 2023, USC reported an acceptance rate of 24.4% for incoming transfer students.
Particulars | Details |
Applications | 9,488 |
Admits | 2,310 |
Admit Rate | 24.4% |
Transfer Class Size | 1,335 |
Average College GPA | 3.71 – 4.00 |
The applicants must follow the given steps to apply to the University of Southern California.
Visit the University of Southern California official website.
Click on the Menu tab given on the top right of the Home page.
Click on Admission and Aid, and then select the Undergraduate Admission.
The Undergraduate Admission page will open.
Click on the ‘Apply’ link given at the bottom right.
Now, sign in to create an account as a new applicant.
Login credentials will be sent via the registered email of the applicant.
Use the credentials to log into the common application portal and fill out the application.
Upload all the supporting documents.
Pay the application fee and apply.
Know more: How to Apply for US Universities from India?
The common USC eligibility criteria for Indian applicants across various degree programmes are listed below. The requirements can vary depending on the choice of course and mode of study.
Students must have completed Senior Secondary School (class 12th) with a minimum aggregate score of 80% (primarily A1 and A2 grades).
4-year Bachelor's degree or Master’s degree (for 3-year Bachelor's degree holders) from an institution recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Minimum GPA requirements may vary.
SAT or ACT are optional for the 2024-25 session.
GMAT or GRE score requirements are course-specific.
The English language proficiency requirements must be fulfilled.
Tests/Minimum Overall Scores | Bachelor’s | Master’s |
TOEFL iBT | 100 | 90 |
IELTS Academic | 7.0 | 6.5 |
68 | 61 | |
130 | - | |
SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section | 650 | - |
ACT English section | 27 | - |
International students are required to upload the following documents to send their candidature as an international aspirant:
Secondary School (class 10th) and Higher Secondary School (class 12th) Certificates from CBSE/ICSE Boards.
Academic Transcripts of all high schools.
SAT or ACT scorecard (optional).
English Proficiency test scores.
GRE or GMAT scorecard as per the programme requirement.
Other documents as per the requirement of the selected degree programme.
Also Check: Important Documents to Take for Studying Abroad
The University of Southern California acceptance rate is around 10% for international students. Due to its low rate of acceptance, students need to support their application with a good GPA to demonstrate their eligibility. The enrolment process is completely based on academic excellence and standardised test qualification. Therefore, students with a good academic record are the top contenders for USC admission 2024.
Additionally, non-EU students need to score high IELTS or TOEFL scores to apply for English programmes. The university provides definite cutoff scores every year for international admission. Students need to clear the minimum cutoff to send their application to the university. For master's programmes scores on ACT, GRE, GMAT, and SAT are considered by USC to evaluate subject knowledge and understanding of the field of study.
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The minimum GPA required to get into the University of Southern California ranges between 3.79-4.00. The GPA requirement is peculiar for different courses and the range may differ between international students and domestic candidates. Students can check the specific GPA requirements for their selected programme.
To get into USC from India, students should demonstrate a strong academic profile, high cutoff scores for GRE or GMAT, and qualify for the English proficiency exams such as the TOEFL or IELTS. Additionally, students should also prepare a personal statement, recommendation letters, and admission essay to improve their chances of admission.
Both the University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles are highly competitive to get admission for international students. However, UCLA acceptance rate is slightly lower than the University of Southern California for international students in 2024. Therefore, UCLA is comparatively harder than USC to get into.
The acceptance rate of Southern California University is around 10% for international students. Which indicates that 10 out of 100 international students are selected by the university for various courses. Considering the low rate of acceptance we can say that USC is hard to get into for international students.
Yes, 3.7 is a good GPA for USC for international students. The minimum University of Southern California GPA requirement ranges between 3.79-4.00. However, some specific courses require a higher GPA for admission.
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