University of Southern California acceptance rate, SAT range and net price

A $100,000 sticker with a tuition-free line under $80,000

USC is one of the private universities whose published budget now crosses six figures: $103,162 for 2026-27, up from the 2025-26 budget, plus a one-time new student fee in the first semester. The tuition line alone, $75,384, is what most search results quote. For a large share of applicants it is not the price. Since the class that entered in 2020, students from American families earning $80,000 a year or less, with typical assets, attend tuition free; housing and food are then covered by need-based grants as far as the aid formula allows.

The federal figures show what that means in practice. Families in the $30,001 to $48,000 band paid an average of $14,394 in 2023-24, a fraction of the $90,300 cost of attendance of that year. Between $75,001 and $110,000 the average rose to $24,976, and above $110,000 it reached $56,116, a band where many families receive little need-based aid and some receive merit scholarships instead.

USC: net price for your family income

Family income per year

$

Average net price, 2023-24

$19,539

Income band	$48,001-$75,000
Share of the 2023-24 cost	22%

Federal figure for first-year students on federal aid.

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Who gets in: Californians, out-of-state students and the score question

USC's Common Data Set splits its offers in a way few schools publish. Of the 9,345 students admitted for fall 2025, roughly four in ten were California residents, a little over a third came from other states and about a quarter from abroad; of the 3,759 who enrolled, 1,701 were Californians. Residency does not change the price at a private university, but it shows that USC draws heavily from its home state even without a resident tuition.

The score ranges deserve care. Because testing is optional, the SAT range of 1,470 to 1,540 describes the 33% of the class who chose to send a score, and the ACT range of 32 to 35 only 12%. Those students are, on average, the ones whose scores helped them. A score near the bottom of the range is often better left out; a score at or above 1,540 reinforces an application.

USC: where your SAT score lands

Your SAT total

Enrolled students scoring below you (approx.)

54%

Middle 50%	1,470 to 1,540
Your score is	inside the middle 50%

Fall 2025 entering class (Class of 2029), CDS 2025-2026, C9 (1,243 SAT submitters, 453 ACT submitters). Normal curve fitted to the two published percentiles.

Odds and net price at other universities →

Early Decision, Early Action and the arts

USC now offers both a binding Early Decision and a non-binding Early Action on November 1 for most majors, with regular applications due January 10. Students applying to dance, drama or music cannot use the early rounds and apply by December 1 with an audition. The World Bachelor in Business takes applications only in November. Compare the offer with UCLA, its public neighbor, and with NYU, another private university whose tuition promise starts at a different income, in the comparison tool.