USC admits roughly 8.5% of regular decision applicants

Posted on March 26, 2025

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USC admits roughly 8.5% of regular decision applicants

The University received 83,500 applications, a new record, surpassing last year by nearly 1,500.

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By ADAM YOUNG

March 26, 2025

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The first-year application pool totaled approximately 83,500 — a record for USC — with nearly 1,500 more applicants than last year. (Henry Kofman / Daily Trojan)

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USC admitted 8.5% of regular decision applicants for 2025-26, with about 8,700 first-year students for Fall 2025 and about 2,200 for Spring 2026, the Office of Admission wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. First-year admission decisions will be released this afternoon, before 6 p.m., while transfer applications are still under review, the statement read.

The first-year application pool totaled approximately 83,500 — a record for USC — with nearly 1,500 more applicants than last year. Students who applied in the early action round were admitted at around 12%, while 8.5% of regular decision applicants were accepted. First-generation students comprised 20% of the fall first-year admits.

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The fall admission rates remain low at 10.4%, similar to recent years. The average GPA for the new admitted student class is 3.90, 43% of whom are straight-A students and 58% submitted standardized test scores, averaging in the 98th percentile.

Californian students comprise 39% of the fall admit pool, with the next most represented states being Texas, New York, Washington, Illinois and Florida.

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