University of Southern California vs Cornell University

Los Angeles, CA · Ithaca, NY · largest Scorecard gap: median debt at graduation

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:NY

PRIVATE-NP-PAIR · CROSS-STATE · ACCEPT-TIGHT · NET-SPLIT · EARN-SPLIT · DEBT-SPLIT · COMPLETE-HIGH · GAP-DEBT

  • PRIVATE-NP-PAIR Private nonprofit pair
  • CROSS-STATE CA × NY
  • ACCEPT-TIGHT Tight admission
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-SPLIT Earnings split
  • DEBT-SPLIT Debt split
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-DEBT Largest gap · Median Debt at Graduation

Instrument codes from this pair's College Scorecard ownership, geography, acceptance, net price, earnings, debt, and completion, plus the ENROLL-RACE · narrow · 2013–2023 decade-path stamp below, not a ranking or recommendation.

Decade path · College Scorecard

Nearly parallel enrollment growth

ENROLL-RACE · narrow · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both University of Southern California and Cornell University across 2013–2023 on similar paces, while acceptance rates tightened on both sides, a growth-under-squeeze pattern rather than a pure size race.

  • University of Southern California: enrollment grew +15.1% over 2013–2023; fitted +285 students/yr fitted, r² 0.94.
  • Cornell University: enrollment grew +11.4% over 2013–2023; fitted +168 students/yr fitted, r² 0.87.
  • University of Southern California: acceptance rate tightened -49.5% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.80).
  • Cornell University: acceptance rate tightened -47.6% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.94).

College Scorecard institution series; dollars are nominal. Direction claims require r² ≥ 0.40 on the fitted annual slope, otherwise the page reports the observed range. Descriptive history, not a recommendation.

Scorecard metrics

Cards ordered by relative gap on this pair. Teal = better side.

Largest gaps: University of Southern California vs Cornell University

  1. MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA Cornell University leads on median debt at graduation ($14,000 vs $18,000 at University of Southern California)
  2. MEDIAN-EARNINGS-(6 Cornell University leads on median earnings (6 yr) ($87,830 vs $74,461 at University of Southern California)
  3. AVG-NET-PRICE Cornell University leads on avg net price ($28,690 vs $32,740 at University of Southern California)

University of Southern California profile · Cornell University profile · Compare other colleges

Also on the Scorecard board

Median Debt at Graduation and other Scorecard questions

On median debt at graduation, who leads between University of Southern California and Cornell University?
Cornell University leads on median debt at graduation at $14,000 versus $18,000 at University of Southern California. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median earnings (6 yr), who leads between University of Southern California and Cornell University?
Cornell University leads on median earnings (6 yr) at $87,830 versus $74,461 at University of Southern California. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On avg net price, who leads between University of Southern California and Cornell University?
Cornell University leads on avg net price at $28,690 versus $32,740 at University of Southern California. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard College Scorecard institution outcomes (earnings, completion, debt); median debt at graduation focus for this pair · 2025