University of Southern California vs Vanderbilt University

Los Angeles, CA · Nashville, TN · largest Scorecard gap: avg net price

Scorecard match plate

Pair CA:TN

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

  • PRIVATE-NP-PAIR Private nonprofit pair
  • CROSS-STATE CA × TN
  • ACCEPT-TIGHT Tight admission
  • NET-SPLIT Net-price split
  • EARN-PAR Earnings near-par
  • DEBT-SPLIT Debt split
  • COMPLETE-HIGH High completion
  • GAP-NET Largest gap · Avg Net Price

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

Decade path · College Scorecard

Both enrollments grew, different paces

ENROLL-RACE · single · 2013–2023

Undergraduate headcount rose at both University of Southern California and Vanderbilt 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.
  • Vanderbilt University: enrollment grew +5.1% over 2013–2023; fitted +38 students/yr fitted, r² 0.82.
  • University of Southern California: acceptance rate tightened -49.5% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.80).
  • Vanderbilt University: acceptance rate tightened -50.7% across 2013–2023 (r² 0.81).

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 Vanderbilt University

  1. AVG-NET-PRICE Vanderbilt University leads on avg net price ($15,846 vs $32,740 at University of Southern California)
  2. ACCEPTANCE-RATE Vanderbilt University leads on acceptance rate (5.9% vs 9.8% at University of Southern California)
  3. MEDIAN-DEBT-AT-GRA Vanderbilt University leads on median debt at graduation ($14,000 vs $18,000 at University of Southern California)

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

Avg Net Price and other Scorecard questions

On avg net price, who leads between University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University?
Vanderbilt University leads on avg net price at $15,846 versus $32,740 at University of Southern California. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On acceptance rate, who leads between University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University?
Vanderbilt University leads on acceptance rate at 5.9% versus 9.8% at University of Southern California. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
On median debt at graduation, who leads between University of Southern California and Vanderbilt University?
Vanderbilt 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.

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