University of Southern California

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Southern California

University of Southern California operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Los Angeles, California (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 20,443 students of which 23,071 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. University of Southern California is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 9.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,495 and an ACT midpoint of 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $32,740, with published in-state tuition of $72,097 and a Pell grant recipient share of 22.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $18,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 91.9%, and the first-year retention rate is 95.9%. Graduates earn a median of $92,498 ten years after enrolling, compared with $74,461 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 435800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 81.1% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.