^^ While this is true to a certain extent, there are definitely statistics that can be very useful in predicting whether a school is a match or reach for you. If you google “school name common data set” you can see how you stack up against past applicants.
Here’s the link for NYU:
https://www.nyu.edu/ir/pdf/cds/CDS_2011-2012%20Final_NYU.pdf
With your superscored SAT, you are still below the 25th percentile SAT scores for NYU.
Here’s the link for USC:
http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg01_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=1138
With your superscored SAT, you are still below the 25th percentile SAT scores for USC.
Your GPA is good but not great, and you were pretty vague on your ECs. Based on the information you provided in your post, I would say that both USC and NYU are going to be high reaches for you. By all means still apply to both, but make sure that you also have some matches and safeties on your list. Good luck with everything! 