Yes, it is definitely higher than 7%, but I don’t think anyone is looking at the 7%. The overall acceptance rate is ~9.8% so that is the appropriate number to be looking at. Very competitive and highly rejective.
1 Like
@CADREAMIN Well, let’s be clear, there is also an element of the schools marketing toward select borderline candidates. There’s still a fair amount folks out there who receive a dozen mailers pitching a given college/university and take that to mean they have a bona fide shot. The WSJ called it out years ago but it remains a spiritually bad faith practice. It’s not all on unqualified students - some “highly rejective” schools do this dance.
6 Likes
Yep! (Looking at you, UChicago 
)
10 Likes
if we took out all the unqualified applicants, people who withdrew, and people who only applied bc they viewed it as a “lottery,” i wonder how many total applicants would be left, and what the acceptance rate would be if all these unqualified and withdrawn applicants were removed from the pool
1 Like
And you can ask the same question to any of the T10, T20, or T50, T100 schools. I’d be curious to know the answer if you find out.
exactly, nobody would know, but it’s interesting to think about and estimate. also, thinking about this tho helps cope with the anxiety about the whole process lol. applicants feel more “confident” and “hopeful” knowing the acceptance rate would actually be higher than what’s listed.
1 Like
Ya totally agree, didn’t mean to “blame” students. Yes, there is way too much marketing done and peer and community pressures and all kinds of things that push kids to apply to all kinds of schools that may not be a good fit. But if they don’t try they may regret it and ya never know if you are that perfect puzzle piece for whatever reason, so no judgement in doing so!
1 Like
Good point. And I wonder how many unqualified kids applied just because of Caleb Williams and the resurgence of USC football? I’m hoping the qualified pool is a lot less than 80K.
Let me ask you this as the parent of several USC applicants. Did all of your kids ultimately go to USC? Do you think USC would hold it against one sibling if an older sibling was accepted and opted to go elsewhere?
1 Like
@WWWard Yes! I have witnessed the drastic changes first hand. When I was accepted to USC in 1987, the acceptance rate was around 70%. When son #1 applied in 2010, the acceptance rate was 24%. Back then, I was too naive to be worried about acceptance rates. My son only applied to 4 universities – USC, NYU, Northwestern and LMU. He got into all four and I never had a moment’s worry.
By 2015, when our 3rd applied to USC, it was 17.5%. I knew it was going to be much tougher by 2023 when our last child applied, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this tough. My eldest two only applied to 4 schools. Third one applied to six. Our last one has applied to eleven.
Such are the times and both sides are playing games. USC is accepting more than 1000 FEWER kids this year than they were in 2015. Why – other than to squeeze down the acceptance rate even more? And the competitiveness forces applicants to apply to more schools. It is a vicious cycle.
8 Likes
Yes… very much so. Even just reading your historical account was stressful lol. I only had two, and I’m so glad it’s all in the rear-view mirror now.
1 Like
I don’t think you having one not attending USC will make a difference at all. Zero, zip, nada impact.
2 Likes
When my son applied 2 years ago USC said that in order for test scores to be considered, they had to be sent directly from the SAT or ACT. USC was one of the few schools that required the official report. Not sure if they changed that requirement.
I think the reason they are accepting less students is that the yield rate has increased. When my son was accepted in 2021, more than 600 kids accepted than they planned for (the class has close to 3800 students I’ve heard) with a yield in the high 40% range. This caused them to accept less last year and even less this fall. They did not have enough housing for even the freshman and had to pay to house them in off campus privately owned apartment buildings. This affected the sophomore housing too. As an FYI - there is really no campus housing for juniors and seniors unless they are RAs, so be prepared to pay significantly more for private apartments that are close to campus.
1 Like
There are years they over-enroll (higher yield) and it really affects the class. It impacts getting classes, getting lunch, everything about the student experience. One of mine was in a period like that and they feel it. It wasn’t her class but the next one, so the over enrollment affect can be behind or ahead of a class - students think they should adjust the transfer class size when that happens, which seems to makes sense.
Ya off campus housing is pricey and can be pretty ick, but prob bothers the parents more than the kids. We found the property groups or landlords there do nothing to maintain properties (the small to midsize types). We paid big bucks for clean, close and safe.
2 Likes
pretty sure this was never there before but do any of your portals say “if you need to contact us regarding your application, provide your name and this reference number: ” under the address section of the portal? bc i felt like that wasn’t there before? also not attempting to make faulty causations or look for signs of acceptance but i wanna see if i had some false memory or am imagining something new that was always there before? not sure but do yall have that?
1 Like
Yes have that, and think it was always there.
My reference number in my portal, and my number next to my name on FAST are different.
Is this the case for anyone else?
same for me as well these numbers are different but that makes sense. The reference number is just to locate your admission file and financial aid file is different most likely cause they are two different departments
1 Like
Any idea what time USC might release their decisions on 3/24?
Wow – even with the new housing at what used to be University Village? Yikes! Coincidentally, this popped up in my FB memories, today, from 2014:
Recent phone call with kid2:
Kid2: “My friends and I are thinking about staying in Tuscany next year.”
Me: “Tuscany? What makes you think you’re going to Tuscany? How can you afford that? We can’t even afford to do that and it will be our 25th anniversary next year.” (Thinking to myself – Sheesh is EVERY kid at USC besides ours rich?)
Kid2: “Well, it isn’t USC-sponsored but the price is comparable…”
Me: “So it isn’t even a USC exchange program? Will your scholarships still go toward it?”
Kid2: “No, Mom, “Tuscany” is an apartment. I just want to say in off-campus housing next year.”
Oh – as Emily Latella would say – “Nevermind…”
2 Likes