Key differences on Getting in

1
New York's yield is 15 pts higher than U. Southern California's
Yield rate
2
New York admits 9.2% vs. 11% at U. Southern California
Acceptance rate
3
New York's SAT midpoint is 15 points higher than U. Southern California's
SAT midpoint

Admissions

Getting in, fall 2024

Acceptance and yield, test score ranges, test policy, and what each college weighs.

The funnel

Acceptance rate

U. Southern California11%

New York9.2%Most selective

Applicants

U. Southern California83.5K

New York110.8KMost

Admitted

U. Southern California9.3K

New York10.2KMost

Yield rate

U. Southern California40%

New York55%Highest

Quad's selectivity

U. Southern CaliforniaHighly selective
New YorkUltra selective

Men and women

Acceptance rate for men and women who applied, where a college reports admissions by sex.

Women admitted

U. Southern California9.1%

New York9.3%

Men admitted

U. Southern California11%

New York9.1%

Test scores

SAT total,

U. Southern California

1470–1540

New York

1480–1560

Axis runs 1400–1600. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

ACT composite,

U. Southern California

32–35

New York

34–35

Axis runs 28–36. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

Submitted SAT

U. Southern California33%

New York28%

Submitted ACT

U. Southern California12%

New York10%

Test policy

U. Southern CaliforniaTest-optional
New YorkTest-optional

How they read a record

U. Southern California
and GPA are both very important; tests are important; class rank is considered. 80% of first-years had a 3.75 or higher, so and rarely sets an applicant apart; the courses behind it carry more of the weight.
New York
GPA and the high school record are required; a college-prep program is considered.

What they look at

Factor	U. Southern California	New York
High school GPA	Very important	Required
High school record	Required	Required
Class rank	Considered	Not considered
College-prep program	Required	Considered
Recommendations	Very important	Required
Essay	Very important	Required
Legacy status	Important	Not considered
Work experience	Important	Considered
Demonstration of competencies	Required	Required
English proficiency test	Required	Required
Other tests	Not considered	Considered

All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:University of Southern California (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;University of Southern California Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;College Scorecard, most recent release;New York University Common Data Set, 2024-25;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)

Figures are the newest each college has published; years can differ between colleges. Each value's ⓘ shows its source and year. Why