Key differences on Getting in

1
U. Southern California's SAT midpoint is 30 points higher than Boston's
SAT midpoint
2
U. Southern California's yield is 3 pts higher than Boston's
Yield rate
3
Boston admits 11% vs. 11% at U. Southern California
Acceptance rate

Admissions

Getting in, fall 2024

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

The funnel

Acceptance rate

Boston11%Most selective

U. Southern California11%

Applicants

Boston78.8K

U. Southern California83.5KMost

Admitted

Boston8.7K

U. Southern California9.3KMost

Yield rate

Boston37%

U. Southern California40%Highest

Quad's selectivity

BostonHighly selective
U. Southern CaliforniaHighly selective

Men and women

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

Women admitted

Boston11%

U. Southern California9.1%

Men admitted

Boston11%

U. Southern California11%

Test scores

SAT total,

Boston

1420–1530

U. Southern California

1470–1540

Axis runs 1300–1600. The dark tick marks the national median midpoint.

ACT composite,

Boston

32–34

U. Southern California

32–35

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

Submitted SAT

Boston33%

U. Southern California33%

Submitted ACT

Boston10%

U. Southern California12%

Test policy

BostonTest-optional
U. Southern CaliforniaTest-optional

How they read a record

Boston
GPA, the high school record, and a college-prep program are required; class rank is considered. 78% of first-years who sent test scores had a 3.75 or higher, so .
U. Southern California
and GPA are both very important; tests are 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.

What they look at

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

All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:IPEDS Admissions survey, Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;College Scorecard, most recent release;University of Southern California (Fall 2025), Fall 2025;University of Southern California Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024About 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