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

New York9.2%Most selective

U. Southern California11%

Applicants

New York110.8KMost

U. Southern California83.5K

Admitted

New York10.2KMost

U. Southern California9.3K

Yield rate

New York55%Highest

U. Southern California40%

Quad's selectivity

New YorkUltra 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

New York9.3%

U. Southern California9.1%

Men admitted

New York9.1%

U. Southern California11%

Test scores

SAT total,

New York

1480–1560

U. Southern California

1470–1540

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

ACT composite,

New York

34–35

U. Southern California

32–35

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

Submitted SAT

New York28%

U. Southern California33%

Submitted ACT

New York10%

U. Southern California12%

Test policy

New YorkTest-optional
U. Southern CaliforniaTest-optional

How they read a record

New York
GPA and the high school record are required; a college-prep program is considered.
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.

What they look at

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

All admissions numbers in the table

Sources:New York University Common Data Set, 2024-25;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