Quad

Key differences on Outcomes

  1. 1

    U. Southern California grads earn $9.3K more ten years out than Boston's ($92,498 vs. $83,238)

    Median earnings, 10 yrs
  2. 2

    U. Southern California graduates 6 pts more of its students than Boston (93% vs. 87%)

    Graduation rate

Outcomes

Outcomes

Earnings and finishing

Median earnings, 10 yrs
Boston$83.2K
U. Southern California$92.5K
Graduation rate
Boston87%
U. Southern California93%
Retention rate
Boston95%
U. Southern California95%

Borrowing

Median debt
Boston$23.3K
U. Southern California$18K
Undergrads with a federal loan
Boston23%
U. Southern California24%
Median debt, Pell Grant recipients
Boston$21.9K
U. Southern California$17.1K

Eight-year outcomes

Credential within 4 years, all students
Boston80%
U. Southern California83%
Credential within 8 years, all students
Boston86%
U. Southern California93%
Enrolled at another college, 8 years on
Boston9%
U. Southern California3%

Graduation by group

Graduated in 6 years, Pell Grant recipients
Boston89%
U. Southern California90%
Graduated in 6 years, neither Pell nor subsidized loan
Boston88%
U. Southern California92%
Pell graduation gap
Boston1 pts higher
U. Southern California2 pts lower

Graduated in 6 years, by race and ethnicity

GroupBostonU. Southern California
White90%92%
Asian91%95%
Hispanic/Latino86%91%
Black85%85%
Two or more races86%92%
International87%91%

On-time progress, from the colleges' Common Data Sets

Finished withinBostonU. Southern California
4 years: Pell recipients82%Not published
4 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan79%Not published
4 years: all first-time full-time81%Not published
5 years: Pell recipients87%Not published
5 years: neither Pell nor subsidized loan87%Not published
5 years: all first-time full-time87%Not published

All outcome numbers in the table

Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;College Scorecard, 2023–24;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;Boston University Common Data Set 2024–25, Entered fall 2018;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