USC acceptance rate drops four percent

The USC acceptance rate decreased by more than four percentage points this year. Of the 46,000 freshman applications received, around 8,400 applicants were accepted, Dean of Admissions Tim Brunold said.

[Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the USC acceptance rate decreased by 4 percent; the rate decreased by four percentage points. The Daily Trojan regrets the error.]

A group of 1,000 spring admits will also receive acceptance letters.

Last year, more than 37,000 prospective freshman students applied to USC and 8,450 were offered admission.

Brunold said the pool of accepted students is the most accomplished group yet to be offered admission to the school.

“These are among the best students who are applying to college this year,” Brunold said. “Most of them will be ranked in the top five to 10 percent in their graduating high school class.”

The school’s acceptance rate reached an all-time low of 18 percent, compared with 22.7 percent last year.

Nearly half of the admitted students are from California and 14 percent of admits are international applicants. Brunold said every state in the United States is represented in the admit pool and states such as Texas, New York and Illinois are among the higher-represented states outside of California.

“These are all students who have many choices,” Brunold said. “And it isn’t often that USC is their only choice or best choice.”

Brunold also said the group is more ethnically diverse than last year’s group of admitted students. The number of students deemed as underrepresented college minorities (Latino, black, Native American, Pacific Islander) increased from 19.5 percent in 2011 to 20.5 percent this year.

The school also saw an increase in the number of first-generation college students. Of the 8,400 accepted applicants, 1,000 will be the first in their families to attend college, Brunold said.

“We are well-poised to meet all of our enrollment goals next year,” Brunold said.

USC expects about one-third of admitted applicants to enroll at the university.

Brunold said because of the budget cuts facing the UC and Cal State system, USC might be a more appealing alternative to the public higher education system.

“Many of the families who have been engaged with us in this process understand the benefits of an independent private education,” Brunold said. “People like small classes, people like the ability to graduate in four years, people like the diversity. However, we all benefit from a strong public higher education system in the state.”

Applications were sent out Wednesday and admitted students have until May 1 to accept or decline admission.