Diverse freshman class the highest-achieving in USC history

The high school with the highest representation in the freshman class is a south Los Angeles public school a few blocks from the university.

Contact: Emily Gersema at (213) 740-0252 or gersema@usc.edu; or Ronald Mackovich at (213) 740-6156 or ronald.mackovich@usc.edu

The University of Southern California’s freshman class is the highest-achieving class it has ever enrolled — and one of the largest and most ethnically diverse in the institution’s history.

This fall, USC welcomed 3,068 freshmen to the Trojan Family — the fifth-largest freshman class in USC’s 136-year history, according to new statistics released by the USC Office of Admission. Only 16.6 percent (9,023) of the 54,282 applicants were offered admission, making this the institution’s most selective year on record.

The freshmen enrolled this fall are the highest achieving class admitted in USC history. Their average, unweighted GPA is 3.75 on a four-point scale, and 4.07 if weighted. Twenty percent had earned straight As in high school. Another 7 percent earned only one B in high school. They came from more than 1,600 high schools in 49 States and 56 countries. The most-represented high school is Foshay Learning Center, a K-12 school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Value

USC is a private research institution that offers the kind of personalized academic environment typically found at much smaller institutions. The student-faculty ratio at USC is 9-to-1 and the average class size is 26 students. Students are able to choose courses of study across 20 different schools and the college of letters, arts and sciences.

Although USC is selective, it is not exclusive. Students from a range of backgrounds are admitted, regardless of their ability to pay.

“We have made a strong effort to recruit students from a range of backgrounds to USC this fall,” said Provost Michael Quick. “They are the first in their families to attend college, transfer students from community colleges and high-performing graduates from a variety of public and private high schools across the nation and the world. We are pleased to have had such an impressive pool of applicants from which to select our vibrant freshman class.”

Access and affordability

Every year, USC provides more than $300 million in scholarships and aid — one of the largest financial aid pools in the country. Two thirds of all undergraduates attending USC receive some form of financial assistance, discounting the average tuition paid (the net price) by nearly 40 percent.

Statistics for this year’s freshman class show that 21 percent have received merit-based scholarships, and more than 60 percent received some other financial assistance. Aid may come in the form of university, state or federal grants, and loans.

Reinforcing its need-blind admissions practice, USC remains among the nation’s top private research universities for the percentage of its students coming from low-income families. Twenty percent of the total undergraduate population — more than 3,800 students — are Pell-eligible this academic year.

“As a major research university, we should be drawing exceptional students to USC regardless of background, family history, economic status or geography,” Quick said. “We want to continue to open our doors to these students who enrich our campus.”

Diversity

Twenty-four percent of the freshmen come from ethnic groups that are underrepresented in American higher education. One in eight of the new freshmen are the first in their families to attend college.

The diverse demographics of the freshman class include 20 percent who are Asian or Asian American, 14 percent who are international students, 13 percent who are Latino, and 5 percent who are African American. Forty-one percent are white. Hundreds of new students identify as being from multiple ethnicities.

California is the leading home state (42 percent), followed by New York (4.5 percent), Texas (4.2 percent), Illinois (3.7 percent) and Washington (2.5 percent). Also represented are 56 countries. Most of the international students are citizens of China, India, Canada, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The freshman class is 55 percent women and 45 percent men.

Most-represented high school

For the first time in USC’s history, a Los Angeles Unified School District high school is the leading generator of USC’s first-year enrollees. Nineteen of the freshmen are alumni of Foshay Learning Center, a K-12 school located less than a mile from USC’s University Park Campus that hosts the USC program, Neighborhood Academic Initiative.

Established in 1989, the NAI program has aimed to make college a reality for families in the south Los Angeles neighborhood near USC, providing them with support, additional workshops, test preparation, and other learning opportunities to help the students prepare for college and apply.

“That’s one of the great stories of USC,” said Timothy Brunold, dean of admission. “We are connecting with the surrounding community and building a pipeline to USC for students, especially those who are the first in their family to attend college.”

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