Does USC Require the SAT or ACT in 2026? Test-Optional, and 1440-1550 Submitted

As of October 2026: University of Southern California is test-optional, so a score is not required; USC says "the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered." Enrolled first-years who did submit scored 1440 to 1550 on the SAT and 32 to 35 on the ACT, and USC admitted 8,081 of 80,808 applicants for a 10.0 percent admit rate.

USC stays test-optional for first-year applicants to the 2027-28 year. Here is the score range of students who sent one, how many send one, and how we decide.

By Nick Standlea, Test Prep Gurus. Figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

No score is required, and USC says the choice is yours USC is test-optional for first-year applicants to the 2027-28 academic year. The school's own page says "the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered." That means a student with no score is still read in full. It also means a strong score is a real choice, not a hoop. Only 32 percent of enrolled first-years sent an SAT and 14 percent sent an ACT.

Students who send a score send a high one: 1440 to 1550 Among enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT, the middle band runs from 1440 at the low end to 1550 at the high end. The ACT band runs 32 to 35. These are not cutoffs and no number is required. They do tell you what a helpful score looks like at USC. A 1440 sits at the bottom of that middle group, and 1550 sits at the top of it.

USC admits about 1 in 10, and the degree pays USC drew 80,808 applicants and admitted 8,081, a 10.0 percent admit rate. The application fee is 85 dollars. Net price with aid is 32,740 dollars, against a full price of 90,300 dollars. Median earnings ten years out are 92,498 dollars, and median debt for completers is 18,000 dollars.

What is USC's test policy, in its own words?

This row comes from the college's own admissions page. The quote is the school's language, not ours.

College	Policy	Applies to	Last change	Source	In their words
University of Southern California	optional	first-year applicants to the 2027-28 academic year	--	Source	the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered

The date of the last policy change is not reported in our file.

What scores, odds, cost and payoff does USC report?

Score bands and counts come from IPEDS Admissions 2023. Price, earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard. Each row is printed as reported.

Measure	Value
applicants	80808
sat_25	1440
sat_75	1550
act_25	32
act_75	35
sat_submit_pct	32
act_submit_pct	14
test_policy_2026	Test-optional
admits	8081
admit_rate	10.0
application_fee	85
net_price_with_aid	32740
full_price	90300
npc_url	https://financialaid.usc.edu/npc
earnings_10yr	92498
ten_years_pay	924980
four_years_cost	130960
net_gain	794020
four_year_grad_pct	91.8
median_debt_completers	18000

Bands describe enrolled first-years who submitted that test (fall 2023 class, the latest federal file).

Does USC require the SAT or ACT in 2026?

No. USC's policy is optional for first-year applicants to the 2027-28 academic year, and the school's own page says "the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered."

That sentence does a lot of work. It means a file with no score is a complete file. Readers will not hunt for a missing number or mark the application down. Grades, course load, essays and activities carry the weight instead.

It also means the door stays open the other way. If your child has a score that helps, USC will read it. The student picks. That is a real choice, and families should make it on purpose rather than by drift.

One limit on our file: the date USC last changed this policy is not reported, so we cannot tell you how long optional has been in place. We can tell you what the page says today, as of October 2026. Policies can shift year to year, so check the source link before you submit.

For planning, treat optional as a two-track plan. Track one is the file your child would send with no score at all. Track two is the same file plus a number. You build track one no matter what, because it has to stand alone.

What SAT score do you need for USC?

There is no required score, but enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT scored 1440 at the low end of the middle band and 1550 at the high end.

Read that band the way admissions reads it. A quarter of submitters came in at or below 1440. A quarter came in at or above 1550. The middle half sat between. None of those numbers is a gate, and students below 1440 did enroll.

A useful way to think about it is simple. If your child's score sits near 1550, it almost surely helps the file. If it sits near 1440, it is in range but not a standout. Below the band, the score is likely doing less than the rest of the application.

Remember what the band covers. It describes enrolled first-years who submitted that test in the fall 2023 class, the latest federal file. It does not describe every admitted student, and it does not describe the students who applied with no score at all.

So the honest answer to "what score do I need" is this: you need none. If you choose to send one, aim for the top half of the band, which means 1550 or close to it.

What ACT score do USC students have?

Enrolled first-years who submitted the ACT scored 32 at the low end of the middle band and 35 at the high end.

That is a tight, high band. A 35 is one point off the top of the scale. A 32 still puts a student in the middle group of submitters at a school that admits about one in ten.

The ACT band and the SAT band tell the same story in two languages. Students who choose to send a number to USC tend to send a strong one. That is what optional policies do over time: the pool of submitters sorts itself upward.

Which test should your child take? We do not guess. We have students sit one full mock SAT and one full mock ACT, then compare the results side by side. Many students are clearly better on one. Some are even, and then we pick on comfort and pacing.

A word on strategy during prep. Prepare for the whole test at every sitting. Section-by-section cramming leaves gaps that show up on test day. Six to twelve weeks of steady work is the range we see produce real score movement.

How many USC students actually submit a test score?

Among enrolled first-years, 32 percent submitted an SAT and 14 percent submitted an ACT.

Add those up in your head and you see the shape of the class. Most enrolled first-years did not submit an SAT. A large majority did not submit an ACT. Plenty of students got in with no score on file.

That matters for nerves at home. If your child is not a strong test taker, USC is not closed to them. The file can be built on grades, rigor, writing and what they have done outside class.

It also matters for the students who do test well. A smaller submitting pool means a strong score stands out more, not less. A 1550 in a pool where only 32 percent send an SAT is a clear, loud data point.

We tell families to decide late, not early. Take the test, see the score, then compare it to the 1440 to 1550 band. The decision gets easy once a real number exists.

Should my child send a score to USC?

Our rule is simple: send the score if it sits inside the 1440 to 1550 SAT band or the 32 to 35 ACT band, and especially if it sits in the top half.

If the score lands below those bands, the better move is usually to hold it. A below-band number does not add information that helps. The rest of the file is stronger without it.

If the score sits right at 1440 or 32, the call is closer. Look at the whole file. If grades are strong and the course load is hard, an at-the-edge score adds little either way. If the transcript has a soft spot, an in-band score can help show steady skill.

Do not send a score out of guilt. USC's page says the applicant decides. Treat that as permission, not a trap. Admissions officers read thousands of files with no scores each year.

One more thing we repeat often. A score your child can raise is not a final score. If there is time for six to twelve weeks of prep and one more sitting, the choice to send can wait until the higher number exists.

How hard is it to get into USC?

USC received 80,808 applications and admitted 8,081 students, a 10.0 percent admit rate.

That is about one admit for every ten applicants. At that level, no single number decides the outcome. A perfect score does not guarantee admission, and a missing score does not end a strong file.

Here is how we talk about it with parents. At a 10.0 percent rate, your child's job is to be clearly excellent in a few ways, not slightly above average in many. Depth reads better than a long, thin list.

A test score is one of the few parts of the file a student can move on a schedule. Grades take years. Activities take years. A score can move inside six to twelve weeks of focused prep. That is why we start there when time is short.

Keep the odds honest at home without making them scary. Apply because the school fits, build a list with real range, and treat USC as a reach for almost everyone. A 10.0 percent rate means most strong applicants are turned down.

What does it cost to apply, and what does USC cost per year?

The application fee is 85 dollars, the full price is 90,300 dollars, and the net price with aid is 32,740 dollars.

The gap between those two price numbers is the whole story of paying for USC. Full price is the sticker. Net price with aid is what a typical aided family actually pays after grants.

Run USC's net price calculator before you fall in love with the sticker or run from it. The school posts one at financialaid.usc.edu/npc. It asks for family income and assets and gives a family-specific estimate.

The 85 dollar fee is small next to those numbers, but it is real when a student applies to a dozen schools. Fee waivers exist for families who qualify, and the Common Application handles that step inside the form.

We tell families to settle the money question early. Decide what your family can pay per year before applications go out. That one conversation prevents a painful spring when an admit arrives with a number attached.

Does a USC degree pay off?

Median earnings ten years out are 92,498 dollars, and median debt for students who complete is 18,000 dollars.

The Scorecard-based math in our file lays it out plainly. Ten years of pay at that median adds up to 924,980 dollars. Four years at the aided net price adds up to 130,960 dollars. The difference is a net gain of 794,020 dollars.

That is a rough model, not a promise. It uses one median earnings figure and one net price figure. Your family's aid number may differ, and majors differ a lot in pay. Still, the gap is large enough to make the point.

The debt figure is the one we point to most. A median of 18,000 dollars for completers is modest next to 92,498 dollars in median earnings ten years out. Most completers are not buried.

Notice the word completers. Debt without a degree is the real risk at any school. That is why the graduation number in the next section matters as much as the earnings number here.

Do USC students graduate on time?

USC reports a four-year graduation rate of 91.8 percent.

That is high, and it changes the cost math. A student who finishes in four years pays four years. A student who takes five or six pays more and starts earning later.

Put it next to the money. Four years at the aided net price adds up to 130,960 dollars in our file. A fifth year would push that higher and push the payoff out. A 91.8 percent four-year rate means that extra year is the exception at USC.

On-time graduation also says something about support. Schools with high four-year rates tend to have advising that works, classes students can get into, and clear paths through a major.

For a family comparing offers in the spring, we treat graduation rate as a cost input, not a brag line. Multiply the net price by the number of years students actually take. At USC, that is usually four.

When should my child take the SAT or ACT for a USC application?

Plan backward from the application and give the work six to twelve weeks of prep before each sitting.

A clean timeline looks like this. Take a free mock SAT and a free mock ACT in the sophomore spring or the junior fall. Pick the better test. Prep for six to twelve weeks. Sit the real test in the junior spring.

That leaves room for a second sitting in the summer or early fall of senior year. Two real sittings is our standard plan. The second one is where most of the gain shows up, because the student already knows the test.

Prepare for the whole test every sitting. Students who study only one section tend to drop points in the section they ignored. The score that matters is the total, and USC's band of 1440 to 1550 is a total.

Finish testing before applications go out. A score that arrives after the file is read cannot help. If your child is aiming at an early round, the summer sitting before senior year is the safe last stop.

What if my child's score is below USC's range?

If the score sits below 1440 on the SAT or 32 on the ACT, the usual move is to hold it and apply without it.

USC's policy makes that a clean option. The school says the applicant decides whether scores are considered. A withheld score is not a red flag, and 32 percent SAT and 14 percent ACT submit rates show how common it is to go without.

Then put the time somewhere else. A harder senior course load, better grades in core classes, and an essay that sounds like a real person all move a file at a school admitting 10.0 percent of applicants.

There is a second path too. A below-band score today is not a final score. Six to twelve weeks of real prep plus one more sitting moves many students into range. We see it often enough that we never treat a first score as the ceiling.

And keep the list balanced. A strong student with a below-band score will have excellent options. Build the list so that an admit arrives from more than one place, with a price your family can pay.

What should we do this month?

Start with a full-length mock SAT and a full-length mock ACT, then run USC's net price calculator at financialaid.usc.edu/npc.

Those two steps answer the two questions that drive everything else. The mocks tell you which test fits and how far the score has to travel. The calculator tells you what USC would likely cost your family against the 90,300 dollar full price.

Next, set the prep window. Six to twelve weeks, whole test every sitting, with a real test date on the calendar at the end. Vague plans slip. Dated plans get done.

Then make the submit call with a real number in hand. Compare it to 1440 to 1550 on the SAT and 32 to 35 on the ACT. In the band, send it. Below the band, hold it and let the rest of the file speak.

The move: take a free mock SAT and a free mock ACT with us. Call 949.229.5359 or start at prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step. We will score both, tell you which test fits, and build the six to twelve week plan around your child's real numbers.

Questions parents ask

Does USC require the SAT or ACT?
No. USC's policy is optional for first-year applicants to the 2027-28 academic year, and the school's own page says "the applicant decides if they would like their SAT or ACT scores to be considered."

What SAT score do you need for USC?
There is no required score, but enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT scored 1440 at the low end of the middle band and 1550 at the high end.

What ACT score do USC students have?
Enrolled first-years who submitted the ACT scored 32 at the low end of the middle band and 35 at the high end.

How many USC students submit a test score?
Among enrolled first-years, 32 percent submitted an SAT and 14 percent submitted an ACT.

Should my child send a score to USC?
Our rule is simple: send the score if it sits inside the 1440 to 1550 SAT band or the 32 to 35 ACT band, and especially if it sits in the top half.

How hard is it to get into USC?
USC received 80,808 applications and admitted 8,081 students, a 10.0 percent admit rate.

What does USC cost?
The application fee is 85 dollars, the full price is 90,300 dollars, and the net price with aid is 32,740 dollars.

Do USC students graduate on time?
USC reports a four-year graduation rate of 91.8 percent.

Method and sources: The policy row and quote come from University of Southern California's own admissions page, read as of October 2026. Score bands, applicant counts and admit figures come from the federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 file; price, earnings, debt and graduation figures come from the College Scorecard, both via highschoolreach.com. The score bands describe only enrolled first-years who submitted that test in the fall 2023 class, so they exclude applicants who were denied and students who applied with no score. The date USC last changed its test policy is not reported in our file, and we do not estimate it. There is one college in this page, so rows are not ranked.