Claremont McKenna College vs University of Southern California: Acceptance Rate, SAT & Net Price

Claremont McKenna College and University of Southern California are about equally selective, admitting 9.4% and 9.2% of applicants respectively. For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $12,345 per year at Claremont McKenna College versus $20,567 at University of Southern California. Claremont McKenna College's yield rate is 52.0%, versus 40.0% at University of Southern California.

Claremont McKenna College vs University of Southern California: admissions and cost statistics from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard
MetricClaremont McKenna CollegeUniversity of Southern California
Overall acceptance rate9.4%9.2%
Early acceptance rate23.4%8.4%
SAT middle 50%1490–15501450–1530
Avg unweighted GPA3.93.86
Yield rate52.0%40.0%
Class size3403,498
Net price, $48,001–$75,000 income$12,345$20,567
Net price, over $110,000 income$46,789$55,234

Admissions and cost data as of July 3, 2026 (CDS 2024–25 cycle), from the most recent Common Data Set, IPEDS, and College Scorecard. Rows appear only where both colleges report the statistic.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claremont McKenna College harder to get into than University of Southern California?

The two are about equally selective: Claremont McKenna College admits 9.4% of applicants and University of Southern California admits 9.2%, based on the most recent Common Data Set.

Which is cheaper for a middle-income family, Claremont McKenna College or University of Southern California?

For a family earning $48,001–$75,000, the average net price is about $12,345 per year at Claremont McKenna College and $20,567 at University of Southern California, so Claremont McKenna College is the lower-cost option at that income level (source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard/IPEDS data).

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