USC testing policy at a glance: No, USC does not require the SAT or ACT. The university remains test optional for students applying in the 2026-27 cycle for fall 2027, letting each applicant decide whether scores are considered and promising no penalty or disadvantage for applying without them. The stakes concentrate instead on USC’s calendar, where the November 1 early deadline doubles as the gate for merit scholarship consideration. Families planning a testing timeline around USC can schedule a consultation to build a complete testing and application strategy.
Sources: USC Undergraduate Admission, Test Optional FAQ and First-Year Student Profile 2026-27.
Does USC Require the SAT or ACT?
No. USC is test optional for first-year applicants in the 2026-27 cycle (fall 2027 entry), and the mechanics are straightforward: students indicate on the application whether they plan to submit SAT or ACT scores, and USC states that applicants will not be penalized or put at a disadvantage for choosing not to. The policy covers homeschooled applicants as well, though USC recommends they include externally graded work such as SAT or ACT results, AP exams, or college transcripts where possible. International applicants are likewise not required to submit the SAT or ACT, though non-native English speakers must separately demonstrate English proficiency, and a student using the SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing section for that purpose will have the score-enter the general review too.
For students who do submit, USC is strict about format: it requires official scores sent directly from the testing agency for applicants who choose to have testing considered, and it does not accept self-reported scores. USC reports superscored SAT and ACT ranges in its first-year profile. Timing matters more than families expect: USC advises completing any standardized tests at least one month before the application date so scores can join the file, and the deadlines for fall 2027 run November 1 for Early Action and Early Decision (most majors), December 1 for performing arts majors in Dance, Dramatic Arts, and Music, and January 10, 2027 for Regular Decision. English proficiency floors for internationals are genuine, and USC says the average TOEFL iBT score for admitted students is above 111.
How Has USC’s Testing Policy Changed?
USC adopted test-optional admissions in 2020 and has renewed it cycle by cycle since, most recently confirming it for fall 2027 applicants in its first-year profile. The same stretch brought bigger structural changes around the policy: USC introduced Early Action and then a binding Early Decision option, ending its long run without an early round, and tied merit scholarship consideration to the November 1 early deadline. That combination now defines the USC application more than the testing question does, since a family that misses November 1 has surrendered consideration for USC’s signature merit awards regardless of how strong the testing profile might be.
USC’s submission pattern sits a step apart from the schools above it in the rankings. For fall 2026, 61% of admitted students submitted scores, and admitted submitters had a middle-50% superscored SAT of 1490 to 1550 and ACT of 33 to 35; among enrolled students, 48% submitted, with an SAT range of 1470 to 1540 (USC First-Year Student Profile). That band is wider and lower-anchored than the post-optional Ivy ranges, which reflects both USC’s scale, with 79,331 applicants for fall 2026, and the breadth of its programs from engineering to cinematic arts. USC frames its confidence in the optional policy around holistic review, and its merit scholarship process is explicitly formula-free, with no cutoffs for scores or GPA, so a strong submitted score helps the whole file rather than clearing a stated bar.
| Policy Detail | USC |
|---|---|
| Requirement status | Test optional for first-year applicants in the 2026-27 cycle (fall 2027 entry) |
| How it works | Applicants indicate whether scores should be considered; no penalty or disadvantage for applying without them |
| Score reporting | Official scores sent directly from the testing agency, required if you choose to have testing considered; self-reported scores not accepted |
| Superscoring | Yes; USC reports superscored SAT and ACT ranges |
| Key deadlines | November 1 Early Action and Early Decision (most majors), which also gates merit scholarship consideration; December 1 for performing arts majors; January 10, 2027 Regular Decision |
| International applicants | SAT and ACT not required; English proficiency exam required separately, with admitted students averaging above 111 on the TOEFL |
What SAT and ACT Scores Are Competitive at USC?
The submit decision at USC turns on program and purpose. Oriel Admissions treats a score inside or above the admitted band, roughly 1490 upward on the SAT or 33 and up on the ACT, as an asset, and applicants to USC’s most quantitative programs, Viterbi engineering, computer science, and business, should aim toward the top of those ranges. Below roughly 1470, the low end of the enrolled band, with no path upward, the optional route is sound at a school whose review genuinely spans portfolios, auditions, and essays alongside transcripts. Merit-scholarship contenders face a subtler call: with awards decided holistically and no cutoffs, a strong submitted score is one more argument in a competition where every argument counts, which tilts borderline scholarship candidates toward submitting.
How Should You Plan Testing for USC?
USC’s calendar drives the testing plan more than its policy does. Merit scholarship consideration requires applying by November 1 under Early Action or Early Decision, and USC asks that testing conclude at least a month before the application date, which effectively makes early October the last comfortable sitting for scholarship-track students. Applicants to Dance, Dramatic Arts, and Music work to December 1, and Regular Decision candidates hold until January 10, leaving the early-December SAT viable. The spring-junior-year-plus-fall-retake arc serves every track. Students submitting must send official scores directly from College Board or ACT, so budget for score sends, and internationals should schedule the English proficiency exam early since its floors bind independently of the optional policy.
For the picture across every top school, see our full guide to which colleges require the SAT and ACT. From there, How to Get Into USC Marshall, USC Legacy Admissions: Does USC Still Consider Legacy?, and SAT and ACT Prep Timeline: 9th Through 12th Grade Roadmap for Elite Admissions can help you put testing inside a complete USC application strategy.
What Does This Policy Mean for Your Application Strategy?
Oriel Admissions advises families to treat November 1 as the real USC deadline and the testing choice as a lever inside it. The playbook mirrors the other elite holdouts, prepare as though scores were required and decide with a final number, with two USC-specific twists. First, the scholarship gate means the strongest overall files should almost always arrive early with their best evidence attached, and a competitive score is cheap insurance in a formula-free merit review. Second, USC’s program breadth makes the score’s job vary: a portfolio carries a School of Cinematic Arts file in ways no number can, while a Viterbi file without quantitative proof somewhere is incomplete. Match the evidence to the program, and let the optional policy absorb only what the rest of the file already covers.
Frequently Asked Questions About USC’s Testing Policy
Yes. USC is test optional for students applying in the 2026-27 cycle for fall 2027, so first-year applicants choose whether SAT or ACT scores are considered, with no penalty for applying without them.
USC states that applicants will not be penalized or put at a disadvantage for choosing not to submit, and its review spans transcripts, essays, activities, and for arts programs, portfolios and auditions.
Yes. USC reads the highest section results across test dates for both exams, so a planned retake can raise the evaluated profile without risk from an uneven sitting.
No. USC requires official test scores, sent directly from the testing agency, for applicants who choose to have testing considered.
Admitted submitters for fall 2026 had a middle-50% superscored SAT of 1490 to 1550, so Oriel Admissions suggests submitting from about 1490 upward, and pushing toward the top of the band for engineering, computer science, and business.
November 1. Early Action and Early Decision close then, and merit scholarship consideration requires applying by that date, with testing ideally finished a month earlier. Arts majors in Dance, Dramatic Arts, and Music have until December 1, and Regular Decision closes January 10.
Merit selection at USC is holistic with no score or GPA cutoffs, so nothing is required, but a strong submitted score is one more argument in a formula-free competition, which tilts borderline scholarship candidates toward submitting.
No, the optional policy covers them, but non-native English speakers must separately meet English proficiency floors, and admitted students average above 111 on the TOEFL, well beyond the stated minimums.
Sources: USC Undergraduate Admission, Test Optional FAQ; USC Undergraduate Admission, First-Year Students; USC First-Year Student Profile 2026-27; USC Undergraduate Admission, International Students.
About Oriel Admissions
Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our strength is a deeply experienced team and a distinctive 360 approach that treats every part of the application (academics, testing, activities, essays, and interviews) as one connected strategy. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.
