Is Columbia University or USC harder to get into?

In results reported by OfferLand users, the admit rate is 71.1% at Columbia University (115 results) and 77.5% at USC (206 results). This is a self-reported sample: admitted applicants report more often, so the rates run high, and they depend on which programs people applied to.

What GPA do admitted applicants to Columbia University and USC have?

Among applicants who reported an admit, the median GPA is 3.80 at Columbia University and 3.71 at USC (on a 4.0 scale; OfferLand sample).

Columbia University vs USC: admit rates, GPA and how Taiwanese applicants choose

Name: Columbia University vs USC admissions data
Creator: OfferLand
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

OfferLand users have reported 115 application results for Columbia University and 206 for USC; 34 applicants applied to both. The table puts admit rates, admitted applicants’ scores, top fields and programs side by side.

Self-reported sample from OfferLand users, not official school data; figures based on fewer than 5 results are not shown. Data as of 2026-10-22.

Side by side

Admit rate = (admitted + enrolled) ÷ (admitted + enrolled + rejected); waitlisted and pending results are left out. Median GPA and TOEFL count each admitted applicant once. Figures based on fewer than 5 results are not shown.

Metric	Columbia University	USC
Country	United States	United States
QS ranking (2027)	#43	#153
US News ranking (2027)	#12	#27
Application results	115	206
Applicants	112	192
Admit rate	71.1%	77.5%
Median GPA (admitted)	3.80	3.71
Median TOEFL (admitted)	103	100
Most-reported fields	Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (38),Business Analytics (16),General Engineering (12),Business Administration (MBA/MiM) (9)	Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (105),General Engineering (21),Business Analytics (18),Finance & Investment (12)

Most-reported programs

Programs with at least 5 results, by number of results.

Columbia University

Program	Results	Admit rate
MS in Computer Science (Master's)	32	71.9%
MS in Applied Analytics (Master's)	9	77.8%
MS in Mechanical Engineering (Master's)	7	85.7%
M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) (Master's)	7	71.4%
MS in Electrical Engineering (Master's)	6	66.7%

USC

Program	Results	Admit rate
Computer Engineering, M.S. (Master's)	54	61.1%
Electrical Engineering, M.S. (Master's)	25	92.0%
Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) (Master's)	18	72.2%
MS Finance (MSF) (Master's)	12	90.9%
Mechanical Engineering, M.S. (Master's)	10	90.0%

Applicants to both schools

34 applicants reported results at both schools: 20 were admitted to Columbia University, 25 to USC, and 18 to both.

Of those admitted to both who reported a final choice, 4 chose Columbia University and 1 chose USC. A small sample; treat it as a hint only.

AI summary (from OfferLand data and posts on the site, 2026-10-21)

Columbia and USC have similar admit rates on OfferLand, 71.1% (115 results) vs 77.5% (206 results), but Columbia's admitted applicants have a higher median GPA of 3.80 and TOEFL of 103, against 3.71 and 100 at USC. Both schools' popular programs are EECS and business analytics, and Columbia's MS in Computer Science admitted 71.9% of 32 results. Of the 34 people who applied to both, 18 were admitted to both; of the 5 who reported a final decision, 4 chose Columbia and 1 chose USC, a small sample that points one way.

USC's Electrical Engineering master's admitted 92% of 25 results; Columbia's MS in Electrical Engineering admitted 66.7% of 6.Source: data on this page
One applicant said the questions in Columbia's MSBA Kira video interview were not hard; the challenge was answering three questions within 180 seconds, so plan your timing.Source: Columbia University M.S. in Business Analytics (MSBA) 面試心得
An applicant switching to CS for a second master's was admitted to USC's CS37 master's but rejected by its CS Networking master's; the applicant counted USC among the schools with relatively rigorous coursework.Source: 美國二碩ECE轉CS MS錄取心得 — Georgia Tech
An article comparing the US East and West Coasts notes that New York concentrates finance and media, while the West Coast centers on tech and startups, a useful reference for Columbia and USC's locations.Source: 留學美國選東岸還是西岸？大學排名、科系優勢與就業機會全解析

Written by AI from the data on this page and the cited posts and interview reports. It may contain mistakes and is neither official school information nor application advice; check the original posts and the schools’ own announcements.

When citing these figures, please credit OfferLand. How the data is collected: About the data.