Rice University vs USC: admit rates, GPA and how Taiwanese applicants choose
OfferLand users have reported 78 application results for Rice University and 206 for USC; 32 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 | Rice University | USC |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| QS ranking (2027) | #122 | #153 |
| US News ranking (2027) | #16 | #27 |
| Application results | 78 | 206 |
| Applicants | 78 | 192 |
| Admit rate | 68.8% | 77.5% |
| Median GPA (admitted) | 3.67 | 3.71 |
| Median TOEFL (admitted) | 103 | 100 |
| Most-reported fields | Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (60),Data Science (6),General Engineering (4),Physics & Chemistry (3) | 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.
Rice University
| Program | Results | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Master of Computer Science (Master's) | 55 | 70.4% |
| Data Science (Master's) | 6 | 33.3% |
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
32 applicants reported results at both schools: 22 were admitted to Rice University, 19 to USC, and 15 to both.
Too few people admitted to both have reported a final choice (0) to show a preference.
AI summary (from OfferLand data and posts on the site, 2026-10-21)
In OfferLand's records, USC (206 results) has a 77.5% admit rate, a bit higher than Rice (78 results) at 68.8%, and admitted applicants look similar: median GPA 3.71 vs 3.67, TOEFL 100 vs 103. Rice results are almost all EECS (60 of 78), mainly the Master of Computer Science, while USC also has engineering, business analytics and finance. Of 32 people who applied to both, 15 were admitted to both, but none reported which one they chose, so there is no data on that yet.
- Rice's Master of Computer Science has 55 results with a 70.4% admit rate; USC's Computer Engineering M.S. is at 61.1% across 54 and its Electrical Engineering M.S. at 92% across 25.Source: data on this page
- A second-master's applicant switching from ECE to CS was admitted to both Rice CSMS and USC CS37 and chose Georgia Tech; the author counted USC among the schools with more rigorous coursework, and was rejected by USC's CS Networking track.Source: 美國二碩ECE轉CS MS錄取心得 — Georgia Tech
- Another applicant from NTU EE was admitted to Rice MCS but not to USC's MSCS (cs28, cs37), one example of the two schools giving different results.Source: 2023 Fall CS 申請心得
- A USC business analytics student says one reason they chose USC was the 16-month program, which leaves more time than 10 to 12-month programs to settle in and prepare for internships and job hunting.Source: MSBA 申請｜把興趣當優勢拿下夢校 Offer？美國、新加坡商業分析申請分享！
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.
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When citing these figures, please credit OfferLand. How the data is collected: About the data.