UCB vs USC: admit rates, GPA and how Taiwanese applicants choose
OfferLand users have reported 94 application results for UCB and 206 for USC; 35 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 | UCB | USC |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| QS ranking (2027) | #20 | #153 |
| US News ranking (2027) | #20 | #27 |
| Application results | 94 | 206 |
| Applicants | 94 | 192 |
| Admit rate | 30.9% | 77.5% |
| Median GPA (admitted) | 3.81 | 3.71 |
| Median TOEFL (admitted) | 102 | 100 |
| Most-reported fields | Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (46),General Engineering (12),Materials Science (9),Information Technology (8) | 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.
UCB
| Program | Results | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (Master's) | 38 | 15.8% |
| Information Management & Systems (Master's) | 8 | 0.0% |
| Materials Science & Engineering (Master's) | 7 | 71.4% |
| Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences (PhD) | 6 | 0.0% |
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
35 applicants reported results at both schools: 8 were admitted to UCB, 28 to USC, and 8 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 reports, UC Berkeley's admit rate is 30.9% (94 results) and USC's is 77.5% (206 results), with median admitted GPAs of 3.81 vs 3.71 and TOEFL medians of 102 vs 100. Both are mostly EECS, but Berkeley's EECS master's admitted only 15.8% of 38 results, while USC's Computer Engineering master's admitted 61.1% (54 results) and its Electrical Engineering master's 92% (25 results). Of the 35 people who applied to both, all 8 admitted to Berkeley were also admitted to USC, but none reported which school they chose.
- None of the 8 reported results for Berkeley's Information Management & Systems master's were admits, while its materials science master's admitted 71.4% of 7, a large spread within one school.Source: data on this page
- An NTU EE graduate applying for 2023 Fall CS master's programs was rejected by both Berkeley's EECS MEng and USC's CS master's and went to Cornell Tech. USC's high overall admit rate does not guarantee its CS programs.Source: 2023 Fall CS 申請心得
- A Berkeley MBA interviewee said the interviewer was warm from the start, explained the format, and asked several follow-up questions based on their answers.Source: UC Berkeley Full-time MBA 面試心得
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.