UC Irvine vs USC: admit rates, GPA and how Taiwanese applicants choose
OfferLand users have reported 149 application results for UC Irvine and 206 for USC; 63 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 | UC Irvine | USC |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| QS ranking (2027) | #252 | #153 |
| US News ranking (2027) | #34 | #27 |
| Application results | 149 | 206 |
| Applicants | 137 | 192 |
| Admit rate | 69.8% | 77.5% |
| Median GPA (admitted) | 3.67 | 3.71 |
| Median TOEFL (admitted) | 99 | 100 |
| Most-reported fields | Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (77),Business Analytics (19),General Engineering (13),Materials Science (12) | 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.
UC Irvine
| Program | Results | Admit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Science (Master's) | 42 | 42.9% |
| Business Analytics (Master's) | 19 | 78.9% |
| Software Engineering (Master's) | 17 | 64.7% |
| Electrical and Computer Engineering (Master's) | 14 | 100.0% |
| Finance (Master's) | 12 | 100.0% |
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
63 applicants reported results at both schools: 41 were admitted to UC Irvine, 41 to USC, and 29 to both.
Too few people admitted to both have reported a final choice (2) to show a preference.
AI summary (from OfferLand data and posts on the site, 2026-10-21)
In results reported to OfferLand, USC admits a larger share than UCI (77.5% vs 69.8%), with small differences in the median GPA of admits (3.71 vs 3.67) and TOEFL (100 vs 99). Of the 63 people who applied to both, each school admitted 41; only 2 of the 29 admitted to both reported a final choice, both for USC, which is too small a sample to mean much. The two schools' program mix is similar: mostly CS and EECS, plus business analytics and finance master's programs with reported admit rates above 70%.
- Computing is where the two differ most: UCI's CS MS admitted 42.9% of 42 reports, while USC's MS in Computer Engineering admitted 61.1% of 54. Business analytics is close, with UCI at 78.9% (19 reports) and USC's MSBA at 72.2% (18 reports).Source: data on this page
- An applicant switching to CS after a first master's was admitted to both UCI's CS MS and USC's CS37 track (USC's CS Networking track rejected the application) and chose Georgia Tech. 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
- A student who chose USC's MSBA says its 16-month length, compared with 10 to 12 months elsewhere, left more time to settle in and prepare for internships and job hunting, and was one of their main reasons.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.