The Trojan statue at the center of the USC campus.
The University of Southern California on Wednesday hiked tuition by more than $3,000 for the upcoming academic year, pushing the total cost of attendance to nearly $100,000.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, tuition will be $3,356 more expensive than the 2024-2025 cycle, according to the University's Cost of Attendance webpage.
In 2024, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the prestigious Southern California campus as the most expensive school in the nation.
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More than two-thirds of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid, the university says, which includes need-based grants, merit scholarships, loans and federal-work-study programs.
"We understand that a college education involves a significant investment of resources for both students and families," USC noted on its web site. "The last thing we want, however, is for cost to prevent a student from enrolling at USC."
The increase comes as confidence in higher education — due to rising debt and deepening political divides — plummets to historic lows.
A 2023 Gallup survey shows only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education, sharply down from 57% in 2015.
"There is a growing divide between Republicans' and Democrats' confidence in higher education," the report said. "Previous Gallup polling found that Democrats expressed concern about the costs, while Republicans registered concern about politics in higher education."
