Chemical Engineering at University of Southern California

USC's chemical engineering program shows surprisingly modest outcomes for one of the nation's most selective universities. Despite a 10% admission rate and sky-high SAT scores, graduates earn $68,234 in their first year—below the national median for chemical engineering and trailing UC Berkeley grads by over $13,000. While the program sits at the 40th percentile among California's 14 chemical engineering programs, it's notably behind most UC campuses and even Cal Poly Pomona.

The upside? Graduates carry just $13,000 in debt, roughly a quarter of the national median. That translates to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.19, making this one of the lowest-debt chemical engineering programs in the country. The 32% earnings growth to nearly $90,000 by year four is solid, though the gap with top UC programs persists. For a wealthy family, USC's strong alumni network and private school advantages may justify the investment. But families relying on loans should recognize they'd likely see better pure financial returns from several more affordable UC campuses, where graduates earn more from day one while avoiding USC's higher cost of attendance beyond just federal loans.