Freshmen | Transfer Students | International Students
For a freshman application to be complete, we must have the following:
- USD application submitted through the Common Application
- Essay
- Official high school transcript
- Official SAT Reasoning Test (which includes the writing test) or ACT (with the writing test) scores sent directly from the testing service.
- One academic letter of recommendation (form included in application) from the student's counselor or teacher who has taught the student in an academic class
- Application fee of $55.00. Fee waivers are available in cases of financial hardship. Requests must come from a school official and printed on school letterhead or by submitting the College Board fee waiver form.
For a transfer application to be complete, we must have the following:
- USD application submitted through the Common Application
- Essay
- Official final high school transcript
- Official college transcripts from all attempted college work
- Official course by course evaluation is required if you have foreign college/post-secondary transcripts. We accept World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or International Education Research Foundation (IERF). Your transfer application will be considered incomplete, if you do not submit this with your application.
- Official course by course evaluation is required if you have foreign college/post-secondary transcripts. We accept World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or International Education Research Foundation (IERF). Your transfer application will be considered incomplete, if you do not submit this with your application.
- One academic letter of recommendation (form included in application) from a college professor
- Application fee of $55.00. Fee waivers are available in cases of financial hardship. Requests must come from a school official and printed on school letterhead or by submitting the College Board fee waiver form.
For an international application to be complete, we must have the following:
- USD application submitted through the Common Application
- Essay
- Official high school transcript, translated if necessary
- Official TOEFL iBT score of 80 or IELTS score of 6.5
- International freshman applicants are waived from this requirement if their native language is English, received SAT Critical Reading score of 520 or higher, enrolled in International Baccalaureate (IB) English, or AP English. For other options in waiving the TOEFL/IELTS requirement, please click here.
- Official SAT Reasoning Test (which includes the writing test) or ACT (with the writing test) scores sent directly from the testing service (only for students who wish to be considered for a merit scholarship)
- One academic letter of recommendation (form included in application) from the student's counselor or teacher who has taught the student in an academic class
- Application fee of $55.00
- International transfer applicants must also submit:
- Official course by course evaluation if you have foreign college/post-secondary transcripts. We accept World Education Services (WES), Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or International Education Research Foundation (IERF). Your transfer application will be considered incomplete, if you do not submit this with your application.
- Proof of English language proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS) can be waived if an international transfer applicant passes a college English Composition and Literature class prior to transferring. For other options in waiving the TOEFL/IELTS requirement, please click here.
Please address all correspondence to:
University of San Diego
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110-2492


