Academics

Admission to USD, which consistently ranks among the top schools in the United States, is highly selective. USD received more than 10,500 applications for approximately 1,100 undergraduate openings in Fall 2007. The Class of 2011 entered with a GPA of 3.76 and an average SAT score of 1176.

In 2003, USD joined the elite company of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society. Nationwide, only about 10 percent of all colleges and universities have Phi Beta Kappa chapters. USD is one of only 18 Catholic institutions among the 270 chapters. The university was granted membership to the Mortar Board national honor society in 2000.

Applicants are expected to present a well-balanced secondary school program of college preparatory courses in English, foreign language, mathematics, laboratory science, history and social science. Both the content of the academic program and the quality of performance are considered. While SAT1/ACT results are used to broaden USD’s understanding of the applicant’s potential, the university also is interested in the person behind the academic history. Participation in extracurricular activities at school, in the community or through church is taken into consideration when making admission decisions.