Yes… as @uscalum05 suggests, demonstrated interest is taken into account. And if you do not want to take our word for it, just read through the Insider’s Guide to USC Admissions… wherein those calling the shots on admissions tell you what they are looking for…
https://news.usc.edu/trojan-family/a-guide-to-uscs-college-admissions-process/
From an admissions perspective, USC is not interested in mainly being defined just by stats. They are aiming for a diverse and well-rounded freshman class of circa 3000. During that process, due to the nearly 67K applications received this cycle, they did have to turn away 4K+ applicants with 4.0 unweighted GPAs and 99th percentile test scores… just as Stanford had to for 8K+ similarly accomplished applicants. USC also had to turn away 90% of all legacy applicants. Overall, they had to reject 89% or nearly 60K applicants in total. They projected a 41% yield rate and thus only admitted circa 7300 in total.
USC seems to generally want to see sufficient stats (e.g. 3.7 or higher unweighted GPA and 1390 or higher SAT or 30 and higher ACT) mixed with strong ECs, potential leadership roles, demonstrated passion, memorable essays and a profile that seems like a good fit for USC. It helps if you actually tell them a compelling & well-researched “Why USC?” reason and vice versa… i.e. what USC gets by having you there specifically. There are clearly exceptions, and many do get in with stellar stats and weaker ECs, etc. Those being admitted with lesser stats likely may have other components to offer… creative or performance talents, etc. But demonstrated interest… and especially in terms of an applicant’s “Why USC?” answer… is critically important to the success of most applications. It is what sets applications apart. As stated above, a scattergun approach of applying to many colleges and universities and without really putting your heart and soul into your USC application in a manner that makes your application stand-out is simply a wasted effort for many. If you fail to offer a compelling reason why USC is the right place for you as you see it, then why should USC endeavor to make such possible for you? I suspect that the vast majority of the 7300 or so admitted did so.