How competitive is USC for CS PhD?

[Seankala]

Hello. I've always known that USC is a very good school, but I was surprised recently when I checked csrankings.org that they're within the top 20 for AI/ML (my field of interest).

I'm looking to apply this year so that I can (hopefully) start in the fall of 2021. I'm not looking for a generic "what are my chances" post, but I would like some advice on what I could work on in order to improve my chances for admission.

1. GPA: 3.2ish/4.0 (undergrad), 3.85/4.0 (master - 1/4 semesters)

2. GRE: 163V/169Q/5.5AW

3. Research: No major publications. One paper submitted to an int'l conference waiting results, one publication in a domestic conference (I'm from Korea), working on one paper to submit to a top-tier in two months, and if that doesn't work out I'll keep it as a preprint on arXiv.

The only things I can improve are #2 and #3 (maybe #1 if I do well this semester). Do you think I should take the GRE again? Also, would it be a deal breaker if I don't have any major publications yet?

Any tips or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!