TEXAS — WalletHub compared over 800 institutions and ranked the best colleges and universities in the U.S. for 2024 based on quality and cost to find the best deal for students. Its top ranking when comparing schools in the Lone Star State went to Rice University.
Rice is a private, prestigious school in Houston with an acceptance rate of 9%. The average cost of tuition is $58,128, according to U.S. News & World Report.
According to WalletHub, Rice ranked No. 1 in admission rate, student-faculty ratio, gender and racial diversity, graduation rate and post-attendance median salary. It was 41st in net cost and 39th in on-campus crime.
Ranking in the No. 2 spot is The University of Texas at Austin. UT Austin has an undergraduate enrollment of 41,309 as of fall 2022 and a 31% acceptance rate. Trinity University also has a 31% enrollment rate and ranked No. 3 on WalletHub's list.
UT Austin followed Rice closely, ranking second for admission rate and graduation rate, third in post-attendance salary, and fourth in gender and racial diversity.
Being one of the largest public universities in the state, UT ranked much lower when it came to student-faculty ratio, taking the 31st spot.
Trinity ranked well in admission rate, student-faculty ratio, post-attendance salary and graduation rate. It's lowest ranking was 41st in on-campus crime. But it held an above average ranking of No. 18 in gender and racial diversity.
These are the full Top 10 rankings for Texas colleges and universities:
- Rice University
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Trinity University
- Texas A&M University - College Station
- Southwestern University
- Southern Methodist University
- University of Dallas
- Austin College
- LeTourneau University
- Texas Christian University