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Private nonprofit · Urban campus · founded 1912 · full profile

Rice University

Students who want small classes and a strong built-in community but still need research facilities, engineering depth or pre-health access — and who are comfortable trading national name recognition for fit.

CompareOfficial site
Houston, Texas4,776 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 4Highly selectiveResearch universitySmall classes

The short answer

Rice combines top-20 national rankings with a 6:1 student-faculty ratio and a residential college system that assigns every student a permanent community of roughly 300 peers. Student-life surveys and Princeton Review category lists often place Rice among the happiest campuses; on our loaded PR edition its highlighted badge is Top 5 College Newspaper. Its $62,000 tuition is offset by an aid program that covers full tuition for families under about $140,000.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
8.0%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$13,370

84% below the $82,244 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$89,718

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
94.6%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$11,000

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1510–1570

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Rice ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#17of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#12of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026National Universities#34of 442National universities
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.#29of 500U.S. colleges (WSJ)
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)A+#10of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Top 5 College NewspaperListedOverall (Niche)
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Rice's position moves 7 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a moderate spread; the ranking you look at changes the answer somewhat. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Rice

Rice's distinguishing feature is that it is a genuine research university operating at liberal-arts college scale — 4,776 undergraduates with a 6:1 student-faculty ratio. That produces small upper-level classes and direct faculty access without giving up the research infrastructure, medical center adjacency and professional schools of a larger institution.

The residential college system is not a housing arrangement; it is the organising social structure. Students are assigned to one of eleven colleges before arrival, keep that affiliation for four years, and each college has its own government, traditions, faculty associates and intramural teams. This is the mechanism behind Rice's consistently extraordinary student-satisfaction scores.

Location does real work here. The Texas Medical Center — the largest medical complex in the world — is across the street, which makes clinical research and pre-health experience unusually accessible. Houston's energy and aerospace sectors feed engineering internships. The counterweight is that Houston is hot, humid and car-oriented, and Rice's national brand recognition outside the South lags its actual academic standing.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • 6:1 student-faculty ratio with research-university resources — a rare combination.
  • Residential college system drives some of the highest student satisfaction scores in the country.
  • Across the street from the Texas Medical Center for pre-health and clinical research.
  • The Rice Investment covers full tuition for families earning under roughly $140,000.

Considerations

  • Brand recognition outside Texas and the South trails its academic standing.
  • Houston's climate and car dependence are genuine daily factors.
  • At 4,800 undergraduates, fewer course sections and clubs than a large university.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students who want small classes and a strong built-in community but still need research facilities, engineering depth or pre-health access — and who are comfortable trading national name recognition for fit.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$64,144

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
17.0%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$18,100

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $82,244 a year, but the average family pays $13,370 — a 84% difference. 17.0% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Rice's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Computer Science
  2. 2Chemical Engineering
  3. 3Economics
  4. 4Biosciences
  5. 5Kinesiology

Standout programs

  • Shepherd School of Music
  • Bioengineering
  • Architecture
  • Jones School business minor
  • Residential college system
Student-faculty ratio
6:1

IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

First-year retention
97.4%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduate enrollment
4,776

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Rice: questions families ask

It is Rice's need-based aid commitment. Families with incomes under roughly $75,000 receive grants covering tuition, fees and room and board; families between about $75,000 and $140,000 receive full tuition grants; and families between roughly $140,000 and $200,000 receive at least half tuition. Rice meets full demonstrated need and caps loans.

The residential college system is the main reason. Every student belongs to one of eleven permanent colleges with its own traditions, governance and faculty associates, which gives new students an immediate community instead of requiring them to build one. Combined with a small undergraduate population and no Greek system, it produces unusually high survey scores on belonging and happiness — independent of any single publisher list.

Similar colleges

Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MAPrivate nonprofit

MIT is the most consistently top-ranked technical university in the world, holding a top-3 position on every major U.S. list and #1 globally on QS. Its 4.5% acceptance rate makes it one of the hardest admits in America, but need-blind admission and no-loan aid mean the average family pays $20,111 rather than the $82,676 sticker price.

Acceptance rate
4.5%
Average net price
$20,111
Median earnings (10 yr)
$143,372
6-yr graduation rate
96.4%
US News · National universities#2 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#1 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#12 of 442+3 more on profile

4,535 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 1 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

Stanford University

Stanford, CAPrivate nonprofit

Stanford pairs top-5 rankings across every major list with the deepest industry pipeline in technology, sitting inside the Silicon Valley hiring network. Admission is the toughest in the country at 3.6%, and financial aid covers full tuition for families earning under about $150,000, bringing the average net price to $13,807.

Acceptance rate
3.6%
Average net price
$13,807
Median earnings (10 yr)
$124,080
6-yr graduation rate
91.9%
US News · National universities#4 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#4 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#6 of 442+3 more on profile

7,554 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 1 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MDPrivate nonprofit

Verified publisher rankings · federal data

Johns Hopkins University: U.S. News ranks it #7 on National Universities (2026); Forbes ranks it #8 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #12 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #92 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #19 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4.5 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); QS ranks it #24 on World University Rankings (2026). It enrolls 5,693 undergraduates, admits 6.4% of applicants, and posts a 93.8% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $65,230; aid recipients pay $18,809 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $87,555.

Acceptance rate
6.4%
Average net price
$18,809
Median earnings (10 yr)
$87,555
6-yr graduation rate
93.8%
US News · National universities#7 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#8 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#12 of 1,504+5 more on profile

5,693 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 4 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

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