A private R1 research university in Houston, TX, admitting 8% of applicants with a $13,370 average net price and 6.47% federal loan rate.
Houston, Texas
Rice University is a private R1 research university in Houston, Texas, founded in 1912. It enrolls 4,776 undergraduates and 4,172 graduate students across six schools: the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Humanities, the School of Architecture, and the Shepherd School of Music. Engineering, natural sciences, and social sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Rice holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Rice is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Rice's residential college system divides all undergraduates into eleven residential colleges at matriculation; students remain members of their college for all four years.
Official website: rice.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Rice scores 91.18 overall, rated Excellent. Value scores 96.54, the second highest in this peer group, driven by an average net price of $13,370 combined with strong graduate outcomes. Selectivity scores 99.02, reflecting an 8% admit rate that places Rice among the five most selective universities in the country. Affordability scores 46.41. All scores use verified federal data only.
Rice is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 8% of applicants. Rice is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,553 on the SAT, with the middle 50% ACT range between 34 and 35. Rice uses the Common App with a required supplemental essay; applicants may indicate a preferred school or undecided.
The Early Decision deadline is November 1 (binding); the Regular Decision deadline is January 1. Rice's admissions review places significant weight on intellectual curiosity, community contribution, and fit with the residential college culture. Architecture applicants must submit a portfolio in addition to the standard application.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Rice University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Rice charges $64,144 in tuition plus $18,100 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $82,000 before aid. Rice meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic students, with no loans in aid packages.
The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $13,370, one of the lowest at any institution with an admit rate below 10%. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $5,827. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the average net price is $563, essentially free. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $17,755. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $48,466.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Rice completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 94.64% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 90.28%, and first-year retention stands at 97.50%. Rice's federal loan rate of 6.47% and median debt of $11,000 are among the lowest at any selective private university in the country, consistent with the no-loan aid policy reaching a large share of enrolled students.
Rice graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $79,751 six years after first enrolling and $89,718 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 90.58% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
The ten-year figure is lower than at schools with heavier finance or technology concentrations, reflecting Rice's balanced program mix across engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, architecture, and music. Rice engineering graduates, particularly in electrical engineering and computer science, typically earn significantly above the institutional median; humanities and architecture graduates vary more by career path.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Rice enrolls 4,776 undergraduates on its residential campus in Houston's Museum District, adjacent to Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center. Asian students account for 29.10% of undergraduates; white 25.57%, Hispanic 16.69%, and Black 7.89%. Seventeen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 14.48% are first-generation college students.
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the center of the global energy industry; the Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world with over 60 institutions and 106,000+ employees, is adjacent to campus and provides extensive research and clinical opportunities for pre-health and biomedical students.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Rice University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Rice University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 127 distinct programs across 24 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Rice operates at a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 83.81% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $47,816 per year. The endowment stands at $7.93 billion, which relative to Rice's small undergraduate enrollment represents one of the highest per-student endowment figures in the country.
Rice's proximity to the Texas Medical Center supports biomedical research partnerships with Baylor College of Medicine, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the University of Texas Health Science Center. The Jones Graduate School of Business offers MBA and professional programs connected to Houston's energy, finance, and healthcare industries.
779 instructional faculty across 6 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 318 | 41% | $227,272 |
| Associate Professors | 129 | 17% | $140,477 |
| Assistant Professors | 184 | 24% | $129,967 |
| Instructors | 16 | 2% | $65,570 |
| Lecturers | 131 | 17% | $84,739 |
| No Rank | 1 | 0% | $70,000 |
Rice's defining strengths are its Value score (96.54, second highest in peer group A), an average net price of $13,370 with no loans in aid packages, a federal loan rate of 6.47% and median debt of $11,000 among the lowest at any selective university, and a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio on a small residential campus. UCD 91.18 Excellent. The residential college system creates strong undergraduate community despite the urban Houston setting.
The trade-offs are modest: ten-year earnings of $89,718 are below peer schools with heavier CS or finance concentrations; Rice's national name recognition outside of engineering and science communities is lower than its actual academic quality; and Houston is a car-dependent city that requires adjustment for students from walkable urban environments. Best fit for students who want Ivy-equivalent selectivity and academic depth with exceptional financial aid, a small residential campus, and proximity to one of the most concentrated research and medical environments in the country.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Rice: how selective admissions are, how financial aid compares to peer schools, what the residential college system is, and what graduates earn.
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