Rice University
Houston, Texas
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 4,776 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 8%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $11,164per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 95%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $90,77310 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Every new student is randomly assigned to one of Rice's 12 residential colleges and stays with it for all four years.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 8%About 1 in 13 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1510–1570Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Rice University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 8%2,948 admitted of 36,791 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 11%647 admitted of 5,748. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Off the wait list
- 3%66 admitted of 2,204 who stayed on the wait list
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1510–156059% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 34–3624% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 90%97% were in the top quarter. Based on the 40% whose school ranks.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
Considered
- Interview
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Showing interest in the school
Not considered
- Religious affiliation
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Rice University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Rice University Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $11,164full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $87,824sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $67,857Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 95%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 97%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $90,77310 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 4,776Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 22%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 14%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX — admits 63%
- Trinity University San Antonio, TX — admits 26%
- Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX — admits 44%
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA — admits 60%
Also worth a look
- Yale University New Haven, CT — admits 4%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA — admits 5%
- Princeton University Princeton, NJ — admits 5%
- Stanford University Stanford, CA — admits 4%
- Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO — admits 12%
- Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN — admits 6%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Rice University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.