11 Best Colleges in Texas – 2024
May 13, 2024
Texas is the second most populated state in the country and that is reflected not only by the plethora of college options within its borders but also by the immense size of those institutions. In fact, UT Austin and Texas A&M are among the 10 largest schools in the country. The University of Houston cracks the top 20 of this same list. Residents of the Lone Star State are served quite well by the public university system but private options like Rice, Trinity, and SMU are also extremely desirable to high-achieving teens from around the world. The following list of the 11 best colleges in Texas is meant to give you a sense of the array of wonderful higher education options in the state. The data in each profile card is intended to give a better sense of the academic offerings and outcomes at each institution.
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Click here to read our methodology for the Best Colleges in Texas. As you鈥檒l see, some schools with spectacular (and deserved) reputations simply do not happen to fare well on metrics such as student-to-faculty ratio or spending per student. We understand that a list based solely on prestige/general reputation would look different than what you will find below.
Best Colleges in Texas
Here鈥檚 a quick preview of the first 10 Texas-based institutions that made our list. Detailed profiles and stats can be found when you scroll below.
2) The University of Texas at Austin
3) Texas A & M University-College Station
4) Trinity University
5) Southern Methodist University
6) Southwestern University
7) Texas Christian University
8) Baylor University
9) The University of Texas at Dallas
10) Texas Tech University
All of the schools profiled below have a history of sending graduates to the most desirable employers and graduate schools in the country. 国产第一福利影院草草 will provide you with鈥攚hen available鈥攅ach school鈥檚:
- Enrollment
- Cost of Attendance
- Acceptance Rate
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- 惭别诲颈补苍听
- Retention Rate
- Graduation Rate
We will also include a longer write-up of each college鈥檚:
- Academic Highlights 鈥 Includes facts like student-to-faculty ratio, average class size, number of majors offered, and most popular majors.
- Professional Outcomes 鈥 Includes info on the rate of positive outcomes, companies employing alumni, and graduate school acceptances.
Rice University
- Houston, TX
Academic Highlights: Boasting a student-to-faculty ratio of 6:1, Rice offers a spectacularly intimate learning experience. Class sizes are ideally small with 66% containing fewer than 20 students and a median class size of only fifteen. Undergraduate research opportunities abound with approximately 70% of graduates participating in academic research during their four years. Those experiences are open to freshmen through the Century Scholars Program and to all underclassmen through the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program. Study abroad options are available in over fifty countries, including collaborative programs with some of the top schools in the world including The London School of Economics, Oxford, and Cambridge.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after graduation, 88% of recent Rice grads have found careers or a graduate school home. Companies that employ many recent grads include Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Google, and Accenture. Over four hundred alumni work at Baylor College of Medicine, and over 200 work at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Across all majors, the average starting salary is $89k. Texas is among the most common destinations for recent grads, but many also flock to San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Chicago.
- Enrollment: 4,574
- Cost of Attendance: $78,278
- Median SAT: 1550
- Median SAT: 35
- Acceptance Rate: 8%
- Retention Rate: 98%
- Graduation Rate: 96%
The University of Texas at Austin
- Austin, TX
Academic Highlights: UT Austin offers over 170 majors. Sn encouraging 36% of course sections enroll nineteen or fewer students. Opportunities for undergraduate research vary by school, and many student must compete for slots in programs such as Summer聽Research Scholars or use the Eureka database to find individual professors offering research assistantships. A robust study abroad program boasts 400 offerings in 100+ foreign countries; 4,600+ students participate each year, the third-largest number in the country.
Professional Outcomes:聽 Over 1000 alumni work in the offices of Dell, Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Deloitte; IBM, Meta, Oracle, and AMD employ over 500 each. Graduates early in their careers earn a median salary of $77,400, with median mid-career pay reaching $141,100. Roughly one-quarter of University of Texas at Austin undergraduates go on to pursue advanced degrees after completing their bachelor鈥檚. Many pursue advanced study at UT Austin itself, which offers more than one hundred graduate programs. Many alumni stay in Texas after graduation, settling in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
- Enrollment: 42,444
- Cost of Attendance: $31,572 (In-State); $62,672 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1370
- Median ACT: 31
- Acceptance Rate: 29%
- Retention Rate: 96%
- Graduation Rate: 88%
Texas A&M University 鈥 College Station
- College Station, TX
Academic Highlights: With sixteen schools and colleges and 140+ undergraduate degree programs, Texas A&M is a massive operation. Class sizes trend large, but 25% of courses enroll fewer than 20 students and personal connections with professors are entirely possible, particularly through the research-oriented LAUNCH program. A&M excels in facilitating study abroad experiences, sending over 5,600 students to 110+ countries in a typical year, the most of any public university in the United States.
Professional Outcomes: On graduation day, 79% of students had already received at least one job offer or were heading to graduate/professional school. Many Aggies go on to work at major oil, tech, and consulting firms; Amazon, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Apple, Halliburton, and Google each employ more than 500 alumni. Starting salaries were strong鈥攐n average grads netted around $65k. The vast majority of graduates remain in Texas with Houston, Dallas, College Station, Austin, and San Antonio top in popularity.
- Enrollment: 59,933
- Cost of Attendance: $33,507 (In-State); $60,736 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1260
- Median ACT: 28
- Acceptance Rate: 63%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 84%
Trinity University
- San Antonio, TX
Academic Highlights: Trinity offers 56 majors and a demanding, carefully crafted liberal arts core curriculum. You won鈥檛 encounter any adjuncts or teaching assistants at Trinity, and 98% of the 270 full-time faculty members hold terminal degrees in their fields. Sixty-eight percent of courses enroll fewer than 20 students and less than 1% contain more than 50.. Overall, 21% of students participate in undergraduate research at some point during their four years. Study abroad programs are taken advantage of by 35% of graduates, most of whom participate in affiliated (but not Trinity-run) offerings.
Professional Outcomes: Six months after receiving their diplomas, 98% of 2023 Trinity grads were either employed full-time or matriculated into graduate school; only 2% were still seeking employment. The companies employing the largest number of alumni include USAA (a San Antonio-based financial firm), EY, Deloitte, PwC, Dell Technologies, Baylor Scott & White Health, and Amazon. Trinity ranks second in the state of Texas for students accepted to PhD programs, and 90% of eligible students were accepted to medical school.
- Enrollment: 2,531
- Cost of Attendance: $68,224
- Median SAT: 1390
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 28%
- Retention Rate: 92%
- Graduation Rate: 82%
Southern Methodist University
- Dallas, TX
Academic Highlights: In total, SMU offers 120+ majors and 85 minors. Thanks in part to an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, 55% of classes enroll fewer than 20 students. Opportunities for personal connection and guidance extend beyond the聽classroom as 1,000 current SMU students have participated in undergraduate research or apprenticeships. The 150 study abroad programs in 50 countries attract about one-quarter of Mustangs at some point during their four years of study.
Professional Highlights: On graduation day, over 88% of recent grads already had their first jobs or graduate school destinations in hand. Major corporations employing the greatest number of Mustangs are Lockheed Martin, JP Morgan Chase, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Deloitte, Raytheon, Amazon, AT&T, and Goldman Sachs. In 2023, the average starting salary was $90k across all majors ($99k for Cox School of Business grads). Ten percent of seniors elected to immediately pursue an advanced degree, matriculating at prestigious institutions such as the University of Notre Dame, NYU, Vanderbilt, Columbia, and Boston University.
- Enrollment: 7,115
- Cost of Attendance: $86,090
- Median SAT: 1410
- Median ACT: 32
- Acceptance Rate: 61%
- Retention Rate: 90%
- Graduation Rate: 83%
Southwestern University
- Georgetown, TX
Academic Highlights: Southwestern University stands among Texas’s premier liberal arts institutions, offering 37 majors and 41 minors within an innovative three-part curriculum that balances foundational courses, specialized study, and exploratory electives. With an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, average class size of 17, and 68% of courses enrolling fewer than 20 students, Southwestern creates an intimate learning environment for its diverse student body representing 36 states and 16 countries. This flexible academic structure encourages intellectual curiosity while ensuring close faculty mentorship.
Professional Outcomes: Southwestern’s Class of 2024 achieved remarkable success, with 97% securing positive outcomes鈥70% employed at leading organizations like Lockheed Martin, JPMorgan Chase, and Tesla, while 27% pursued advanced degrees at institutions including UT system schools and Texas Christian University. The university’s strong Texas roots are evident, with 85% of graduates building their careers within the state, contributing to local industries while demonstrating the enduring value of a Southwestern liberal arts education in today’s professional landscape.
- Enrollment: 1,457
- Cost of Attendance: $67,606
- Median SAT: 1250
- Median ACT: 28
- Acceptance Rate: 39%
- Retention Rate: 83%
- Graduation Rate: 69%
Texas Christian University
- Forth Worth, TX
Academic Highlights: TCU offers 117 undergraduate majors. With a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio, classes at TCU are not all tiny, but the school manages to keep enrollment below 20 students in 41% of its class sections, and only 5% of courses seat more than 50. Of equal importance, 98% of faculty members teach undergraduate students, so you will have access to the best and brightest professors the school has to offer. The study abroad program makes international study readily accessible, and two-fifths of undergrads enjoy a semester overseas.
Professional Outcomes: Upon graduating, 81% of recent diploma-earners were employed or had their graduate school placement lined up. Deloitte, American Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs employ the greatest number of alumni. Other companies hiring recent TCU grads include Microsoft, IBM, Fidelity Investments, Bank of America, Cerner, PWC, and AT&T. The most recent median starting salary was $65,000.
- Enrollment: 10,937
- Cost of Attendance: $77,060
- Median SAT: 1270
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 43%
- Retention Rate: 94%
- Graduation Rate: 85%
Baylor University
- Waco, TX
Academic Highlights: Class sizes at Baylor generally range from small to medium, with 52% of sections containing fewer than 20 students and 77% enrolling fewer than 29.聽The Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement (URSA) office does a superb job connecting students with a research opportunity in their field of interest. The school also pushes overseas experiences in the form of an internship, academic semester, or mission trip. Baylor offers signature programs in Scotland, the Netherlands, and Ireland.
Professional Outcomes: At the 180-day post-graduation point, those who earned their diplomas from Baylor had entered the world of full-time employment at a 49% clip, and 28% had entered a graduate or professional degree program. Large numbers of recent grads were scooped up by many of the most desirable employers in the country including KPMG (25), Deloitte (24), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (24). The average starting salary was $62k. Among recent grads, the most commonly attended graduate school was Baylor itself (249), followed by Texas A&M (24).
- Enrollment: 15,155
- Cost of Attendance: $74,269
- Median SAT: 1290
- Median ACT: 27
- Acceptance Rate: 51%
- Retention Rate: 91%
- Graduation Rate: 80%
University of Texas at Dallas
- Richardson, TX
Academic Highlights: There are 152 degree plans across seven schools at UT Dallas which sports a 27:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Classes are on the large side – 29% of course sections contain 50 or more students. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and the Short-Term Working Group (SWG) provide hands-on research experiences and professional development. Students can also explore available research positions through the university’s Undergraduate Research Portal.
Professional Outcomes: The most commonly entered industries are internet/software, healthcare, accounting, IT, and higher education. Recent employers include Accenture, Amazon, American Airlines, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Raytheon Technologies. Graduates early in their career earn a median salary of $74,400, with median income increasing to $120,700 mid-career. Most Comets remain in Texas after graduation, settling in Dallas, Richardson, and Plano.
- Enrollment: 21,617
- Cost of Attendance: $33,376 (In-State); $58,876 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1290
- Median ACT: 29
- Acceptance Rate: 65%
- Retention Rate: 88%
- Graduation Rate: 71%
Texas Tech University
- Lubbock, TX
Academic Highlights:聽Texas Tech University offers a comprehensive academic experience with 150+ degree programs across 10 colleges, supported by 1,900 faculty members. While the 21:1 student-to-faculty ratio reflects the university’s large size, students still benefit from personalized attention in smaller classes鈥31% of course sections enroll fewer than 20 students. Undergraduate research is strongly supported through the Center for Transformative Undergraduate Experiences (TrUE), which provides research funding, professional development workshops, and an annual showcase at the Undergraduate Research Conference.
Professional Outcomes: Texas Tech graduates launch successful careers at top-tier companies, including Dell Technologies, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, and Oracle. The university’s career preparation delivers exceptional financial returns, with alumni earning median salaries of $70,400 in early career roles, climbing to $128,900 at mid-career. These strong outcomes reflect Texas Tech’s strategic alignment with high-growth sectors, with many graduates securing positions in Texas’s booming economy and national industry leaders.
- Enrollment: 32,635
- Cost of Attendance: $28,022 (In-State); $40,621 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1170
- Median ACT: 25
- Acceptance Rate: 71%
- Retention Rate: 85%
- Graduation Rate: 64%
University of Houston
- Houston, TX
Academic Highlights: The University of Houston provides students with expansive academic opportunities through nearly 117 degree programs across 16 colleges, serving a globally diverse community from 137 nations. While maintaining an accessible 21:1 student-to-faculty ratio, UH ensures personalized learning experiences with one-third of classes enrolling fewer than 20 students and 70% enrolling fewer than 40 students. The university’s research excellence is demonstrated through 12 national research centers, while global perspectives are cultivated via study abroad programs in 39 countries.
Professional Outcomes: UH graduates demonstrate impressive early career momentum, with 19% securing full-time positions and 9% entering graduate programs by commencement day. Alumni are transforming Houston’s professional landscape at leading employers, including Houston Methodist, Baylor College of Medicine, and Spring Branch ISD, while others launch careers with global firms like JPMorgan Chase. Those pursuing advanced degrees predominantly choose top Texas institutions, with the highest percentages continuing at UH itself, followed by Baylor College of Medicine, Rice, UT Austin, and Texas A&M – a testament to the strong reputation of a UH education within the state’s academic and professional networks.
- Enrollment: 37,946
- Cost of Attendance: $26,734 (In-State); $39,214 (Out-of-State)
- Median SAT: 1230
- Median ACT: 25
- Acceptance Rate: 70%
- Retention Rate: 86%
- Graduation Rate: 65%
We hope you have found our list of the Best Colleges in Texas to be useful and informative as you continue your college search process. We also invite you to check out some of our other resources and tools including: