2022 best colleges in Texas
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Net cost: The median annual cost of all students that receive any aid. This does not refer to the “sticker price”, the price listed by the college.
Earnings: The median earnings of all bachelor-level students 10 years after enrollment. This includes both students that do and do not graduate, across all majors.
Payback: The amount of time in years it takes to pay off the median net cost by the median earnings. For this calculation, the median earning of high school graduates (in the school’s home state) are deducted from the median earnings.
Degree premium: The difference between the school’s median earnings and the median earnings for all schools in the same state. This is called “Vs. state average” in school profiles below.
Ranking: The payback rate is divided by the degree premium (set as a percentage), the lower the number the higher the rank. (i.e. payback=1, degree premium 20% higher than state school median: 1/120% = .883.
Texas A & M International University
Laredo, Texas
Admission rate: 59%
Grad rate: 53%
Net cost: $3,074
Payback: Under a year
Earnings: $46,823
Vs. state average: + $1,876
Economic score: 0.64
Rice University
Houston, Texas
Admission rate: 11%
Grad rate: 95%
Net cost: $16,999
Payback: 1.3 Years
Earnings: $77,683
Vs. state average: + $32,736
Economic score: 0.77
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Edinburg, Texas
Admission rate: 83%
Grad rate: 60%
Net cost: $4,514
Payback: 1.1 Years
Earnings: $45,895
Vs. state average: + $948
Economic score: 1.06
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Admission rate: 32%
Grad rate: 81%
Net cost: $18,023
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $67,839
Vs. state average: + $22,892
Economic score: 1.17
Texas A & M University-College Station
College Station, Texas
Admission rate: 64%
Grad rate: 83%
Net cost: $19,057
Payback: 2.0 Years
Earnings: $66,566
Vs. state average: + $21,619
Economic score: 1.34
The University of Texas at Dallas
Richardson, Texas
Admission rate: 80%
Grad rate: 70%
Net cost: $15,232
Payback: 1.9 Years
Earnings: $60,595
Vs. state average: + $15,648
Economic score: 1.37
University of Houston
Houston, Texas
Admission rate: 63%
Grad rate: 60%
Net cost: $12,838
Payback: 1.9 Years
Earnings: $56,763
Vs. state average: + $11,816
Economic score: 1.49
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Houston, Texas
Admission rate: 81%
Grad rate: 67%
Net cost: $10,612
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $52,998
Vs. state average: + $8,051
Economic score: 1.54
Midwestern State University
Wichita Falls, Texas
Admission rate: 71%
Grad rate: 50%
Net cost: $10,045
Payback: 1.9 Years
Earnings: $50,396
Vs. state average: + $5,449
Economic score: 1.67
University of Houston-Victoria
Victoria, Texas
Admission rate: 68%
Grad rate: 55%
Net cost: $8,967
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $47,294
Vs. state average: + $2,347
Economic score: 1.69
Texas Woman's University
Denton, Texas
Admission rate: 94%
Grad rate: 56%
Net cost: $9,617
Payback: 1.9 Years
Earnings: $49,724
Vs. state average: + $4,777
Economic score: 1.69
The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, Texas
Admission rate: 88%
Grad rate: 52%
Net cost: $10,092
Payback: 1.9 Years
Earnings: $50,006
Vs. state average: + $5,059
Economic score: 1.70
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas
Admission rate: 34%
Grad rate: 78%
Net cost: $24,669
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $65,315
Vs. state average: + $20,368
Economic score: 1.75
The University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Admission rate: 92%
Grad rate: 54%
Net cost: $10,974
Payback: 2.0 Years
Earnings: $49,446
Vs. state average: + $4,499
Economic score: 1.82
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
Admission rate: 71%
Grad rate: 62%
Net cost: $17,571
Payback: 2.4 Years
Earnings: $58,435
Vs. state average: + $13,488
Economic score: 1.84
The University of Texas at Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Admission rate: 88%
Grad rate: 58%
Net cost: $14,246
Payback: 2.3 Years
Earnings: $54,633
Vs. state average: + $9,686
Economic score: 1.88
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas
Admission rate: 53%
Grad rate: 78%
Net cost: $36,222
Payback: 3.1 Years
Earnings: $72,514
Vs. state average: + $27,567
Economic score: 1.94
The University of Texas at San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
Admission rate: 84%
Grad rate: 50%
Net cost: $13,853
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $50,810
Vs. state average: + $5,863
Economic score: 2.25
University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
Admission rate: 84%
Grad rate: 60%
Net cost: $15,086
Payback: 2.6 Years
Earnings: $51,232
Vs. state average: + $6,285
Economic score: 2.31
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, Texas
Admission rate: 93%
Grad rate: 61%
Net cost: $14,617
Payback: 2.7 Years
Earnings: $50,125
Vs. state average: + $5,178
Economic score: 2.40
