Rice University
Private Research University in Houston, TX. Six-year graduation rate 95%. Median 10-year earnings $89,718.
Students who entered Rice University reach a median of $89,718 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate of 95% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $11,000, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.12 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 95% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 8% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 8% of applicants receive an offer. With 32,473 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is high — 44% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 48% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 740–770 | 546 (48%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–35 | 248 (22%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Rice University →Academics
95% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 97%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 6:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. 4,574 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 4,562 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $23,589 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $5,827 at $0–30k versus $48,466 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 61% of students at an average of $54,440. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 6% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,121 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $5,827 |
| $30–48k | $563 |
| $48–75k | $3,217 |
| $75–110k | $17,755 |
| $110k+ | $48,466 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 296 of these 4,562 students, totalling $1,835,929 — an average of $6,202 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Harris County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)