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Rice University

Houston, Texas · Private, a large city · 4,776 undergraduates

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Is it hard to get into Rice?

The middle half of admitted students scored in these ranges: a quarter scored lower, a quarter higher. Fall 2024 admissions, from the College Scorecard.

Acceptance rate
8%
31,059 applied
SAT, middle half
1510 to 1570
Reading plus math, out of 1600
ACT, middle half
34 to 35
Composite, out of 36
Test scores this year
Recommended, not required
46% of admitted students enrolled
What they look at
  • High school GPAConsidered
  • Class rankConsidered
  • Courses takenRequired
  • College-prep programConsidered
  • RecommendationsRequired
  • EssayRequired
  • PortfolioConsidered

How much does Rice cost?

Sticker prices and what students actually paid after grants, by family income. A year means tuition, fees, room, board, books and other costs.

Tuition and fees
$67,857
A full year, sticker price
$87,824
Living on campus
Average price after grants
$11,164
Students who got federal aid

What a year cost, by family income

Family incomeAverage paid after grants
Under $30,000$5,707
$30,001 to $48,000$1,524
$48,001 to $75,000$5,420
$75,001 to $110,000$14,522
Over $110,000$40,188
Room and board on campus
$19,550 a year
Books and supplies
$1,490 a year
The school's own grants
57% of full-time first-years get one, averaging $51,409

Tuition over the years

Tuition and fees for a year, as reported to the federal government.

$0K$20K$40K$60K$80K201220142016201820202022Rice

How much do Rice students borrow?

Federal student loans only, for students who borrowed.

Typical debt at graduation
$13,000
About $148 a month over ten years
Students who borrow
6.8%
Get a Pell Grant
21.7%
Federal grant for lower-income families
Over 25 when they start
0.4%

What do Rice graduates earn?

Typical yearly pay of everyone who started here with federal aid, whatever they studied and whether or not they finished.

Six years after starting
$91,527
Ten years after starting
$90,773
Middle half: $64,619 to $144,707
Best-paid program, five years out
$213,121
Computer and Information Sciences, General
Lowest-paid program, five years out
$56,497
English Language and Literature, General

Do Rice students finish?

Of the students who started full time, first time.

Back for second year
97.4%
Graduate in six years
95.3%
The four-year figure is for a later, smaller group, so it is not shown
After eight years
96% graduated
3% transferred, 0% still enrolled

Who goes to Rice?

Women
49.6%
First in their family at college
14.5%
Part-time
2.2%
Students per teacher
6
Background
White 26%, Hispanic 17%, Black 8%, Asian 29%, Two or more 6%, International 13%
Housing
Campus housing, 3,477 beds

What do Rice graduates earn, by program?

Every bachelor's program the school awards, with what its graduates earn and owe. The government hides pay for small programs, so some rows have no figure.

Computer science

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Computer and Information Sciences, General330$156,465$213,121$8,375

Engineering

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Biomedical/Medical Engineering72Hidden$132,183Hidden
Chemical Engineering51$87,768$114,294Hidden
Civil Engineering29HiddenHiddenHidden
Electrical and Computer Engineering38HiddenHiddenHidden
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering35$103,698HiddenHidden
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering0HiddenHiddenHidden
Mechanical Engineering125$84,706$107,190$6,000
Nanotechnology13HiddenHiddenHidden
Operations Research13HiddenHiddenHidden

Business and commerce

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Business Administration, Management and Operations18HiddenHiddenHidden
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods66HiddenHiddenHidden

Health sciences and kinesiology

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General48HiddenHiddenHidden
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness85$48,301$70,646Hidden

Life sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology18$37,890$63,264Hidden
Biology, General177$33,555Hidden$11,998
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology2HiddenHiddenHidden
Natural Resources Conservation and Research12HiddenHiddenHidden
Neurobiology and Neurosciences78HiddenHiddenHidden
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences96HiddenHiddenHidden

Math and physical sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Applied Mathematics24HiddenHiddenHidden
Astronomy and Astrophysics6HiddenHiddenHidden
Chemistry45HiddenHiddenHidden
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences9HiddenHiddenHidden
Mathematics76HiddenHiddenHidden
Physics25HiddenHiddenHidden
Statistics76HiddenHiddenHidden

Social sciences

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Anthropology14HiddenHiddenHidden
Area Studies19HiddenHiddenHidden
Economics160$86,485$138,594$15,000
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies6HiddenHiddenHidden
Political Science and Government58$74,976$97,702Hidden
Psychology, General115$49,861HiddenHidden
Public Policy Analysis64HiddenHiddenHidden
Social Sciences, General8HiddenHiddenHidden
Sociology31$37,283$78,989Hidden

Arts and humanities

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics9HiddenHiddenHidden
English Language and Literature, General54$44,410$56,497Hidden
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics2HiddenHiddenHidden
History41HiddenHiddenHidden
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services21HiddenHiddenHidden
Philosophy26HiddenHiddenHidden
Religion/Religious Studies7HiddenHiddenHidden
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics28HiddenHiddenHidden

Fine and performing arts

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Fine and Studio Arts18HiddenHiddenHidden
Music48HiddenHiddenHidden
Visual and Performing Arts, General46HiddenHiddenHidden

Architecture and design

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Architectural History, Criticism, and Conservation1HiddenHiddenHidden
Architectural Sciences and Technology33HiddenHiddenHidden
Architecture40HiddenHiddenHidden

General arts and science (major chosen later)

ProgramGraduatesPay, one year outPay, five years outDebt
Classical and Ancient Studies3HiddenHiddenHidden
Cognitive Science80Hidden$73,625Hidden
Data Analytics0HiddenHiddenHidden
Medieval and Renaissance Studies3HiddenHiddenHidden
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other2HiddenHiddenHidden

Compare Rice with other universities

Side by side: acceptance rates, scores, costs and pay.

Or the list of every university, by state.

Where these numbers come from

College Scorecard release 10152026, Most Recent Cohorts files, fetched 2026-10-20. Test policy: the school's page (opens in a new tab). Tuition history, housing and the school's own grants: the federal IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) survey.

How every figure in this part of the site is sourced, and the check of every link.

Careerhelp is not affiliated with Rice University. Figures describe past students; check the school's own pages before you apply.

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