Colleges in Texas: acceptance rates and cost
Looking at the 14 Texas colleges we cover, Rice University is the hardest to get into, with a fall 2023 admit rate of 7.9%.
Over the decade, UTA opened up the most, raising its admit rate by 21.3 points from 60.0% in fall 2013 to 81.3% in fall 2023.
If you live outside Texas, the smallest out-of-state bill is at Sam Houston State, $19,068 in tuition and fees for 2025-26; residents of Texas pay $9,228.
A family earning $0 to $30,000 paid an average of $5,707 at Rice University in 2024-25, the lowest on this page, against tuition and fees of $67,857 before aid.
In raw numbers, the largest applicant pool is at UT Austin, with 66,109 applications for fall 2023, up 73% from fall 2013.
As a yardstick, the 76 Texas bachelor's colleges that reported to IPEDS had a median fall 2023 admit rate of 84.6%, and the median out-of-state tuition at the state's 36 public bachelor's colleges is $21,793 for 2025-26.
Texas colleges on AdmitFacts
| College | Admit rate, fall 2023 |
|---|---|
| UT Austin | 29.1% |
| Texas A&M | 63.2% |
| Rice University | 7.9% |
| Baylor | 51.0% |
| TCU | 42.6% |
| SMU | 61.2% |
| Texas Tech | 70.9% |
| Texas State | 89.5% |
| University of Houston | 69.5% |
| UNT | 72.5% |
| UT Dallas | 65.5% |
| UTSA | 88.5% |
| UTA | 81.3% |
| Sam Houston State | 85.4% |
Admit rates: IPEDS fall 2023. Tuition and fees: College Scorecard 2025-26; private colleges charge every student the same. Graduation within 6 years: College Scorecard, students who started in 2019. Net price for families earning $0 to $30,000: College Scorecard 2024-25, students with federal aid. State medians cover every operating bachelor's-degree college in the Scorecard file.
Every state median in the summary, with its source field
| Figure | Value | File, field, year |
|---|---|---|
| Median admit rate, Texas (N = 76) | 84.6% | IPEDS ADM2023, median ADMSSN/APPLCN, bachelor's institutions, fall 2023 |
| Median out-of-state tuition and fees, public colleges, Texas (N = 36) | $21,793 | College Scorecard, median TUITIONFEE_OUT, public bachelor's institutions, 2025-26 |