Study ranks UT Austin as one of the “most affordable” universities in Texas

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hook ’em: The UT Longhorns have reason to celebrate after the University of Texas at Austin was named the second-best college in Texas in a new study.

Financial technology company SmartAsset has released its 2023 State by State Study, which analyzes the best colleges in each state based on the following criteria: starting salary, tuition, cost of living, student retention rate, and average amount of scholarships and grants awarded.

First place went to Rice University. The Houston-based institution received an overall higher education score of 90.10 based on the following metrics:

• Rice University Average Scholarships and Grants: $46,239
• Average starting salary at Rice University: $77,900
• Rice University tuition: $55,873
• Living costs for Rice University students: $21,004
• Rice University student retention rate: 97%

The Longhorns finished in second place with a college education score of 80.13. When looking at the methodology, their score reflected the following benchmarks:

• Average UT Austin scholarships and grants: $11,892
• Average starting salary at UT Austin: $65,900
• UT Austin tuition: $12,520
• Living costs for UT Austin students: $18,757
• UT Austin student retention rate: 96%

To conclude the top 10, here is a breakdown of the universities with the best value for money.

1. Rice University
2. UT Austin
3. University of Houston
4. The University of Texas at Dallas
5. Prairie View A&M University
6. Texas A&M University – College Station
7. Texas Tech University
8. LeTourneau University
9. Texas State University
10. University of North Texas

In addition to these five main criteria, SmartAsset’s study also considered the general costs of attending each school, such as transportation, books and school supplies, and additional personal expenses. The methodology weighted the starting salary, tuition and living expenses of each school’s new graduates at 25%, scholarships and grants awarded at 12.5%, and student retention rates at 12.5%.

The complete study is available online.