Private nonprofit · Houston, Texas

Rice University

Houston, TX · City · Medium (4,776 undergrads)Website Net price calculator

The total cost of attendance at Rice University was $87,824 for 2024–25, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Students who received federal aid paid an average net price of $11,164, and $5,707 if family income was under $30,000. In its Common Data Set (2024-25), the school reports 145 international undergraduates receiving aid, averaging $76,332.

Admit rate (2024–25)

SAT / ACT middle 50%

1510–1570 · 34–35

Selectivity

Admit rate: 8% (most selective)

Admit-rate bands: under 15% most selective; 15–35% very selective; 35–60% selective; 60–85% moderately selective; 85% or more admits most applicants. Descriptive only, not a prediction.

Cost of attendance (2024–25)

$87,824

Official · U.S. Dept. of Education (College Scorecard)

Net price (average)

$11,164

Federal-aid recipients; not for international students

Graduation rate

95%

Median earnings, 10 yrs

$90,773

Median debt

$13,000

Net price by family income

Average net price by family income
Family income	Avg net price	Students in band
$0–30k	$5,707	94
$30k–48k	$1,524	50
$48k–75k	$5,420	83
$75k–110k	$14,522	32
$110k+	$40,188	47

College Scorecard (most recent cohorts, release 2026-10-15), students who received federal (Title IV) aid. Bands with fewer than 30 students are greyed out because one or two students can move the average a lot. Counts: Scorecard fields NUM41–NUM45.

Why can a higher income band cost less here? Each band is a separate average for students who received federal aid and fall in that income group. Small groups and a different mix of grants in each group can make a higher band come out lower. These are the published figures, not adjusted.

Your real cost

Published cost → aid by income → what internationals pay

1
Published cost of attendance: $87,824 per year (2024-25)
Tuition & fees
$58,128
Housing & food (on campus)
$15,900
Books & supplies
$1,400
Other expenses
$2,850
Total: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, 2024-25. Breakdown: NCES IPEDS academic-year charges, 2023-24 (first-time, full-time undergrads). Costs usually rise each year.
2
U.S. students: average net price by family income
$0–30,000
$5,707
$30,001–48,000
$1,524
$48,001–75,000
$5,420
$75,001–110,000
$14,522
$110,001+
$40,188
Average for all aided students: $11,164. Net price = cost minus grants and scholarships (not loans).
Source: College Scorecard, 2024-25; students who received federal aid. Use the school's net price calculator for your own estimate.
3
International students: cost minus the school's own aid to internationals
Cost for a non-resident: $78,278. In 2024-25, 145 international (nonresident) undergraduates received institutional aid averaging $76,332.
For those aided students, that leaves about $1,946 a year. Students without an award pay the full cost. Past averages don't predict your award.
Source: the school's Common Data Set 2024-25, Section H6, numbers checked for consistency in the PDF (PDF copy from the College Transitions CDS repository), 2026-10-15. Open the CDS PDF
International students can't receive U.S. federal aid (Pell, federal loans, work-study). Add health insurance and travel.

Net price, earnings and debt

Average net price per year: $11,164
Median earnings 10 years after entry: $90,773
Median federal debt at completion: $13,000

Four years at the average net price ($44,656) is about 0.49× one year of median earnings.

Earnings and debt cover only students who received federal aid (grants or loans), not every graduate, and include students who did not finish. They describe past students and do not show that a college causes higher or lower earnings: who enrolls, what they study and where they live after all matter. International students are generally not in these figures.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (October 15, 2026 release). Earnings: median earnings of former students who received federal financial aid, measured 10 years after they entered the college (MD_EARN_WNE_P10). Debt: median federal loan debt of undergraduate borrowers who completed (GRAD_DEBT_MDN). Net price: average annual net price for federal aid recipients (NPT4). Compare colleges.

How students pay here

Need-based aid

We haven't verified this school's Common Data Set need figures (% of need met, average need-based grant).

Policy: need-blind for U.S. applicants (reported — confirm on the official aid page).

Merit (non-need) aid

No verified merit-aid figures. Federal data below combines need-based and merit grants.

All first-year aid (federal data)

Got any financial aid: 66%
Got a grant from the school: 57%; Average $51,409 (need + merit)
Got a Pell Grant: 16%; Average $5,797
Got a state grant: 6%; Average $4,525
Took a federal student loan: 6%; Average $5,169

International students

Need-aware for internationals; meets full need of admitted students (reported — confirm on official page; Need-aware; recipients get 100% of need met but are excluded from The Rice Investment.)

Forms & deadlines

FAFSA for U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens (this school takes federal aid). studentaid.gov
CSS Profile or the school's own form: check the school's aid page; many private colleges require it, including for internationals. CSS Profile
Aid deadlines: see the official aid page. We only list dates we've confirmed.

Sources: NCES IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022-23 (full-time, first-time undergrads; IPEDS doesn't separate need and merit).

Curated policies

International aid: need aware full need (secondary) · Test policy: unknown · Early: Not verified · Regular: Not verified · checked Oct 13, 2026. Official aid page

Living here

Houston · Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

Cost of living about the U.S. average · 2-bedroom median rent $1,425 · transit commute share 2.0%

Est. monthly student budget

$1,623

See the area

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Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts institution file (released Oct 15, 2026). Cost of attendance & admissions: 2024–25. Net price, earnings, debt and completion are the most recent cohorts in that release and lag by a few years; net price covers federal-aid recipients (not international students). Fit labels are rough indicators from published ranges, not admission odds. “—” = not reported.