Houston's version of an Ivy League school — Rice University — established itself as a regular in the Top 10 of the prestigious Princeton Review's 150 "Best Value Colleges," reaching as high as the No. 1 spot three times in the last 12 years. This year, however, Rice has dropped from the Top 10 entirely.
The Review said that through grants, work-study, merit aid and institutional funds, Rice's financial aid program reached 100 percent of student need. In spite of dropping off the list this year, the school's yearly tuition (both in-state and out-of-state) remained the same at $36,610, as did room and board costs of $12,600. According to the list, nearly 65 percent of undergraduates received need-based aid, with the average aid package coming to $33,004.
Other schools apparently have passed Rice in affordability, though.
University of Houston students graduate with an average of $16,582 in debt.
The University of Houston was also named as one of the nation's 150 "Best Value Colleges" for the fourth time with its average yearly in-state tuition at $9,318 and out-of-state at $19,848. The Review says that 80 percent of UH freshman receive financial aid with an average aid package of $9,724. Yearly room and board at the university is $8,753. The rankings note that University of Houston students graduate with an average of $16,582 in debt.
Three other Texas universities made the new list — The University of Texas, The University of Texas at Dallas and Texas A&M University.
To create the 2014 rankings, the Princeton Review compiled institutional data and surveys from 2,000 undergraduate colleges and universities.
The University of Houston was included in Princeton Review's list for the fourth time.
