Houston's prestigious Rice University has landed a top spot among Forbes' annual list of America's Top Colleges. Three more local institutions – University of Houston, University of Houston at Clear Lake, and University of St. Thomas – were also recognized on the list.

The ranking highlights 500 colleges and universities throughout the country that "produce successful, high-earning and influential graduates from all economic backgrounds, with less student debt." Rankings are determined based on each school's "return on investment," the average student debt, and graduate outcomes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped the list this year, followed by Columbia University in New York (No. 2) and Princeton University in New Jersey (No. 3).

Rice University, also known Houston's "Ivy League of the South," ranked as the 12th best college nationwide, and it topped the Texas-wide comparison. This private university has a 7.7 percent acceptance rate and an undergraduate population of more than 4,700 students.

Forbes says the total cost to attend Rice adds up to $78,278 per year, but that figure looks a lot less daunting after potential students consider that the university's average grant aid amounts to $53,526. Forbes also found that students graduate with about $10,083 in debt on average.

"Rice offers more than 50 undergraduate majors where students can take full advantage of small class sizes, thanks to the university’s 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio," the university's profile says. "Rice combines academics and campus life through what it describes as an 'unconventional culture,' where students cultivate community and belonging by staying at one of the 11 assigned residential colleges."

Forbes also touts the university's connection with NASA, as 16 Rice alumni and faculty members have served as astronauts or NASA administrators.

Rice University has also ranked as Forbes' No. 2 best Southern university, and it ranked 11th on two separate lists of the best private colleges and research universities.

Here's where Houston's three other top universities landed on Forbes' list of the 500 best American colleges:

• No. 107 – University of Houston
• No. 342 – University of Houston, Clear Lake
• No. 354 – University of St. Thomas

"Over the past eight months, President Donald Trump, his administration, and Congressional Republicans have waged financial and cultural war on higher education — freezing research funds, punishing efforts at campus diversity, constricting the flow of foreign students, raising the tax on some college endowments and curbing the generosity of student loan programs," the report says. "Despite this, American colleges are still delivering gold-standard undergraduate education."

Only three other Texas universities made it among the top 100: The University of Texas at Austin (No. 46), Texas A&M University in College Station (No. 61), and Trinity University in San Antonio (No. 82).