Rice University vs Baylor

Rice University and Baylor University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning in Texas, offer distinct educational experiences. Rice, a private research university, boasts a highly selective admissions process with an acceptance rate of 10.1%, while Baylor, a private Christian university, has a more accessible acceptance rate of 48.6%. Rice's student body is smaller and more diverse, with a total enrollment of 4,043 students, compared to Baylor's larger and predominantly white student body of 17,880. Both universities offer a wide range of undergraduate programs, with popular majors at Rice including engineering, computer science, and economics, while Baylor is known for its strengths in business, nursing, and education. With graduation rates of 94% and 79% respectively, both Rice and Baylor provide students with excellent opportunities for academic success and career preparation. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover more key differences and find the university that best aligns with your academic

	Baylor University	Rice University
Overview
Location	Waco, Texas	Houston, Texas
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	88.0%	97.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Baptist

Admission
Acceptance rate	56.7%	9.5%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $75 Graduate: $85
SAT range	1160 - 1350	1490 - 1570
ACT range	25 - 32	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score	39.0%	46.0%
Students submitting ACT score	31.0%	29.0%
Total number of applicants	36,588	29,544
Total number of admissions given out	20,741	2,802
Admitted students who chose to enroll	4,271	1,226
Yield rate	20.6%	43.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$68,150	$71,745
Average net price	$46,039	$18,521
Tuition	$50,232	$52,070
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,200 Meal plan: $6,074	Room/dormitory: $10,100 Meal plan: $4,700
Available payment plans	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	96.0% Average amount $21,460	61.0% Average amount $51,036
Students receiving federal student loan	38.0% Average amount $5,411	9.0% Average amount $4,982
Students taking out private loans	12.0% Average amount $26,787	2.0% Average amount $24,340

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	15,191 Men 39.8% Women 60.2%	4,247 Men 51.5% Women 48.5%
Graduate students	5,435 Men 34.4% Women 65.6%	4,038 Men 63.9% Women 36.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Moderate
Out-of-state students	43.4%	56.1%
International students	4.2%	25.5%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	5,321	3,533
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Texas California Colorado Illinois Washington	Texas California New York Florida Illinois

Academics
Popular study areas	Health Professions Business Public Administration and Social Service Legal Profession Education	Business Engineering Computer and Information Science Social Sciences Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio	16:1	6:1
Institutional accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	81.6%	92.3%
Dropout rate	18.2%	6.9%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $96,204 Year 2: $96,457 Year 3: $109,058 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $100,127 Year 3: $100,370 General Sales, Merchandising and Related Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $71,388 Year 2: $84,653 Year 3: $98,739 Law (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $75,072 Year 2: $69,338 Year 3: $85,393 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $67,702 Year 2: $75,047 Year 3: $82,751 Computer Science (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $79,793 Year 2: $71,015 Year 3: $82,525 Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $62,614 Year 2: $65,320 Year 3: $82,203 Business/Commerce, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,012 Year 2: $52,941 Year 3: $75,979 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $61,433 Year 2: $63,522 Year 3: $74,962 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,921 Year 2: $66,897 Year 3: $74,883	Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $122,770 Year 2: $129,481 Year 3: $145,256 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,659 Year 2: $127,993 Year 3: $134,258 Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $78,801 Year 2: $83,915 Year 3: $92,763 Economics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $87,989 Year 2: $72,884 Year 3: $81,590 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,400 Year 2: $68,219 Year 3: $76,594 History (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: $61,295 Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $50,231 Year 3: $59,421 Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,232 Year 2: $35,060 Year 3: $52,284 English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,009 Year 2: $46,087 Year 3: $46,363 Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $31,474 Year 2: $30,119 Year 3: $45,615

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