Applying to Texas colleges? Discover the acceptance rates for the most popular colleges in Texas to decide where to apply.
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Contributing Writer
An award-winning historian and writer, Genevieve Carlton, Ph.D., has published multiple scholarly articles and a book with the University of Chicago Press. She currently works as a writer and consultant. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern...
Updated on September 29, 2023
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Editor & Writer
Margaret Weinhold is an associate editor for BestColleges, where she focuses on core content. She is passionate about increasing visibility and accessibility around higher education. Margaret holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia....
Learn more about our editorial process
By
Contributing Writer
An award-winning historian and writer, Genevieve Carlton, Ph.D., has published multiple scholarly articles and a book with the University of Chicago Press. She currently works as a writer and consultant. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Northwestern...
Edited by
Editor & Writer
Margaret Weinhold is an associate editor for BestColleges, where she focuses on core content. She is passionate about increasing visibility and accessibility around higher education. Margaret holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia....
Updated on September 29, 2023
Learn more about our editorial process
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- Acceptance rates reveal how hard it is to get into Texas colleges.
- Texas’s most selective college only admits 9% of applicants.
- Some Texas colleges admit more than 90% of applicants.
- Data on acceptance rates helps prospective students choose where to apply.
What are your chances of getting into different Texas colleges? While a handful of colleges admit every applicant, the most selective college accepts less than one in ten.
Every college in Texas publishes their acceptance rate, which represents the percentage of applicants who receive an admission offer. A lower acceptance rate means more competitive admissions, while a higher acceptance rate means it’s easier to get in.
How does the University of Texas at Austin acceptance rate compare to the acceptance rate? Which colleges send admission letters to more than half of applicants? Keep reading for the latest data on acceptance rates at Texas colleges.
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Popular Acceptance Rates for Colleges in Texas
Texas has dozens of popular colleges. But what are the acceptance rates for schools like UT Austin and Texas A&M?
University of Texas Acceptance Rate
Texas’s public university system enrolls over 250,000 college students. But the acceptance rates for UT schools vary widely.
The University of Texas at Austin has the lowest acceptance rate in the UT system. Out of over 60,000 applications in 2022, the flagship public university admitted 31%. In contrast, the University of Texas at Arlington admitted 81% of applicants, while UT Dallas accepted 85%. All the other UT campuses admitted more than 85% of applicants, with UTEP admitting 100% of applicants.
Texas A&M Acceptance Rate
The Texas A&M system has a higher acceptance rate than the UT system. Texas A&M University-College Station admits 63% of the more than 43,000 students who apply, while TAMIU admits 48% of applicants. The other Texas A&M campuses admit more than 85% of applicants.
Texas Tech Acceptance Rate
From its Lubbock campus, Texas Tech University admits 67% of the more than 35,000 applications it receives. The public university reported a median SAT score of 1190 and an ACT score of 25 for its admitted students.
Rice University Acceptance Rate
Rice University is the most selective college in Texas. In 2022, Rice reported an acceptance rate of 9%, meaning fewer than one in ten applicants received an admission letter. The private university also reported that more than 31,000 students applied.
University of Houston Acceptance Rate
The University of Houston system enrolls more than 70,000 students. Its four campuses admit a majority of students who apply.
At the main campus, 66% of applicants receive an admission offer. University of Houston-Clear Lake accepts 69% of applicants. The other two campuses in Downtown and Victoria accept more than 80% of applicants.
What Texas Colleges Have the Lowest Acceptance Rates?
If you’re looking at Texas colleges, you’ve probably wondered which schools are the hardest to get into. There’s one clear answer: Rice University has the lowest acceptance rate in Texas. Rice admits just 9% of applicants, making it one of the most selective colleges in the country.
Texas’s largest college, UT Austin, also has a low acceptance rate. The flagship public university admits 31% of applicants. It also receives more applications than any other Texas college, with over 60,000 applicants in 2022.
Several liberal arts colleges in Texas also report low acceptance rates. Trinity University in San Antonio admits 31% of applicants, while Southwestern University admits 45%.
Other competitive Texas colleges include Baylor University, with a 46% acceptance rate, and Texas Christian University, with a 56% acceptance rate. Southern Methodist University reported a 52% acceptance rate in 2022.
Acceptance Rates for All Texas Colleges
We've created a complete list of all four-year nonprofit universities in Texas. You can use the table below to compare data on student population, average net cost, acceptance rate, and number of applicants.
The following school data comes from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). All data is from 2022. Schools with fewer than 500 undergraduates were not included in this list.
| School | Acceptance Rate | Number of Applicants | Average SAT/ACT Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian University | 66% | 11,226 | 1160 (SAT) 24 (ACT) |
| Angelo State University | 79% | 4,209 | 1030 (SAT) 20 (ACT) |
| Austin College | 54% | 5,192 | 1240 (SAT) 26 (ACT) |
| Baylor University | 46% | 40,753 | 1320 (SAT) 30 (ACT) |
| Concordia University Texas | 86% | 1,886 | 1060 (SAT) |
| Dallas Baptist University | 91% | 8,519 | 1080 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| East Texas Baptist University | 68% | 1,449 | N/A |
| Hallmark University | 53% | 329 | N/A |
| Hardin-Simmons University | 88% | 2,314 | 1095 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Houston Baptist University | 84% | 10,258 | 1140 (SAT) 24 (ACT) |
| Howard Payne University | 62% | 1,233 | 1010 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Huston-Tillotson University | 52% | 1,885 | 920 (SAT) 17 (ACT) |
| Jarvis Christian University | 100% | N/A | N/A |
| Lamar University | 84% | 6,214 | 940 (SAT) 16 (ACT) |
| LeTourneau University | 49% | 3,000 | 1250 (SAT) 25 (ACT) |
| Lubbock Christian University | 82% | 1,070 | 1050 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| McMurry University | 57% | 2,345 | 1150 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| Midwestern State University | 92% | 5,507 | N/A |
| Our Lady of the Lake University | 100% | N/A | N/A |
| Paul Quinn College | 57% | 2,048 | N/A |
| Prairie View A&M University | 76% | 5,691 | 950 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| Rice University | 9% | 31,443 | 1540 (SAT) 35 (ACT) |
| Sam Houston State University | 85% | 16,316 | 1050 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Schreiner University | 85% | 2,202 | N/A |
| Southern Methodist University | 52% | 16,150 | 1450 (SAT) 32 (ACT) |
| Southwestern Adventist University | 54% | 1,438 | 1020 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| Southwestern Assemblies of God University | 86% | 627 | 1010 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| Southwestern University | 45% | 5,557 | 1240 (SAT) 28 (ACT) |
| St. Edward's University | 85% | 6,015 | 1145 (SAT) 25 (ACT) |
| St. Mary's University | 86% | 5,369 | N/A |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | 90% | 9,944 | 1060 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Sul Ross State University | 97% | 717 | 970 (SAT) 18 (ACT) |
| Tarleton State University | 87% | 5,788 | 1050 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M International University | 48% | 7,848 | 1010 (SAT) 18 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M University-College Station | 63% | 43,422 | 1270 (SAT) 28 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M University-Commerce | 86% | 6,604 | 1050 (SAT) 20 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 88% | 8,421 | 1090 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 97% | 5,768 | 1130 (SAT) |
| Texas A&M University-San Antonio | 96% | 9,110 | 950 (SAT) 18 (ACT) |
| Texas A&M University-Texarkana | 91% | 2,018 | 1030 (SAT) 18 (ACT) |
| Texas Christian University | 56% | 16,197 | 1260 (SAT) 29 (ACT) |
| Texas College | 100% | N/A | N/A |
| Texas Lutheran University | 92% | 1,835 | 1110 (SAT) 23 (ACT) |
| Texas Southern University | 97% | 8,582 | 910 (SAT) 17 (ACT) |
| Texas State University | 88% | 28,908 | 1080 (SAT) 23 (ACT) |
| Texas Tech University | 67% | 35,400 | 1190 (SAT) 25 (ACT) |
| Texas Wesleyan University | 61% | 4,622 | 1040 (SAT) 18 (ACT) |
| Texas Woman's University | 94% | 7,286 | 1040 (SAT) 20 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at Arlington | 81% | 21,963 | 1110 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 31% | 60,055 | 1370 (SAT) 30 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 85% | 21,500 | 1300 (SAT) 28 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | 100% | 10,493 | 980 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio | 87% | 23,295 | 1110 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas at Tyler | 94% | 3,493 | 1110 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas Permian Basin | 95% | 1,475 | 1010 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | 88% | 13,744 | 1030 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| Trinity University | 31% | 11,463 | 1380 (SAT) 31 (ACT) |
| University of Dallas | 59% | 4,307 | 1270 (SAT) 27 (ACT) |
| University of Houston | 66% | 29,783 | 1240 (SAT) 26 (ACT) |
| University of Houston-Clear Lake | 69% | 1,985 | 1080 (SAT) 21 (ACT) |
| University of Houston-Downtown | 88% | 6,131 | 1040 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| University of Houston-Victoria | 82% | 1,970 | N/A |
| University of Mary Hardin-Baylor | 96% | 13,001 | 1090 (SAT) 22 (ACT) |
| University of North Texas | 79% | 32,016 | 1120 (SAT) 23 (ACT) |
| University of North Texas at Dallas | 94% | 2,474 | 845 (SAT) 25 (ACT) |
| University of St. Thomas | 97% | 1,123 | 1165 (SAT) 25 (ACT) |
| University of the Incarnate Word | 94% | 9,625 | 1020 (SAT) 19 (ACT) |
| Wayland Baptist University | 70% | 1,311 | N/A |
| West Texas A&M University | 92% | 4,695 | 1050 (SAT) 20 (ACT) |
| Wiley College | 100% | N/A | N/A |
How to Boost Your Texas College Admission Odds
A high GPA and strong standardized test scores can help you get into competitive Texas colleges. But what are some other ways to increase your chances of receiving an admission letter?
- Focus on the Personal Statement: Your personal statement is your chance to tell colleges why you’d make a good addition to the student body. Showcase your strengths and explain any weaknesses while demonstrating your interest in the school.
- Consider Early Admissions: It turns out that applying early can boost your admission chances. So if you’ve got your heart set on a particular Texas college, check whether they offer early decision or early action admissions.
- Leverage Letters of Recommendation: College admissions counselors look at a lot of numbers. But your letters of recommendation offer a different view of you as a student and person. Ask letter writers who can highlight your academic skills and accomplishments. Consider putting together a packet with your admission materials and college goals to help letter writers craft strong letters.
- Do Your Research: Check the admission rate and average SAT/ACT scores for your prospective colleges. Learn about their programs and visit campus, if possible. Let colleges know you’re interested by contacting the admissions office.
You’ll also need to think strategically about where you apply. If you limit your college search to schools with low acceptance rates, you can harm your chances of an acceptance letter. Choose schools that match your academic record, as well as schools with a high acceptance rate.
Frequently Asked Questions About Acceptance Rates for Texas Colleges
What is the hardest college to get into in Texas?
Rice University is the hardest college to get into in Texas. The private university accepts just 9% of applicants. It also reports a median SAT score of 1540 and a median ACT score of 35.
Other Texas colleges with low acceptance rates include UT Austin and Trinity University, a liberal arts college. Both accept 31% of applicants.
Is it harder to get into UT or A&M?
UT Austin and A&M are both great Texas universities. The University of Texas at Austin acceptance rate is lower than A&M. UT Austin admits 31% of applicants, making it harder to get into. The Texas A&M admission rate is 63%. That means you’re about twice as likely to get into Texas A&M compared to UT Austin.
What Texas college has the highest acceptance rate?
Several colleges in Texas admit nearly every applicant. For example, the University of Texas at El Paso reported a 100% acceptance rate in 2022, as did Wiley College.
Many public universities in Texas admit a majority of applicants, including most schools in the UT, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and University of Houston systems.
What Texas college is the easiest to get into?
The University of Texas at El Paso is the easiest large university in Texas to get into. In 2022, UTEP admitted all applicants.
Many other public universities admit most applicants. Texas A&M University-College Station accepts 63% of applicants, while Texas Tech admits 67%. The University of Houston has a 66% acceptance rate.
What are the best colleges in Texas?
The best colleges in Texas include UT Austin, the flagship public university, and Rice University, a leading private research university. Other top colleges include Trinity University, a liberal arts college, and Texas A&M, a public university.
