Rice ranks No. 18 in U.S. News

By James Cancelarich and Riya Misra     9/25/24 12:24am

Rice ranks No. 18 in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 national university rankings, tied with Vanderbilt University and the University of Notre Dame. Rice has also placed No. 8, 9 and 29 in the Niche, Forbes and Wall Street Journal rankings, respectively.

USNWR placed Rice No. 17 last year, and No. 15 in 2023. This year’s methodology no longer accounts for first-generation graduation rates and performance, instead weighing the outcomes of Pell Grant — federal financial aid — recipients more heavily.

While Rice has been dipping in the USNWR rankings, every other ranking is higher than last year’s. Rice placed No. 9, 22 and 64 for Niche, Forbes and the WSJ.

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Rice’s 13-spot ascent in the Forbes rankings — marking its first time in the list’s top 10 — was largely due to low student debt for graduates, Forbes wrote. Meanwhile, the WSJ said Rice’s 35-spot rise is partially owed to its expanding operations research major.

The WSJ hone their methodology, which was brand-new last year. The 2025 rankings reflect how surveyed universities “develop character strengths that help students make a meaningful contribution to society,” the WSJ wrote, and fine-tuned its model for weighing graduation rates and salary.

Hanszen College sophomore Rachel Huber said that while attending a prestigious school was important to her, the community at Rice drew her to the school.

“I definitely wanted a prestigious school, but I think that after a certain level they are all about the same, so it’s just what you’re looking for in terms of environment and community,” Huber said. “It’s more than just a ranking in a list; it’s the community that we have here.”

Huber also said that Rice has a strong academic profile, regardless of yearly changes in rankings.

“If you’re really concerned about it, I think companies that hire students right out of college also know the value of a Rice education or a degree from here,” Huber said.

Destinie Sharp, a Baker College junior, said that the rankings did not matter to her as much as Rice’s academics.

“I’m a QuestBridge student so I had ranked Rice [higher] because it’s an amazing school, but it’s also close to home,” Sharp said. “So its location that dictated [my choice], not really the ranking. But I heard all good things – it is a really good academic school.”

Benjamin Viafore, a Lovett College freshman, said that Rice’s ranking did not greatly affect his decision to attend.

“I think they are subjective, and I don’t put a large emphasis on them,” Viafore said.

Victoria Appel, a Baker sophomore, also said she believed the rankings were largely subjective and are not very important to her.

“There is no other place that I’d rather be than Rice,”  Appel said. “It is the best in terms of my values and what I look for in an institution, and that doesn’t necessarily align with a bunch of people from U.S. News and their values and opinions.”

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