Two local universities – Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio – were just recognized on Forbes’ new annual list of America’s Top Colleges.
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).
Trinity University ranked as the 82nd best college nationwide, and it ranked No. 4 in a Texas-wide comparison. This private university has a 28 percent acceptance rate and an undergraduate population of more than 2,500 students.
Forbes says the total cost to attend Trinity University adds up to $68,224 per year, but that figure looks a lot less daunting after potential students consider that the university’s average grant aid amounts to $33,524. Forbes also found that students graduate with about $8,079 in debt on average, but more than half graduate entirely debt free.
“Undergraduates can choose from nearly 60 majors, with popular programs including business, social sciences, and biomedical sciences,” the university’s profile says. “Students have access to specialized student-teacher collaboration with the university’s 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio.”
Trinity has also ranked as Forbes’ 19th best university in the South, and the 39th best research university.
Meanwhile, the University of Texas at San Antonio ranked as No. 300 on the list, boasting an 88 percent acceptance rate and an undergraduate population of more than 33,000 students. Forbes says it costs $37,740 annually to attend UTSA, which can be reduced based on the school’s average grant aid of $10,530.
“The University of Texas, San Antonio, is a large public research university that is known for its well-regarded engineering programs,” Forbes says.UTSA – The University of Texas at San Antonio/Facebook
UTSA students graduate with $5,112 in debt on average, and within six months of graduation, more than 70 percent of alumni had secured jobs or started pursuing graduate-level education.
“UTSA’s 600 acre main campus houses programs in business, education, engineering and the liberal arts and sciences,” UTSA’s profile says. “Its satellite downtown campus houses its programs in entrepreneurship and urban studies.”
Forbes also touts the school’s reputation as “one of the nation’s foremost Hispanic-serving institutions” that offers “significant cultural support and development programming” for its primarily Hispanic student population.
Other Texas universities
Besides Trinity University, three more Texas universities made it among the nationwide top 100: Rice University in Houston (No. 12), the University of Texas at Austin (No. 46), and Texas A&M University in College Station (No. 61).
The 18 remaining Texas universities that were included on the list are:
- No. 103 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
- No. 107 – University of Houston
- No. 120 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
- No. 141 – University of Texas, Dallas
- No. 161 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
- No. 188 – Baylor University, Waco
- No. 238 – University of North Texas, Denton
- No. 246 – University of Texas, Arlington
- No. 293 – St. Edward’s University, Austin
- No. 304 – Southwestern University, Georgetown
- No. 342 – University of Houston, Clear Lake
- No. 354 – University of St. Thomas, Houston
- No. 359 – University of Texas, El Paso
- No. 408 – Texas State University, San Marcos
- No. 419 – Austin College, Sherman
- No. 422 – University of Dallas
- No. 437 – Abilene Christian University
- No. 449 – University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley
The report’s author wrote that it would be an understatement to say that 2025 has been a “rough year for American colleges.”
“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.”