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UT Austin rises to the top in new list of best Texas schools for 2024

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The University of Texas at Austin ranked No. 2 in Texas.

The University of Texas at Austin continues its streak of high rankings for its high-quality educational experiences. The home of the Longhorns earned a coveted top three spot on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the Best Colleges in Texas for 2024.

UT Austin claimed No. 2 in Texas, and ranked No. 32 nationally. The public institution had an undergraduate enrollment of more than 41,300 students in fall 2022. The school, which costs $11,698 in tuition for in-state students and fees each year, ranks No. 9 for "Top Public Schools" by U.S. News.

In April, UT's Cockrell School of Engineering ranked No. 7 in U.S. News' ranking of the best graduate schools in the country, while McCombs School of Business earned the No. 20 spot among business schools.

UT Austin actually fared similarly in Niche'slist of top public universities, in which it ranked No. 6 nationally.

U.S. News' profile of UT Austin says the university prides itself on being a top-tier research institution.

"UT Austin has been a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities since 1929," the site says. "The university attracts nearly $800 million annually for research. Top accolades include the creation of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines and the worlds’ fastest supercomputers for open research."

The university also boasts a rich campus culture that encourages students to participate in different organizations and activities.

"Students can participate in more than 1,000 clubs and organizations or in the sizable UT Greek system," the site says. "The university has several student media outlets, and its sports teams are notorious competitors in the Division I Big 12 Conference. UT also offers hundreds of study abroad programs, with the most popular destinations being Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and China."

Ahead of UT Austin in the ranking is Rice University in Houston. The "Ivy League of the South" ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 17 nationally.

Just behind UT Austin is College Station's Texas A&M University, which placed No. 3 in the Texas rankings and No. 47 nationally.

U.S. News' top 10 best colleges in Texas in 2024 are:

No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
No. 2 – University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 – Texas A&M University, College Station
No. 4 – Southern Methodist University, Dallas
No. 5 – Baylor University, Waco
No. 6 – Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
No. 7 – The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson
No. 8 – University of Houston
No. 9 – Texas Tech University, Lubbock
No. 10 – University of St. Thomas, Houston

The full rankings can be found on usnews.com.

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Drop the Debt

UT announces free tuition for families with income under $100,000

Photo by dszc Getty Images

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Beginning next fall, some students accepted into schools within the University of Texas system will receive free tuition and have all fees waived, the board of regents announced on Wednesday.

In order to qualify, families of undergraduates must make less than $100,000 a year.

The board gave preliminary approval to the plan on Wednesday. After the full board’s consideration and vote on Thursday, the plan will include a new, immediate infusion of $35 million directly to campuses to offer the financial aid benefit. The plan also directs additional investment in endowments supporting financial aid to ensure a commitment for tuition relief.

In 2019, the regents established a $167 million endowment at UT Austin to completely cover tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduate students from families with an income of up to $65,000. In 2022, the regents approved a second endowment of almost $300 million called “Promise Plus” to extend the program to all UT academic institutions.

“To be in a position to make sure our students can attend a UT institution without accruing more debt is very important to all of us [...]” Kevin P. Eltife, chairman of the board of regents, said.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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