Many people ask if Rice is an Ivy League school. Its low acceptance rate and strong academic reputation are similar to those of Ivy League schools.
That comparison grew stronger in 2024. Forbes named Rice to its “New Ivies” list. This separate ranking focuses on admissions selectivity and hiring manager reputation. It does not consider conference membership.
Rice earned that recognition on its own academic merit, not through any tie to the eight-school conference. The sections below explain what the Ivy League really is. They also explain why people often group Rice with it. They show how Rice compares to traditional Ivies and other selective schools.
Key Takeaways
- Rice University is not an Ivy League school. The Ivy League is a specific eight-school athletic conference formed in 1954, and Rice has never been a member.
- The comparison exists because of reputation, not conference ties. Rice’s low acceptance rate and strong academic standing resemble those of Ivy League schools, even without any formal connection.
- In 2024, Forbes named Rice to its “New Ivies” list, a separate 20-school ranking based on admissions selectivity and hiring manager reputation rather than conference membership.
- Rice and the University of Texas at Austin are the only two Texas schools on that Forbes list, appearing in the private and public school categories respectively.
- Rice’s acceptance rate sits near 9%, putting it in the same selectivity range as several traditional Ivy League schools and close peers like Vanderbilt.
Is Rice University an Ivy League School?
Rice is not one of the eight Ivy League schools recognized by the athletic conference formed in 1954. Those schools are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Rice, along with the University of Texas, sits outside that group despite comparable selectivity. Ivy League institutions differ from Rice mainly through geography and history, not academic rigor.
What Is the Ivy League, Actually?
The Ivy League began as an athletic conference. Its eight member schools sit in the northeastern United States. Membership was based on shared sports scheduling, not academic ranking. Over time, the public began treating the name as a stand-in for elite education instead.
The Original Eight Ivy League Schools
The Ivy League includes exactly eight schools:
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- Princeton University
- Columbia University
- Brown University
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- University of Pennsylvania
No school has ever been added to or removed from this list.
Rice’s Ivy League Status Explained
The phrase “Rice University Ivy League” often appears in search results. It describes reputation, not membership.
Rice maintains a small undergraduate enrollment and a highly selective admitted student profile that closely competes with several Ivy League peers on SAT scores and class rank. Many students end up weighing a Rice offer directly against Ivy League offers once Ivy League decision day results come out.
Rice’s Academic Reputation and Rankings
Rice’s reputation rests on strong programs in engineering, natural sciences, and liberal arts. Its location near the Texas Medical Center supports health science research that few peer schools can match.
Rice keeps one of the smallest student populations among nationally ranked universities. Multiple national rankings, including U.S. News World Report, place Rice among the top research universities in the country.
Is Rice as Prestigious as the Ivy League?
Rice is often mentioned alongside the Ivy League and Top 20 schools. This comes down to its low admission rate and the highly selective nature of its undergraduate students. Whether Rice matches that prestige depends on the program in question.
In engineering and the natural sciences, Rice’s standing rivals that of several traditional Ivies, which raises a related question many families weigh: are Ivy League schools worth it in the first place?
Why Is Rice Not an Ivy League School?
Rice was never invited to join the athletic conference formed in 1954. Location played a role too, since the group formed around schools in the northeastern United States, and Rice sits in Texas. Rice was also founded in 1912, well after those older schools had built their ties. None of this reflects a gap in academic quality.
What Are the Forbes New Ivies?
In 2024, Forbes published a list called the “New Ivies.” It is likely the source of most searches today asking whether Rice is an Ivy League school.
Forbes pointed to growing criticism of traditional universities tied to admissions policies, campus protests, and shifting diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. The list named 20 schools chosen for strong student outcomes and hiring manager reputation.
How Forbes Selected the New Ivies List
Forbes built the list using 2022 admissions data. Researchers first removed the eight traditional schools, as well as Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the University of Chicago.
They then set acceptance rate thresholds below 20% for private institutions and 50% for public universities, and surveyed hiring managers about the schools that remained.
Full List of Forbes New Ivies
Forbes named 20 schools across public and private categories:
Public Schools
- Binghamton University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Florida
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of Maryland-College Park
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- University of Virginia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Private Schools
- Boston College
- Carnegie Mellon University
- Emory University
- Georgetown University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Northwestern University
- Rice University
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Southern California
- Vanderbilt University
Texas Ivy League Colleges on the List
Two Texas Ivy League colleges made the Forbes list: Rice and the University of Texas at Austin, often shortened to UT Austin. UT Austin is one of the largest universities in the nation, with an undergraduate enrollment near 40,000.
Rice, by contrast, holds an enrollment closer to 4,200. Both schools earned their spots through selectivity and hiring manager surveys, not conference ties. Families weighing cost against prestige may also want to consider affordable colleges in Texas beyond these two highly selective options.
How Rice Compares to Peer Schools
Comparing Rice to Ivy League members and fellow New Ivies helps show where it actually stands among selective schools. At CollegeCommit, we work with families nationwide, 100% online, to help students see where a school like Rice fits into their college list.
Admissions Selectivity Compared
Rice’s acceptance rate sits near 9%. That places it among the most selective universities in the country regardless of Ivy League status. For more on how that figure is calculated, see our explanation of what admission rate actually means. Admitted students typically score between 1490 and 1570 on the SAT.
