Study ranks UT Austin one of Texas' 'best value' colleges

Hook 'em: UT Longhorns have plenty to celebrate after a new study named the University of Texas at Austin the second "best value" college in Texas.

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hook 'em: UT Longhorns have plenty to celebrate after a new study named the University of Texas at Austin the second "best value" college in Texas.

Financial technology company SmartAsset released its 2023 state-by-state study analyzing the best colleges in each state based on the following metrics: starting salary, tuition, living expenses, student retention rate and the average amount in scholarships and grant funding awarded.

Coming in first place was Rice University. The Houston-based higher education institution received an overall college education value of 90.10, based on the following metrics:

• Rice University's average scholarships and grants: $46,239
• Rice University's median starting salary: $77,900
• Rice University's tuition: $55,873
• Rice University's student living costs: $21,004
• Rice University's student retention rate: 97%

The Longhorns claimed the second spot, with a college education value score of 80.13. Looking at the methodology, its score reflected the following benchmarks:

• UT Austin's average scholarships and grants: $11,892
• UT Austin's median starting salary: $65,900
• UT Austin's tuition: $12,520
• UT Austin's student living costs: $18,757
• UT Austin's student retention rate: 96%

Rounding out the Top 10, here's a breakdown of the best value colleges making the mark.

1. Rice University
2. UT Austin
3. University of Houston
4. The University of Texas at Dallas
5. Prairie View A&M University
6. Texas A&M University - College Station
7. Texas Tech University
8. LeTourneau University
9. Texas State University
10. University of North Texas

Along with considering those five key criteria, SmartAsset's study also took into general costs to attend each school, such as transportation, books and school supplies as well as additional personal expenses. The methodology gave a 25% weight to new graduates' starting salary, tuition and living costs from each school, with a 12.5% weight for scholarships and grant money awarded and a final 12.5% weight for student retention rates.

The complete study is available online.