COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · HOUSTON, TX

Is Rice University worth the money?

Yes — at resident pricing. A Rice University degree clears +$2.89M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.

A private nonprofit four-year school in Houston, Texas, priced at its published tuition (identical in-state and out-of-state) — earnings rolled up from 22 FREOPP-reported programs.

IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.

Rice University · Houston, TX

30-year net value · resident pricing
+$2.89M
Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
$90,289
Breaks even by age
36
Annual tuition · published (in- & out-of-state)
$58,128
Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
$296,112
FREOPP program coverage
22 programs
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)

Rice University runs through the /worth-it model at its published tuition, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Texas’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.

What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 22 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.

Questions

Is Rice University worth the money?
At resident pricing, yes: Rice University clears +$2.89M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $296,112 and median earnings of $90,289 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
How much is tuition at Rice University?
Rice University's annual sticker tuition is $58,128, the same in-state and out-of-state, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $296,112 (IPEDS 2023).
What is the total cost of Rice University?
Over 4 years, Rice University's sticker cost of attendance is $296,112 — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at Texas prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $90,289.
How long until a Rice University degree pays for itself?
The degree path overtakes the skip-college path around age 36 under our defaults — from there the gap only widens, ending +$2.89M ahead at the 30-year horizon.
What could change the number for Rice University?
Tuition at a private is the same wherever you're from, so the big lever is the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages). Loan share and time horizon move it too — both are editable on the calculator.

Keep going

Cite this:

LE TEEN (2026). “Is Rice University worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/rice-university