The university rose to No. 242 in the U.S. and is among the top 10 in Texas.
As the reach and breadth of Texas Tech University continues to grow worldwide, so does its reputation as one of the most affordable higher education choices in the U.S.
Money Magazine on Monday (Aug. 13) released its rankings of Best Colleges in America. Texas Tech proved to be not only one of the top schools in the state and among Big 12 Conference peers, but also in the U.S., coming in at No. 242, up from 271 in 2017. There are more than 3,000 baccalaureate-granting institutions in the U.S.
The rankings are based on a comparison of graduation rates, tuition charges, how much families have to borrow to pay for attendance and alumni earnings, among 22 other data points examined by the magazine. The rankings combined educational quality, affordability and alumni success, with figures compiled from the U.S. Department of Education, Peterson's guide to college information, PayScale.com and Money's College Measures calculations.
“We continually work to operate as efficiently as possible, making instructional and academic investments our first priority,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. “We need to provide the best possible educational experience for our students, while being attentive to the burden college costs have placed on families.”
Texas Tech's rank placed the university fourth in the state among public institutions and fourth in the Big 12 – ahead of Oklahoma State University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Texas Christian University, West Virginia University and Baylor University. The university also ranked 108th among all U.S. public universities.
With a competitive tuition rate and overall low cost of attendance, Texas Tech has long been one of the more affordable higher education institutions in the country.
In terms of financial numbers, Money estimated the full price of attendance for the 2018-19 school year at just over $24,000, but that 86 percent of students with need earn grants and 53 percent of all students earn some sort of grant to help pay for attendance, which then knocks the estimated price of attendance to $16,400 or $11,400 for low-income students.
The magazine also noted Texas Tech students' average time to earn a degree was 4.5 years, with an average student debt of $22,500. But within three years of graduation students also had an average salary of $53,400.
In April, Forbes ranked Texas Tech No. 138 overall and No. 89 among public universities in its Best Value Colleges listing, an increase of 160 positions from the previous year.
