Beginning in fall 2027, Rice University will offer free tuition to students from families earning up to $200,000 and cover tuition, fees, room, and board for those earning less than $100,000.
In the 2027 Niche ranking, Rice University rocketed 37 spots from No. 49 last year to No. 12. Other risers include University of Virginia which jumped five spots to No. 13 and Northwestern University rising 12 places to No. 15. University of Wisconsin-Madison also makes a sizable move, climbing eight spots to No. 22.
Rice’s rise comes as the university pours new resources into an undergraduate business program that barely existed five years ago.
The university launched its undergraduate business major in 2021 with just a handful of classes. By 2025, between 600 and 650 undergraduates were pursuing the degree, and surveys of incoming freshmen showed more interest in business than in any other academic field.
In 2024, it secured the largest gift in Rice Business history (though the school did not disclose the amount) to established the Virani Undergraduate School of Business. The gift was intended to help Rice expand faculty, career services, experiential learning, and community engagement while giving the undergraduate program a more distinct identity from the university’s graduate business school.
Rice also opened the 112,000-square-foot Virani Hall this fall, giving undergraduate business students their own hub next to McNair Hall, home to Rice Business. The building includes technology-enabled classrooms, breakout rooms, research space, faculty offices, event space, and common areas designed to bring undergraduate and graduate business students together.
At the same time, Rice is widening access. Beginning with students entering in fall 2027, the university will offer free tuition to admitted students from families earning up to $200,000, while those from families earning less than $100,000 will have tuition, fees, room, and board fully covered.
NICHE’S 50 BEST COLLEGES FOR BUSINESS
Niche compared data from more than 1,000 U.S. based colleges and universities for its 2027 ranking. You can find its full business ranking here.
Below are the first 50 colleges and universities in Niche’s 2027 ranking, along with their 2026 positions and current acceptance rate, net price, and SAT range.
2027 Rank |
University/College |
2026 Rank |
Change |
Acceptance Rate |
Net Price |
SAT Range |
| 1 | University of Pennsylvania | 1 | — | 5% | $23,570 | 1510-1570 |
| 2 | Cornell University | 2 | — | 9% | $26,361 | 1500-1570 |
| 3 | Carnegie Mellon University | 6 | ↑ 3 | 12% | $35,552 | 1500-1570 |
| 4 | Georgetown University | 5 | ↑ 1 | 13% | $39,083 | 1390-1550 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4 | ↓ 1 | 5% | $20,996 | 1520-1580 |
| 6 | University of Southern California | 3 | ↓ 3 | 10% | $43,412 | 1450-1550 |
| 7 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 11 | ↑ 4 | 16% | $17,574 | 1360-1530 |
| 8 | University of Georgia | 7 | ↓ 1 | 38% | $16,662 | 1270-1480 |
| 9 | University of Florida | 9 | — | 24% | $11,936 | 1320-1480 |
| 10 | University of Notre Dame | 12 | ↑ 2 | 11% | $29,300 | 1460-1560 |
| 11 | Florida State University | 10 | ↓ 1 | 24% | $15,815 | 1270-1410 |
| 12 | Rice University | 49 | ↑ 37 | 8% | $23,589 | 1510-1570 |
| 13 | University of Virginia | 18 | ↑ 5 | 17% | $18,427 | 1410-1540 |
| 14 | University of Texas-Austin | 13 | ↓ 1 | 27% | $17,942 | 1250-1510 |
| 15 | Northwestern University | 27 | ↑ 12 | 8% | $26,830 | 1510-1570 |
| 16 | Washington and Lee University | 19 | ↑ 3 | 14% | $23,055 | 1430-1540 |
| 17 | Northeastern University | 8 | ↓ 9 | 5% | $34,207 | 1440-1540 |
| 18 | Texas A&M University | 20 | ↑ 2 | 57% | $21,437 | 1150-1400 |
| 19 | Florida International University | 16 | ↓ 3 | 55% | $11,178 | 1070-1260 |
| 20 | University of California-Berkeley | 23 | ↑ 3 | 11% | $16,538 | 1310-1530 |
| 21 | University of Miami | 14 | ↓ 7 | 19% | $45,397 | 1320-1480 |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 30 | ↑ 8 | 45% | $14,235 | 1380-1520 |
| 23 | Brigham Young University | 25 | ↑ 2 | 68% | $16,694 | 1270-1460 |
| 24 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 29 | ↑ 5 | 15% | $10,154 | 1390-1530 |
| 25 | Emory University | 24 | ↓ 1 | 11% | $27,303 | 1470-1550 |
| 26 | Boston University | 33 | ↑ 7 | 11% | $24,420 | 1420-1530 |
| 27 | Babson College | 22 | ↓ 5 | 17% | $32,019 | 1390-1530 |
| 28 | Virginia Tech | 21 | ↓ 7 | 55% | $24,912 | 1280-1450 |
| 29 | Auburn University | 34 | ↑ 5 | 46% | $25,242 | 1260-1390 |
| 30 | Purdue University | 31 | ↑ 1 | 50% | $13,722 | 1200-1480 |
| 31 | Arizona State University | 40 | ↑ 9 | 90% | $17,779 | 1100-1320 |
| 32 | Clemson University | 38 | ↑ 6 | 38% | $25,003 | 1240-1410 |
| 33 | Texas Tech University | 35 | ↑ 2 | 73% | $16,919 | 1090-1280 |
| 34 | University of Oklahoma | 32 | ↓ 2 | 77% | $18,574 | 1140-1330 |
| 35 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 48 | ↑ 13 | 42% | $13,973 | 1310-1520 |
| 36 | Oklahoma State University | 36 | — | 75% | $19,561 | 1040-1250 |
| 37 | The Ohio State University | 46 | ↑ 9 | 61% | $19,783 | 1310-1480 |
| 38 | University of California-Los Angeles | 55 | ↑ 17 | 9% | $14,512 | — |
| 39 | University of South Florida | 43 | ↑ 4 | 43% | $11,579 | 1130-1320 |
| 40 | Everglades University | 39 | ↓ 1 | 81% | $27,948 | — |
| 41 | New York University | 28 | ↓ 13 | 9% | $30,325 | 1480-1560 |
| 42 | Minerva University | 15 | ↓ 27 | 3% | $13,324 | — |
| 43 | Penn State | 45 | ↑ 2 | 61% | $27,889 | 1240-1420 |
| 44 | Southern New Hampshire University | 65 | ↑ 21 | 100% | $36,501 | — |
| 45 | Miami Dade College | NA | NA | 100% | $5,766 | — |
| 46 | Washington University in St. Louis | 17 | ↓ 29 | 12% | $22,408 | 1500-1570 |
| 47 | University of South Carolina | 47 | — | 60% | $24,488 | 1180-1360 |
| 48 | Wake Forest University | 37 | ↓ 11 | 22% | $24,401 | 1410-1520 |
| 49 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 26 | ↓ 23 | 78% | $17,270 | 1170-1400 |
| 50 | University of California-San Diego | 73 | ↑ 23 | 27% | $14,047 | — |
DON’T MISS: PRINCETON REVIEW’S 2027 BEST COLLEGES: TOP SCHOOLS FOR CAREER SERVICES, HAPPY STUDENTS, AND LOTS OF BEER AND THE B-SCHOOLS THAT CONNECT STUDENTS TO TIME’S TOP STARTUP INCUBATORS & ACCELERATORS
© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.
