Ut Austin Rice University Among New Ivies In 2025 Forbes Says

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 5, 2025, 10:14 PM

ut austin rice university among new ivies in 2025 forbes says

Traditional Ivy League schools are falling out of favor due to political tension and shifting employer sentiment, with UT Austin and Rice University named among Forbes' 2025 'new Ivies.' Published September 17, 2025 at 4:20pm by Alexis Simmerman A new era of Ivy League schools is here, and they aren't restricted to the Northeast like the original eight — two can be found in Texas. While Forbes' 2025 list of America's top colleges included several Ivy League institutions, attitudes toward such schools are shifting. This change in sentiment is supported by responses in employer surveys, indicating new preferences for graduates of non-Ivy League education. Ivy League schools have been historically recognized as prestigious, known for intellectual rigor and foundations for elite careers.

But the current political landscape and employer sentiments suggest the regard once reserved for such institutions is now uplifting others. President Donald Trump’s attack on what he and others insist is a “woke” epidemic infecting the nation’s higher education system has turned the Ivy League and other elite colleges into pariahs. While still offering rigorous and broad curriculums, these schools have prioritized diversity and inclusion, which the Trump Administration would like to abolish. Trump has not hesitated to wield executive powers, legally and not, to enforce his vision—one that hamstrings research, terminates DEI programs, and prioritizes workforce preparedness. Hundreds of colleges now face steep federal funding cuts, gutted programs and federal investigations. Even the most fiscally fit universities are staring down four years of financial uncertainty.

But Trump’s personal beef has mostly centered on the Ancient Eight. An example: Last Wednesday, the Trump administration paused $175 million in funding for his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, because the university had allowed transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports before the... The freeze is “just a taste of what could be coming down the pipe” for Penn, a White House spokesperson told Fox Business. That same day, Columbia University—the epicenter of pro-Palestinian student protests in 2024 that angered alumni, major donors and others—signaled it would comply with a slew of demands from the White House, including suspending and... Earlier this month, the Trump administration cut $400 million in federal funding for the university, claiming university officials failed to address antisemitism on campus. While the ongoing political assault is perhaps the fiercest condemnation of the Ivies, employers share a growing distaste for America’s oldest and most venerable colleges.

In a Forbes survey answered by more than 380 C-suite inhabitants, vice presidents and other managers, 37% said they are less likely to hire an Ivy League graduate than they were five years ago—up... Another 12% said they would never hire an Ivy League graduate. Survey respondents pointed to graduates’ attitudes and lack of humility as sticking points. “I believe Ivy League candidates are over valued, and they frequently have a higher than real opinion of themselves,” one C-suite-level respondent wrote. “Entry-level job candidates should be “eager to learn, have no ego or be ‘stuck-up’ because of the school they attended,” said another. So if America’s favor is turning away from its most elite private schools, where are employers, students and parents looking instead?

For the second year, Forbes New Ivies has selected 10 outstanding public universities and 10 top private schools that are attracting the best and the brightest, and graduating students that are outpacing most Ivy... These colleges are highly selective—applicants have a one in seven chance, or slimmer, to gain admission to one of the private New Ivies, and a 50% chance or less to enroll at one of... And, they accept the best—the private New Ivies admit students with a median SAT score of 1530—slightly higher than the nation’s largest Ivy, Cornell University, which has a median SAT score of 1520. The public universities, which educate a combined 396,000 students, admit students with a median SAT score of 1410. Many of these schools are making their second appearance on our list—Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, for example, continue to impress. But this year, we welcome six newcomers: Washington University in St Louis, Tufts University in Massachusetts; Purdue University in Indiana; the United States Military Academy at West Point; the University of Pittsburgh; and William...

To stream KVUE on your phone, you need the KVUE app. Example video title will go here for this video Example video title will go here for this video AUSTIN, Texas — Is the University of Texas at Austin "elite"? Forbes says yes. The publication recently put together a list of what it's calling the "New Ivies," 10 public and 10 private universities that Forbes says are "turning out the smart, driven graduates craved by employers of...

Study at Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford & More! Explore Fully Funded Scholarships for STEM, Nursing, AI, Business, Engineering & Top Programs! The University of Texas at Austin has earned its place on the prestigious Forbes New Ivies 2025 list, joining an elite group of institutions that employers value as highly as traditional Ivy League schools. With over 43,000 undergraduates, UT Austin stands out as the largest institution among the “Public Ivies” category. This demonstrates that educational excellence can scale beyond the small, exclusive model of conventional elite universities. This recognition confirms what many Texans have long known: the flagship university in Austin delivers world-class education at a fraction of the cost of private alternatives.

Last year, amid a barrage of negative headlines around Ivy League universities, Forbes introduced a list of New Ivies. These schools, the magazine claimed, reflected public and private universities that were producing smart, successful graduates with excellent employment prospects. This spring, Forbes released its second annual list, using a methodology that considers school size, selectivity, and standardized test scores, coupled with feedback from a survey of 380 employers and hiring managers, to identify... 5. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 7.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Note: UC schools were omitted from this list, as they do not report test scores, which are a key piece of Forbes’ selection criteria. While this list features many of the same schools that appeared in Forbes initial ranking, there are a few new additions. Newcomers include Purdue, Pittsburgh, W&M, Tufts, WashU (a school whose absence from last year’s list was flagged by our commenters), and—perhaps most notably—the United States Military Academy at West Point, which had been excluded... We have often discussed the merits of service academies, which offer students an excellent education and opportunity to support their country, but Forbes also highlights the employment potential of West Point’s cadets: the school... When thinking about Ivy League schools, a few including Harvard, Princeton and Yale might come to mind.

But a new report from Forbes highlights a new lineup of elite universities — and two are in Texas. Rice and the University of Texas at Austin are considered some of the “new Ivies” on Forbes’ list of 20 due to their selectivity and prestige, among other factors. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago are all considered to be traditional Ivy League institutions, and have been the alma maters of past U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices and the nation’s richest Americans. But complaints over admissions policies and top officials’ responses to campus protests of the war in Gaza have clouded the success of traditional Ivy League schools, according to Forbes. Considering 2022 admissions data, SAT/ACT scores, school selectivity and hiring manager surveys, Forbes came up with a list of “new Ivies” that includes public and private institutions outside of the traditional Ivy League realm.

Move over Harvard and Princeton, Forbes has just anointed a fresh crop of academic powerhouses, and two Texas schools have made the cut. The University of Texas at Austin and Houston's Rice University are now standing tall amongst the newly dubbed "New Ivies." In a shake-up to the college prestige pecking order, Forbes rolled out its list... Forbes crafted the list amidst a backdrop of criticism towards traditional Ivy League schools, citing issues such as controversial admissions policies, grade inflation, and responses to on-campus protests. Texas' own UT Austin burst onto the "Public Ivy" scene, bringing a hefty undergrad population of 39,552 and an acceptance rate of 31%. Not to be outdone, Rice University joined the "New Private Ivies", boasting an acceptance rate of 9%. According to a KVUE report, this list has emerged as a response to growing disenchantment with the old-guard Ivies.

Amidst on-campus protests, including those at UT Austin and Rice involving pro-Palestinian demonstrations, these schools stand out, not just for their social activism but for their academic clout. Forbes sidestepped the original Ivy League schools, along with standouts like Stanford and MIT, to spotlight institutions like the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and the University of Virginia, alongside Texas' finest. Hiring managers, according to MySA, gave these schools high marks for churning out "smart, driven graduates craved by employers." Speaking on the inclusion of Rice University in Forbes' select list, Nicole Van Den Heuvel, Executive Director of Rice's Center for Career Development said, "We are delighted to see Rice University recognized as one... Representing a new guard of academic elites, these chosen institutions are reshaping the career landscape for future graduates. With an average SAT of 1482 and ACT of 33, students from these "New Ivies" are not just statistically impressive but, they are vetted and extolled by employers for their readiness and rigor.

It's out with the old and in with the new as schools like UT Austin and Rice University chart a path that could lead tomorrow's leaders out of the Ivy shadow and into the... (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

Ut Austin Rice University Among New Ivies In 2025 Forbes Says

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