Small colleges in Texas are a great option for students interested in a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Whether the focus is on the technical or on the liberal arts, small colleges give you the chance to pursue a well-rounded education while working closely with classmates and professors in a dynamic community atmosphere.
Texas offers more than 30 colleges and universities that serve communities of 10,000 students or more. The largest school in the bunch (and in the nation), Texas A&M University in College Station serves more than 65,000 students. The University of Texas at Austin is the next largest, serving about 45,000 students - but it too has a big claim to fame, as the wealthiest public university in the United States. Texas’s private colleges and universities, including Baylor University and Southern Methodist University, are also impressive in size and scope. The majority of these schools have religious affiliations and offer degrees in a variety fields, such as nursing, religious studies, criminal justice, business, and education.
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For students who prefer a more intimate educational environment, Texas offers a long list of smaller public and private colleges and universities, such as Abilene Christian University and University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Additionally, Texas has generous loan forgiveness programs for qualifying nurses, physicians, teachers, legal aid attorneys, and lawyers who work in the Texas Attorney General’s office.
Texas is known for doing things big. Big cities, big open spaces and, of course, big fun. Whether you’re hitting up the live music scene in Austin, catching a Cowboys game in Dallas, or strolling down the River Walk in San Antonio, you’re sure to have a good time. And, with more than 150 higher education institutes, it’s safe to say The Lone Star State is big on education too.
If you’re looking to earn your degree in the state of Texas, you’ll have plenty of higher learning institutes to choose from.
Did you know that some of the best small colleges in Texas were established and supported by churches? Southwestern University, established in 1843, was known as Rutersville University after its founder, Methodist minister Martin Ruter. Austin College, established in 1849, was started by the Brazos Presbytery.
Even today, the standard Texas Christian university maintains religious affiliations that strengthen the quality of higher education in these institutions.
Trinity University, a private liberal arts college, was founded by Cumberland Presbyterians in 1869. Abilene Christian University, a private university, is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. Houston Baptist University, now known as Houston Christian University, is a private Christian institution.
While these universities are considered “small colleges” due to the size of their student body—5,000 or less students in the undergraduate programs—these are big on benefits! But be sure to look at the few disadvantages of small colleges, too.
Many of the best small colleges in Texas are liberal arts colleges that offer academic programs in social sciences, criminal justice, and interdisciplinary studies, among others. With under 5,000 students, the student-to-faculty ratio ranges from 10:1 to 5:1.
With that in mind, numerous benefits of small colleges can be concluded.
Professors teach the classes themselves. Most of the best small colleges in Texas don’t have graduate programs, thus, teaching assistants are uncommon in classrooms. Professors then assume most, if not all, the teaching responsibilities in and out of the classroom that, in turn, encourages stronger commitment to education. (Professors aren’t subjected to the publish-or-perish mindset with emphasis on research in large universities).
Higher quality of evaluation and feedback. Since professors handle small classes, there’s more time and attention given to the evaluation of the students’ academic performance. Students benefit from the more constructive feedback and suggestions, thus, allowing them more opportunities for personal growth.
Professors are also more likely to assign more papers and projects that enable students to develop their communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
More personalized attention for students. With small class sizes comes the opportunity for more personalized attention from professors toward students.
One-on-one attention is of particular importance when writing a senior thesis project and other activities that benefit from academic advising. More student-professor collaborations are also possible.
Most importantly, a small college has a more closely knit community than large universities—the latter can have an isolating effect (i.e., being alone in a large crowd).
But small colleges have their disadvantages, too, including, fewer research resources and facilities; less variety in its social and sports programs; and fewer choices in majors.
First off, you should carefully weigh the pros and cons of small colleges. Ask yourself these questions. If you respond “yes” to most or all of them, then a small college may be right for you.
But even with affirmative answers, you should do a campus tour of the small colleges you want to be in! It’s the best way to see whether you will fit in or not.
The following list of the best small colleges and universities in Texas is composed mainly of four-year undergraduate schools (though a handful also offer graduate programs). We’ve identified 39 small colleges in Texas. The list below of the 25 best small colleges in Texas. To be included schools must fully accredited, and must have student body populations below 5,000 students.
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
34%
Graduation
80%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1335/30
Trinity University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
60%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/24
Abilene Christian University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
88%
Graduation
59%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
St. Mary's University, Texas’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
72%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/26
University of Dallas’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
43%
Graduation
68%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1210/25
Austin College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
44%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/22
Houston Christian University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1205/26
Southwestern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Graduation
18%
Student body
<1K
Texas College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
66%
Student body
3K
St. Edward's University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
37%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
Concordia University Texas’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
61%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1090/23
Dallas Baptist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
98%
Graduation
62%
Student body
3K
University of St. Thomas ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Graduation
27%
Student body
<1K
Wiley College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
35%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
975/17
Our Lady of the Lake University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
26%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/21
Texas Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
45%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/20
Schreiner University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$9K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
29%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
948/18
Sul Ross State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
23%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
935/15
Paul Quinn College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$22K
Acceptance
81%
Graduation
25%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
995/19
Wayland Baptist University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$3K
Graduation
41%
Student body
2K
Brazosport College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/21
Hardin–Simmons University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
54%
Graduation
64%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/25
LeTourneau University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$25K
Acceptance
95%
Graduation
43%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1066/22
Lubbock Christian University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$29K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
31%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/20
McMurry University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$30K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
35%
Student body
<1K
Howard Payne University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.