Forbes’ ‘new Ivy League’ list includes two Texas universities.

Similar to the esteemed Ivy League universities, Forbes magazine has named the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Rice University in Houston as two of the best universities in the country.

Forbes created their own rating standards, excluding out prestigious colleges and typical Ivy League schools. Schools were assessed according to criteria such as drawing in top performers, employer satisfaction, and selective admissions.

Along with private universities like Johns Hopkins University and Carnegie Mellon University, UT Austin and Rice University are joined on Forbes’ list by other reputable public universities like the University of Michigan and University of Virginia.

Given that Indian students currently make up the majority of overseas students enrolled in graduate programs in the US, this honor is especially meaningful to them. There are significant numbers of Indian students at Rice University and UT Austin.

While Rice University is a private university with an extremely tough admissions procedure and an acceptance rate of just 8.7%, UT Austin is a sizable public university with an acceptance rate of 31%.

Other schools on Forbes’ ‘New Ivies’ list:

• Georgia Institute of Technology
• University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
• University of Virginia
• Binghamton University
• University of Florida

Five private colleges Forbes says are as good as the Ivies:

• Carnegie Mellon University
• University of Notre Dame
• Rice University
• Georgetown University
• University of Southern California