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The list of available top colleges in San Antonio, Texas, continues to grow. Students throughout the country find the city has some of the best programs in the Lone Star State to offer. So how does a student begin the study process with so many colleges in San Antonio to choose from to find the right program for them?
To answer that question hence this ranking was established. With the details applicable to college students, such as tuition costs, cost of living, books, and supplies, this list of colleges in San Antonio offers reliable data to help students make their decision.
By looking at each school’s financial aids, along with the resources available to students, this is a perfect guide for those interested in attending a school in San Antonio.
1. Hallmark University
- Estimated tuition fees: $38,320
- Book and supplies: N/A
- Living cost: $30,101 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $4,928 (grants or scholarship aid), $4,691 (pell grants), $9,649 (federal student loans)
Hallmark University, in San Antonio, Texas, is a private university. It focuses on the Aeronautics, Medical, Industry and Information Technology research programs.
The university offers associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees in business administration. There are three colleges and one school holding these programs:
- College of Aeronautics
- School of Business
- School of Healthcare
- School of Information Technology
Hallmark graduates profit from the excellent record of the University’s income mobility index (i.e., the extent to which a college or university educates economically disadvantaged students with family income below the national median and graduates them into well-paid jobs). Also, Hallmark University has the second-lowest default cohort rate in the San Antonio area.
2. Northeast Lakeview College
- Estimated tuition fees: $6,690 (in-state) / $14,220 (out-of-state)
- Book and supplies: $1,674
- Living cost: $13,386 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $3,241 (grants or scholarship aid), $5,037 (pell grants), $4,754 (federal student loans)
Northeast Lakeview College (NLC), in Universal City, Texas, is a public community college. It is the newest of the five Alamo Community College district colleges.
The college was founded in 2007, following a successful November 2005 $450 million bond election. Classes began in August 2008 with an enrollment of 4,000 students at their present location. Enrollment rose to 5,200 in 2009 and 6,511 in 2010 as new buildings offered accessible space. Total enrollment is estimated at 16,000.
Nearly every Texas university accepts NLC transfer credits as long as they are in the Core. The school has a Drama department that has been well known. Additionally, Northeast Lakeview serves as San Antonio College’s outreach site so students can attend Northeast Lakeview classes then enroll at SAC.
3. Our Lady of the Lake University
- Estimated tuition fees: $29,218
- Book and supplies: $1,200
- Living cost: $13,344 (on campus) / $13,344 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $21,670 (grants or scholarship aid), $4,945 (pell grants), $5,556 (federal student loans)
Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), locally known as the Lake, is a Catholic University in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1895 during the 18th century by the Sisters of Divine Providence, a religious institute which originated in Lorraine, France.
Our Lady of the Lake University was the first higher education institution in San Antonio to receive regional accreditation, and its Worden School of Social Service is Texas’ oldest school of social work. Since 1923 it is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. In 1927, the American Association of Universities approved it as the third Texas college.
4. Palo Alto College
- Estimated tuition fees: $6,690 (in-state) / $14,220 (out-of-state)
- Book and supplies: $1,674
- Living cost: $13,386 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $5,580 (grants or scholarship aid), $5,142 (pell grants), $4,195 (federal student loans)
Palo Alto College, in San Antonio, Texas, is a public community college. It is one of five independently accredited universities in the District of Alamo Colleges.
The new college had drawn students from all over Bexar County and surrounding counties. Increases in enrollment have prompted physical development, especially by building new facilities for additional classroom space, as well as sports and recreation.
The college also provides many programs of education and training in the logistics and supply chain management at the associate degree and certificate level.
5. San Antonio College
- Estimated tuition fees: $6,690 (in-state) / $14,220 (out-of-state)
- Book and supplies: $1,674
- Living cost: $13,386 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $4,816 (grants or scholarship aid), $5,364 (pell grants), $5,619 (federal student loans)
The San Antonio College (SAC) is a San Antonio, Texas, public community college. It is part of the Alamo Colleges District, and Texas’ oldest two-year public college.
The college has an average enrollment of 22,028 credit students per semester, and an average annual enrollment of 16,000 students other than credit. San Antonio College is Texas’ largest single-campus community college, and one of the largest in the U.S.
The San Antonio College provides academic, vocational, and professional education that allows students to continue their education at a university or college for four years. It also provides opportunities in vocational and technical classes and has taken on adult education programs with the San Antonio Independent School District.
6. St. Mary’s University
- Estimated tuition fees: $32,140
- Book and supplies: $1,300
- Living cost: $13,860 (on campus) / $7,000 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $22,352 (grants or scholarship aid), $4,690 (pell grants), $5,427 (federal student loans)
St. Mary ‘s University, another great colleges in San Antonio, Texas, is a private Marianist Liberal arts college. St. Mary’s was founded in 1852 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), and is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and the Southwest of America.
In addition to pre-professional programs in medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health, and law, St. Mary ‘s offers 75 academic programs. St. Mary ‘s degree programs offer 19 Master’s programs and 2 Ph.D. programs. The faculty-student ratio is 12 to 1. St. Mary’s has nearly 200 full-time faculty members, 94 percent of whom hold undergraduate or associate degrees. The University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest department.
St. Mary’s is accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In fact, the Association to Advance of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredits the Greehey School of Business. Electrical and industrial engineering programs are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in the College of Science, Engineering, and Technology.
7. Texas A&M University – San Antonio
- Estimated tuition fees: $8,864 (in-state) / $21,877 (out-of-state)
- Book and supplies: $1,392
- Living cost: $15,454 (on campus) / $13,790 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $8,662 (grants or scholarship aid), $5,032 (pell grants), $5,830 (federal student loans)
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, or A&M) is a College Station, Texas public research institution. Founded in 1876, it became in 1948 the flagship school of the Texas A&M University System. As of 2020, the student population at Texas A&M is the largest in the USA.
The designation of Texas A&M as a land, sea and space grant institution – the only university in Texas to hold all three designations – reflects a range of ongoing research projects funded by organizations such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Health Institutes, the National Science Foundation, and the Naval Research Office.
8. The Art Institute of San Antonio
- Estimated tuition fees: $19,354
- Book and supplies: $600
- Living cost: $13,160 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $6,350 (grants or scholarship aid), $5,750 (pell grants), $8,877 (federal student loans)
AI – San Antonio is a college for profit, based in San Antonio, Texas. It is a small university with 469 undergraduate students enrolled. The acceptance rate for AI-San Antonio is 100%. Baking and Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts and Food Service, and Multimedia are common majors. AI – San Antonio graduates graduating 15% of the students go on to earn a starting salary of $27,300.
9. The University of Texas at San Antonio
- Estimated tuition fees: $8,262 (in-state) / $20,263 (out-of-state)
- Book and supplies: $1,000
- Living cost: $10,758 (on campus) / $14,995 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $8,029 (grants or scholarship aid), $4,879 (pell grants), $5,073 (federal student loans)
The University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) is a public research university based in San Antonio, Texas. Among the other colleges in San Antonio, this is the largest university with over 30,000 students, and the eighth largest in the state of Texas. It comprises three campuses that cover 725 acres of land throughout the San Antonio metropolitan area. UTSA offers 67 bachelor programs, 69 master’s degrees and 24 doctoral degrees.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is composed of nine colleges:
- College of Architecture, Construction and Planning
- College of Business
- College of Education and Human Development
- College of Engineering
- Honors College
- College of Liberal and Fine Arts
- College of Public Policy
- College of Sciences
- University College
All programs are completely accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Advance Collegiate Schools of Business accredits the UTSA College of Business.
10. Trinity University
- Estimated tuition fees: $44,680
- Book and supplies: $1,000
- Living cost: $14,984 (on campus) / $12,074 (off campus)
- Total amount of financial aid (average per student): $28,335 (grants or scholarship aid), $4,420 (pell grants), $5,197 (federal student loans)
Trinity University is a private college headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. Established in 1869, its campus is located in the Historic District of Monte Vista, adjacent to Brackenridge Park.
Trinity University, as defined by the classification of the Carnegie Foundation, is a small, highly residential university with a majority of inscriptions coming from undergraduates. The full-time, four-year undergraduate program is defined as “more comprehensive, lower transfer-in” and has a concentration on the arts and sciences with some coexistence of graduate students.
Trinity is accredited by the Colleges and Schools Southern Association, and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
Final thoughts
The San Antonio experience blends the physical and the intellectual in an thrilling mix from creative cultural hubs to vast desert landscapes.
It holds the largest number of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S., and is the top exporting state. It has diversified its business base over the years, and is now a leader in many of the following sectors of manufacturing: oil, petrochemicals, computers, electronics, biomedicine, aerospace, and agriculture. Only in this one territory, literally, there is a world of opportunities and this makes San Antonio a great place to study!
If you’re not already a San Antonio resident and you’re eager to explore unfamiliar parts of the country, there are many excellent colleges in San Antonio to add to your list.
