Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas | Admissions Phone: 210-999-7207
E-mail: admissions@trinity.edu | Website: www.trinity.edu
ADMISSION
Admission Rate: 34%
Admission Rate - Men: 35%
Admission Rate - Women: 33%
EA Admission Rate: 65%
ED Admission Rate: 79%
Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): -30%
ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): +22%
% of Admits Attending (Yield): 23%
Transfer Admission Rate: 30%
# Offered Wait List: 876
# Accepted Wait List: 455
# Admitted Wait List: 7
SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 630-710
SAT Math (Middle 50%): 630-720
ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 28-32
Testing Policy: ACT/SAT Required
SAT Superscore: Yes
ACT Superscore: Yes
% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 42%
% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 76%
% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 96%
ENROLLMENT
Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,477
% Part-Time: 2%
% Male: 47%
% Female: 53%
% Out-of-State: 24%
% Fraternity: 8%
% Sorority: 15%
% On-Campus (Freshman): 100%
% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 82%
% African-American: 4%
% Asian: 7%
% Hispanic: 21%
% White: 57%
% Other: 4%
% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 2%
% International: 5%
% Low-Income: 18%
ACADEMICS
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 9:1
% of Classes Under 20: 62%
% of Classes Under 40: 97%
% Full-Time Faculty: 75%
% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 95%
Top Programs
Accounting
Biology
Engineering Science
English
History
Mathematical Finance
Neuroscience
Retention Rate: 91%
4-Year Graduation Rate: 65%
6-Year Graduation Rate: 76%
Curricular Flexibility: Less Flexible
Academic Rating: 
FINANCIAL
Institutional Type: Private
In-State Tuition: $44,680
Out-of-State Tuition: $44,680
Room & Board: $13,584
Required Fees: $616
Books & Supplies: $1,000
Avg. Need-Based Aid: $32,162
Avg. % of Need Met: 98%
Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $22,102
% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 67%
Avg. Cumulative Debt: $42,036
% of Students Borrowing: 44%
CAREER
Who Recruits
1. USAA
2. AXA Advisors
3. Dell
4. Capgemini
5. KPMG
Notable Internships
1. San Antonion Spurs
2. US State Department
3. Apple
Top Industries
1. Business
2. Education
3. Operations
4. Social Services
5. Sales
Top Employers
1. USAA
2. Deloitte
3. PwC
4. EY
5. H-E-B
Where Alumni Work
1. San Antonio
2. Houston
3. Dallas
4. Austin
5. Washington, DC
Median Earnings
College Scorecard (Early Career): $54,900
EOP (Early Career): $58,100
PayScale (Mid-Career): $102,900
RANKINGS
Forbes: 143
Money: 154
U.S. News: 1, Regional West
Wall Street Journal/THE: 111 (T)
Washington Monthly: N/A
Inside the Classroom
It is rare to see a jump in selectivity on the scale of San Antonio’s top school, Trinity University, which has sliced its acceptance rate in half in only a few years. The school’s meteoric rise has occurred contemporaneously with its 150th anniversary, and while the school continues to be majority Texan—two-thirds of enrollees are residents—applications from out-of-staters have risen in recent years. An increasingly gifted undergraduate student body approaching 2,500 enjoys the choice of forty-seven majors and a carefully crafted liberal arts core curriculum that is more demanding than the norm.
The distinct Pathways Program guides the educational journey at Trinity and is defined by six curricular requirements that involve an overwhelming number of manufactured terminologies. First-year experience courses, capped at sixteen students, introduce freshmen to the rigors of university-level reading and writing. In order to fulfill the Approaches to Creation and Analysis pathway, students must complete one course in the humanities, the arts and creative disciplines, social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, and quantitative disciplines. Undergrads must also check off each of the Core Capacities: (1) written, oral, and visual communication; (2) digital literacy; and (3) engaged citizenship. All must also tackle “the Interdisciplinary Clusters,” three-course groupings with themes such as ecological civilization in Asia or constructing and deconstructing language. One physical education course and one academic major round out the complex labyrinth of mandated coursework at Trinity U.
Undergraduates are the primary beneficiaries of a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio as the university only enrolls around 140 graduate students. You won’t encounter any adjuncts or teaching assistants at Trinity, and 97 percent of the 250 full-time faculty members hold terminal degrees in their fields. Sixty-three percent of courses enroll fewer than twenty students, one-quarter of sections enroll between twenty and twenty-nine, and few contain more than that. Over the summer, close to 140 students participate in intensive undergraduate research projects with faculty members. Overall, 80 percent of students engage in some type of hands-on learning, whether through research or an internship. Study abroad programs are taken advantage of by 35 percent of graduates, most of whom participate in affiliated but not Trinity-run offerings.
Trinity’s well regarded School of Business attracts the greatest percentage of students as finance, accounting, and business administration degrees account for 23 percent of the total degrees conferred. Communication, biology, foreign language, and computer science also have strong representation. The university’s reputation within the state of Texas is strong, and many graduates further their education or begin their careers locally, but the national prestige of the school is growing by the year. That can be seen in the procurement of highly competitive national fellowships. There were two Goldwater Scholars selected from the Class of 2018, and there were four Fulbright Scholars in the Class of 2017.
Outside the Classroom
With undergraduates required to live on campus for their first three years and 74 percent of all undergraduates residing on the 117-acre grounds, the formation of a tight-knit college community is almost unavoidable. Greek life is also alive and well with 16 percent of men pledged to fraternities and 18 percent of women members of sororities; there are sixteen total Greek organizations on campus. Nine men’s and nine women’s athletic teams compete at the Division III level, and they do so with intensity; they’ve captured four championships in recent years. The intramural programs scoop up pretty much everyone not playing a varsity sport with roughly three-fifths of the student body participating in intramural athletics. There are also ninety-seven student-run organizations, including groups devoted to animal welfare, fantasy sports and analytics, and indigenous peoples. The spirit of service is strong as 1,600 students contribute 120,000+ volunteer hours annually. Trinity’s campus is only three miles from downtown San Antonio, opening possibilities for all sorts of big-city fun, but having a car is useful. Austin is a popular weekend getaway that is roughly an hour-and-a-half drive from the university.
Career Services
The newly-created Center for Experiential Learning and Career Success (CELCS) is staffed by nine full-time employees (not including administrative assistants) who specialize in areas such as career counseling, experiential learning coordination, and employer relations. That equates to a student-to-advisor ratio of 270:1, better than average when compared against other schools in this guidebook. Fall and spring career fairs were attended by fifty-one employers in the 2018-19 academic year, including top companies like KPMG, Booz Allen Hamilton, Valero Energy, and EY. It also regularly hosts smaller-scale events such as Lunch ‘n Learns, employer information sessions, and workshops on topics such as networking, interviewing, and professional dining etiquette.
The school switched to the Handshake platform in 2018 and presently has opportunities from 3,600 employers posted in its database. As of the 2018-19 school year, 65 percent of Trinity students participated in at least one internship during their undergraduate education. Close to 200 on-campus interviews are conducted by employers each year. There are 29,000 actively engaged Tiger alumni, and they are more than happy to provide career advice, arrange a job-shadowing experience, or offer mentorship to current students. The office also facilitates a solid number of one-on-one counseling sessions; it held 1,058 such appointments last year. The nascent CELCS is on the rise and is quickly becoming the type of career services center that the university leadership outlined in its most recent strategic plan.
Professional Outcomes
Six months after receiving their diplomas, 45 percent of Trinity grads are employed full time, and 26 percent have matriculated into graduate school; a shade under 10 percent are still seeking employment. The companies employing the largest number of alumni include USAA (a San Antonio based financial firm), PwC, EY, Deloitte, Dell, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, and Amazon. Most Trinity grads stay in the Lone Star State with San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Austin being the four most common landing spots. Median salaries at midcareer are solid, ranking third in the state behind Rice and Texas A&M and just in front of UT Austin. Starting salaries are estimated at $51k while median midcareer salaries are estimated at $105,000.
Those graduating in spring 2018 were accepted into graduate school at an overall rate of 76 percent. In the last five years, acceptance rates into medical school have consistently been above national averages, hovering between 55 percent and 75 percent. Graduates have gone on to Dell Medical School (University of Texas), Harvard Medical School, and Tufts Medical School, among other less prestigious institutions. Law school rates have been within the 75-90 percent range in recent years. Among the most popular law schools attended by recent graduates are the University of Texas, Texas Tech, St. Mary’s School of Law, and SMU.
Admission
Just five years ago, Trinity University received barely north of 4,500 applicants and admitted an unintimidating 64 percent; freshmen entering in 2018-19 faced an applicant pool of double that size and an acceptance rate of only 34 percent. Today, the mid-50 percent SAT score is 1260-1430 and the mid-50 percent ACT score is 28-32. A solid 42 percent of entering freshmen earned a place in the top 10 percent of their graduating classes, and 76 percent were in the top quartile; the average GPA was a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. The average profile of a student beginning at Trinity only a few years ago was less impressive.
Trinity may be a small school that gives each application a “thorough review,” yet the meat-and- potatoes factors of GPA, class rank, test scores, and engagement in a rigorous curriculum rest atop the list of most important considerations. The next tier of factors includes an interview, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, and character/personal qualities. There would have been no reason to apply early to this university in years past, but a sharp spike in competitiveness has put this strategic option firmly in play. In 2018-19, Trinity accepted 114 of 144 early applicants for a hyper-friendly 80 percent acceptance rate. Strong test scores and B+/A- average are now prerequisites for admission to Trinity, a statement that would have been hard to believe a decade ago. If you’re a borderline applicant, going the ED route makes a ton of sense.
Worth Your Money?
Amazingly, given the current landscape, a list price cost of attendance of $60,780 isn’t incredibly high for a private university. Yet, the truly good news is that this sticker price is rarely what undergraduates pay. Trinity awards a merit aid discount to two-thirds of current students with an average annual value of $22,000. Further, 47 percent of students meet the criteria for need-based grant eligibility, and the average annual award is $32k. With most students receiving sizable discounts, Trinity becomes a solid value, especially when you consider that its grads bring home above-average salaries at each stage of their careers.