Trinity University

Private · Selective · TX

Photo: Renelibrary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationTX · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads2,505

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate72.5%

6-yr grad rate84%

Drop-out rate7.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$54k

Out-of-state tuition$54k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity49.5%

Gender diversity54.6%

International5.1%

IdentityPresbyterian Church (USA)

Overview

Trinity University, in San Antonio, is a liberal arts and sciences university with resources that punch above its size, offering rigorous academics across the sciences, business, education, and humanities. Its red-brick, mid-century modern campus — largely designed by the noted architect O'Neil Ford — sits on a rise overlooking the San Antonio skyline, giving it a distinct, self-contained feel within a major Texas city.

Academics

Small classes and professor-led research define the Trinity experience, letting undergraduates get involved in faculty research earlier and more directly than at many larger universities, including funded research positions that are often reserved for graduate students elsewhere. Strength spans the sciences, business, education, and humanities rather than concentrating in one area, and Trinity is unusual among liberal arts institutions for also offering an accredited engineering science program, giving students real flexibility to pursue rigorous coursework across disciplines without transferring to a separate technical school.

Campus & student life

The campus's elevated, red-brick, mid-century modern setting overlooking San Antonio gives it a self-contained, close community feel while still offering access to a major city's cultural, culinary, and professional resources just down the hill. Athletics compete without athletic scholarships, keeping sports as a serious but secondary part of student life, and Greek life has a real but not dominant presence. Student life tends to be less pre-professionally singular than at business- or engineering-focused schools, reflecting Trinity's broader liberal arts identity.

Getting in

Trinity's admissions process is holistic, with real attention paid to essays and academic rigor given the university's emphasis on close faculty mentorship and research; students who show genuine intellectual engagement across disciplines, rather than a narrowly pre-professional focus, tend to fit well here. Trinity has also built a reputation for generous merit-based support for high-achieving applicants, which factors into how competitive students often weigh it against larger, better-known universities.

After graduation

Trinity graduates move into strong placement in medicine, law, business, and STEM graduate programs, aided directly by the university's research-heavy undergraduate culture and close faculty recommendations. San Antonio's growing tech, biosciences, and financial-services sectors — including a notable cybersecurity presence tied to the city's federal installations — give graduates who want to stay in Texas a real local pipeline as well. Trinity's smaller alumni base is known for being unusually accessible and willing to mentor recent graduates directly.

Worth knowing

Trinity's resources — endowment-supported research funding and facilities — are unusually strong for a university of its size, letting undergraduates access opportunities, like funded research and modern facilities, that are often reserved for graduate students elsewhere. The O'Neil Ford-designed campus is itself considered architecturally significant, and prospective students should know Trinity operates more like a small, well-resourced research university than a typical teaching-focused liberal arts college.

trinity.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate25.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1340–1500 · ACT 31–34

Test policyoptional

Rec letters2

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Early decisionNov 1

Regular decisionFeb 1

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App, ApplyTexas, or Coalition (Scoir).

Early decision IIFeb 1

Early Decision is binding while Early Action is non-binding, sharing the same November deadline; Early Decision II then shares its February deadline with Regular Decision.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗