University of Oklahoma vs. The University of Texas at Austin

UT Austin is far more selective, admitting about 26.6% of applicants against 76.6% at Oklahoma. The gap widens for non-residents: a Texas law grants automatic admission to in-state students near the top of their class, so only about 9% of UT's enrolled first-years come from outside Texas, versus 51% at OU. Out-of-state students draw a more accessible read at Oklahoma, where roughly 80% of non-resident applicants are admitted.

Both run strong business programs, and the fit splits on scale and focus. Business and marketing is Oklahoma's single largest field at about 29% of degrees, so the school leans heavily that way. UT Austin houses business at about 12% of degrees inside a much broader university, drawing from a far larger applicant pool. Texas is the harder admit; Oklahoma gives a business-minded student a more direct path in.

Texas residents in the top 6% of their graduating class win automatic admission to UT Austin, though not always to their first-choice major; everyone else, including all out-of-state applicants, goes through holistic review. Oklahoma runs no class-rank auto-admit law. OU reviews applications holistically and lists state residency only as a 'considered' factor, which is part of why its overall admit rate sits near 77%.

Oklahoma carries the lower out-of-state sticker, about $28,301 in tuition and fees versus $44,908 at UT Austin. OU also leans on large automatic merit scholarships tied to GPA and test scores, which can erase much of a non-resident's tuition. UT Austin meets more demonstrated need on average, roughly 80% to OU's 66%, with an average aid package near $20,219 against $16,189, so a high-need Texan can see that gap close.

They split here. UT Austin reinstated an SAT or ACT requirement starting with Fall 2025 applicants, so scores are now mandatory, though it publishes no admitted-student score range. Oklahoma stays test-optional and lets you decide whether scores are considered; submitting strong ones can qualify you for OU's automatic merit aid, where enrolled first-years posted a middle-50% SAT of 1160–1320.

UT Austin is nearly twice the size, enrolling about 43,165 undergraduates to Oklahoma's 23,351, both at the same 18-to-1 student-faculty ratio. Oklahoma houses about 90% of students on campus, against 64% at UT Austin, so Norman feels more like a contained college town while Austin spills into a major city around it.