Culture / Newsy

Texas Schools Make a National Stand in New Best Colleges Rankings: Rice Still Reigns Supreme, But a Dallas Power Emerges as a Strong No. 3

BY // 09.11.18

It’s that time of year again — autumn, the time to see where the schools stack up. U.S. News & World Report released its annual ranking of America’s Best Colleges, conjuring up images of campuses and late nights in the library.

Nine universities in the Lone Star State ranked in the Top 200 in the national category.

When it came to higher education, some of these Texas schools climbed higher than their standing on last year’s list. For others, it was a bit of a slip’n slide. There were surprises on both sides. And there were some other shockers on different lists — even among just Texas schools.

Rice University topped the rankings of Texas colleges, as per usual. This year, the private research university ranked No. 16 in America, although that is two slots lower than last year’s No. 14.

Baylor University and Texas Christian University also took a tumble, but both held fast to the Top 100. Baylor fell from No. 75 to No. 78 and TCU dropped from No. 78 to No. 80. Texas Tech held in there, making it to the Top 200 at No. 187. But last year, it held the No. 176 spot.

For the rest, it’s a stirring success story. The University of Texas, home to admissions fever and sometimes admissions controversy, came in at No. 49, whereas last year it landed at No. 56. Texas A&M, also recognized as a testament to Texas education, improved from No. 69 to No. 66. That’s a seven-point leap, and a three-point jump, respectively.

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One small twist: Southern Methodist University rose from No. 61 to No. 59. That makes SMU the third highest rated college in all of Texas.

And any way you slice it — last year or this one — SMU ranks higher than Texas A&M. Those Mustangs may be coming for the Aggies. Meanwhile, the University of Texas at Dallas rose from No. 145 to No. 129, and the University of Houston spiked from No. 192 to No. 171.

Overall, a strong showing from the Texas colleges. But why the shifts in what’s typically a more static order?

The changes are in part due to some major changes in criteria. This time around, U.S. News & World Report didn’t look at college acceptance rates. So highly selective colleges and universities didn’t get a boost just from being difficult to get into.

Instead, the publication added the social mobility metric, which measures the aid schools give to students from low-income families. This factor takes into account both the number of students who enroll and the number who graduate.

True Value Colleges

Looking a little deeper into the rankings, we can brag on Texas even more. On the Best Value list, Rice earned a praise-worthy No. 14 ranking in all of America.

For the strictly public school rankings, UT Austin came in at an impressive No. 15, A&M tied with Clemson for No. 24, and University of Houston earned the No. 91 spot.

Best Regional Schools in the West gave kudos to Trinity University in San Antonio with a N0. 2 ranking. Houston’s St. Thomas tied with LeTourneau University in Longview Texas —and Oklahoma City University and California State Polytechnic University at Pomona — for No. 26. UH Clear Lake took home the No. 61 prize, tied with Holy Names University in California. Houston Baptist University was neck-and-neck with two other schools for No. 69.

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