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In recent months, it seems as though the headlines involving college campuses have leaned toward the more negative, with an assortment of controversies involving free speech, drag shows and disputes over curriculum taking center stage. This week, however, a few Texas universities, including a pair of local schools, can celebrate something a bit more positive thanks to the just-released U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.
Just days after Texas Christian University defeated Southern Methodist University in what might be the final Iron Skillet football game, the rival schools found themselves near one another on the annual list. But this time, it was the Dallas-based Mustangs coming out on top over the Horned Frogs from Cowtown.
The rankings are determined by a rather complex methodology involving 1,700 colleges across the U.S. Graduation rates, first-year retention rates, Pell graduation rates, borrower debt, and faculty salaries are just a few of the many factors considered.
Coming in at No. 88 nationally, SMU is tied with several other schools, including nearby Baylor University. The report notes that SMU has a 76% four-year graduation rate and that 54% of its classes have fewer than 20 students, to go along with an impressive 11:1 student/faculty ratio. For locals in the know, such numbers are hardly surprising.
But what is even less shocking is that U.S. News lists the annual cost for tuition, fees, housing and food at just shy of a whopping $70,000. Interestingly enough, that high price tag didn’t prevent the school from landing at No. 96 in the magazine’s Best Value Schools category. We mention that here since it’s doubtful many readers have ever heard “value” and “SMU” in the same sentence before.
SMU also ranked highly in other categories, including Economics (No. 66) and Best College for Veterans (No. 55).
Not too far behind its neighbor to the east, TCU sits at No. 97 on the national list, close to where it was on last year’s edition. According to the report, TCU has a 74% four-year graduation rate, with 39% of its classes having fewer than 20 students, to go along with a 14:1 student/faculty ratio. As a private university similar to SMU, value isn’t often discussed in the same breath as TCU, but here, U.S. News lists the school as the No. 72 choice in its Best Value Schools category with an estimated annual cost for tuition, fees, housing and food at around $84,000.
TCU also featured favorably in some other categories, coming in at No. 82 for Best Undergraduate Engineering Program and No. 74 for Nursing.
University of North Texas in Denton came in at No. 208 overall, but did land a lofty ranking in the Top Performers on Social Mobility list, coming in at No. 34.
“Economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for their achievement in high school,” says U.S. News when explaining what the social mobility category is about. “But some colleges are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.”
Several other Texas schools placed in the Top 100 overall. Rice University in Houston, as is typically the case, was the top Texas school on the list at No. 17, followed by the University of Texas at No. 30 and Texas A&M University at No. 51.
