Back-to-school time is a fine time for new college rankings, and — oh look, here they are.

Neighborhood review site Niche.com has just released this year's college rankings, which rely on U.S. Department of Education data coupled with reviews from current students, alumni, and parents to judge American colleges on 12 factors, including academics, campus, dorm life, and professors.

In results that look strikingly similar to last year's list, three Dallas-Fort Worth universities have made the grade among top 10 Texas schools this year.

Southern Methodist University came in at No. 4, Fort Worth's Texas Christian University ranked No. 6, and University of Texas — Dallas just barely made the cut, at No. 10.

Once again, Houston's Rice University was named the best school in Texas (and seventh best in the United States). The complete top 10 in Texas looks like this:

1. Rice University
2. University of Texas — Austin
3. Texas A&M University
4. Southern Methodist University
5. Trinity University
6. Texas Christian University
7. Baylor University
8. LeTourneau University
9. Texas Tech University
10. University of Texas — Dallas

SMU earned high marks nationally in some very specific categories, such as Best Christian Colleges in America (No. 5 of 364) but also Top Party Schools in America (No. 22 of 1,612). Complete rankings are here.

TCU earns No. 8 in the Best Christian Colleges in America ranking, and No. 11 for Best College Campuses (out of 1,419). Complete rankings here.

UTD scored highest in the categories of Best Colleges for Information Technology in America (No. 10 of 238) and Best Colleges for Accounting and Finance (No. 41 of 814). Complete rankings here.

Further down the best-in-Texas list, University of North Texas in Denton came in at No. 16, University of Texas at Arlington snagged No. 22, Texas Woman's University in Denton ranked No. 32, Dallas Baptist University landed at No. 33, and Fort Worth's Texas Wesleyan ranked No. 41.

Another list of interest for incoming freshmen is Niche’s ranking of 2022 Colleges with the Best Student Life in Texas. Top-ranked colleges have a positive, fun, and friendly student culture and a vibrant campus community, per Niche. No surprise here, both SMU and TCU made the top-5 list (although Mustangs will argue the placement is rearranged):

1. University of Texas - Austin
2. Rice University
3. Texas A&M University
4. Texas Christian University
5. Southern Methodist University

Which are the best universities in the country this year? Here’s Niche.com’s new report card for the country’s 10 best colleges, which features just one in Texas:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston
2. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
3. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
4. Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
5. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
6. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
7. Rice University
8. Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
9. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
10. Dartmouth College