Report card

3 Dallas-Fort Worth universities earn pomp and prestige on new list of top Texas schools

These students look like they're having a pretty good time at SMU.

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:

Rice University
University of Texas — Austin
Texas A&M University
Southern Methodist University
Trinity University
Texas Christian University
Baylor University
LeTourneau University
Texas Tech University
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):

University of Texas - Austin
Rice University
Texas A&M University
Texas Christian University
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:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Rice University
Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Dartmouth College

colleges bests rankings lists

Turkey Day news

Dallas eats up top-5 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Razzoo's

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Dallas is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Dallas ranked No. 5 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a huge leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 17, and remains the highest-ranking Texas city.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The category that Dallas ranked the highest in was the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 2), and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 9), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 82). Other categories that determined Dallas' overall ranking were affordability (No. 60), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 26).

Dallas restaurants are getting prepared for their big Turkey Day feasts, and CultureMap has rounded up a thorough list of all of the local restaurants hosting holiday feasts, from brunch to dinner.

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Dallas will be fully decked for the December holidays. Dallasites who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Dallas-Fort Worth goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Across North Texas, three Dallas-area cities also made big improvements from their 2023 rankings. Irving moved up 10 spots to claim No. 19 this year, and Garland jumped up 21 spots on the list as No. 34. Arlington made the biggest improvement in the region, moving from No. 78 last year to No. 55 this year.

Meanwhile, Plano and Fort Worth slipped in the rankings, falling into No. 44 and No. 45 in 2024, respectively. Plano previously ranked No. 38 in 2023, and Fort Worth was No. 36.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

dallas fort worth thanksgiving wallethub rankings