Head of the class

This is how SMU rates in prestigious 2021 U.S. News & World Report college rankings

These SMU students would now be wearing masks, of course.

The prestigious new U.S. News & World Report's new 2021 Best Colleges report is out, and Dallas' Southern Methodist University has landed in the top 100 nationally — although a few places down from last year.

The trusted annual report that compares more than 1,400 undergraduate institutions in the United States has ranked SMU No. 66 nationally and No. 3 in Texas. That's a couple spots down from its No. 64 national ranking in 2020.

This, on the heels of another recent report, by neighborhood review site Niche.com, that ranked SMU No. 4 in Texas and No. 86 nationwide.

The U.S. News report, released September 14, gave SMU high marks in the categories of Best Colleges for Veterans (No. 38), Best Colleges for Veterans (No. 50), Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs (No. 102), Best Value Schools (No. 151), and also cited it as No. 373 in the category of Top Performers on Social Mobility. (No, that doesn't have to do with social media)

Nationally, SMU (somehow!) tied at No. 66 with a number of other schools: Texas A&M University; Fordham University in New York; George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; University of Massachusetts - Amherst; University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The prestigious U.S. News report compared the institutions across 17 measures of "academic quality" this year. Acknowledging the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students and schools, the publication made several updates to its methodology, notes a release.

For 2021, U.S. News added two new metrics to measure student debt. It also increased the weight of the outcome category, which measures graduation rates, retention rates, and social mobility, and reduced the weights for standardized test scores, high school class standing, and alumni giving. And, for the very first time, the report ranks test-blind schools (those that don't require an SAT or ACT score for admission).

"The pandemic has affected students across the country, canceling commencement ceremonies and switching classes from in person to remote," said Kim Castro, editor and chief content officer, in a release. "Whether students have slightly altered their college plans or changed them entirely, it remains our mission to continue providing students and their families with the tools they need to help find the right school for them."

Among Texas' other top schools, UT Austin ranks No. 42 nationally, up six spots from 2020. It's the school's highest ranking on the report since 1985, touts a news release from the university. UT Austin also rates as the top public university in Texas.

Elsewhere, Baylor University comes in at No. 76 and Texas Christian University, at No. 80.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the title of best university in Texas once again goes to Rice. The prestigious Houston school ranks No. 16 among national universities, up one spot from last year.

Besides earning high marks for its undergraduate teaching, innovation, and value, Rice gets special mention from U.S. News for its quality of student life.

"Rice University, located in the heart of Houston’s Museum District, offers a dynamic student life in the nation’s fourth-largest city," the report says.

So, which university is head of the class, nationally, in 2021?

That honor would go to Princeton University, followed by Harvard, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale to round out the top five.

colleges university-texas reports rankings

money woes

Texas is no longer the No. 1 most financially distressed state in U.S.

Photo by Image Source/Getty Images

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After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

This is how Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
No. 12 – Credit score rank
No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability are top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Dallas residents, which were dubbed the fourth most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Kansas
No. 2 – Lousiana
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – Texas
No. 5 – South Carolina
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – California
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Kentucky