School pride

3 Dallas universities make new list of top 10 schools in Texas

SMU earns applause among Texas universities.

Just in time for the November 1 “early decision” college application deadline, personal finance website WalletHub has released 2019's Best College & University Rankings. Three Dallas schools have punched into Texas' top 10.

Southern Methodist University ranks at No. 5 in the Lone Star State, University of Dallas comes in at No. 7, and University of Texas at Dallas rounds out the list at No. 10.

In order to determine the rankings, WalletHub compared 951 colleges and universities across seven key dimensions: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes, and career outcome.

Houston's Rice University takes the No. 1 Texas spot and comes in at No. 9 overall in the U.S. The University of Texas at Austin follows as the No. 2 best school in Texas, and Trinity University comes in third.

Rice University has been dominating collegiate headlines as of late, with its game-changing tuition and scholarship program and highest paid graduates in the state. In the new rankings, Rice comes in first for the following individual metrics: admission rate, student-faculty ratio, graduation rate, and post-attendance median salary. The school places second for gender and racial diversity.

SMU (national rank: 119) did best in the categories of faculty resources, student selectivity, and career outcomes. University of Dallas (national rank: 138) also was applauded for student selectivity, while UTD (national rank: 168) earned a nod for cost and financing.

Rounding out the top Texas schools are Texas A&M University (No. 4), Southwestern University (No. 6), LeTourneau University (No. 8), and Baylor University (No. 9).

Rice is in rather prestigious company on the national list, coming in behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Yale University, Harvard University, California Institute of Technology, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia University. Stanford is No. 10.

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Fun times in the city

Dallas swings a spot on new list of most fun cities in U.S. for 2024

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Dallas just wants to have fun, according to WalletHub's new ranking of the most fun cities in America in 2024.

The annual report ranked Dallas No. 31 out of 182 U.S. cities.

WalletHub's experts compared each city using 65 metrics to determine their level of "fun." Metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

According to the study's findings, Dallas was 24th nationally in the category for nightlife and parties, and ranked No. 39 in the "entertainment and recreation" category. That may be especially alluring for anyone who wants to explore the city's vast entertainment opportunities (especially during the holiday season), family-friendly recreational activities, top dining destinations, and more. Plus, Dallas is home to entertainment juggernauts like the State Fair of Texas and TopGolf.

Dallas performed poorly in the overall cost category, earning No. 114 out of all 182 cities. However, this category mostly compares flat costs rather than affordability based on local cost of living.

Potential new Dallasites should do their research before deciding to move here, rather than basing their decision on short trips and vacations alone. But we won't blame them for wanting to live in one of the best cities in the world.

"The top cities offer affordable options for year-round fun for their residents, which is good for residents’ wallets and their mental health," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in the report.

Austin (No. 6) and Houston (No. 9) were the only Texas cities to earn a spot in the top 10 most fun U.S. cities list. Austin moved up one spot from last year, while Houston made a 10-place jump.

Other fun-filled Texas cities that made it in the top 100 are El Paso (No. 53), Fort Worth (No. 55), Plano (No. 78), Arlington (No. 79), and Corpus Christi (No. 99).

The top 10 most fun U.S. cities are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 9 – Houston, Texas
No. 10 – New York City, New York

Cities were evaluated based on the number of attractions per capita, nightlife activities per capita, the average prices for eating at a restaurant or buying a movie ticket, and more. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Trust for Public Land, and the Council for Community and Economic Research, among others.

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