Mindful Mustangs

Dallas' SMU anointed No. 1 Christian college in new national ranking

SMU has some of the best Christmas lights in Dallas each holiday season.

Photo by Austin Anderson on Unsplash

Amen and Pony up! Dallas' Southern Methodist University has been named the best Christian college in the U.S. in a new national ranking of universities.

Niche, an education review and ranking website, has rated SMU No. 1 among Best Christian Colleges in America for 2025, two places ahead of cross-town rival TCU in Fort Worth, which is merely the third-best Christian school. St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, lands in between them at No. 2.

Baylor University only manages a No. 5 "best Christian" ranking, even though it was named one of the cheeriest colleges at Christmas last year. (But it has nothing on SMU's annual Celebration of Lights, which includes reading of the Christmas story by SMU president R. Gerald Turner from his family Bible.)

Out of all 1,517 U.S. colleges ranked in Niche's new survey, SMU comes in at a respectable No. 105.

SMU also ranks among the top 50 nationally in the categories of:

No. 7 Best Colleges for Sports Management in America
No. 9 Best College Campuses in America
No. 19 Best Colleges for Accounting and Finance in America
No. 23 Top Party Schools in America
No. 33 Best Colleges for Music in America
No. 37 Most Conservative Colleges in America
No. 41 Best Greek Life Colleges in America
No. 44 Best Colleges for Communications in America
No. 45 Colleges with the Best Student Life in America

SMU's full rankings can be found here.

The premier Dallas university receives an overall grade of A, earning an A+ in three of the 12 ranking categories — student life, party scene, and location. It gets an A for academics, professors, and campus; an A- for diversity, athletics, and campus food; a B+ for dorms; a B for safety; and a B- for value.

"I didn't have many expectations when I came to SMU, but now, I am so happy I decided to come here. SMU's campus is amazing, whether it comes to academics, extracurriculars, campus life, or being in Dallas," reads one five-star review by a student who saw the light.

Yale University tops Niche’s national list for 2025, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Vanderbilt University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Rice University in Houston ranks first among the best colleges in Texas, and No. 15 nationally. SMU ranks fifth in Texas for 2025.

The top 10 Texas schools for 2025 are:

No. 1 Rice University
No. 2 University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 Texas A&M University
No. 4 Trinity University
No. 5 Southern Methodist University
No. 6 University of Houston
No. 7 Texas Tech University
No. 8 Texas Christian University
No. 9 University of North Texas
No. 10 University of Texas at Arlington

Among colleges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, SMU ranks No. 1, and TCU takes No. 2. Rounding out the top nine DFW are University of North Texas (No. 3), University of Texas - Arlington (No. 4), University of Texas - Dallas (No. 5), Texas Woman's University (No. 6), University of Dallas (No. 7), University of North Texas at Dallas (No. 8), and Southwestern Adventist University (No. 9).

Find Niche's complete 2025 college rankings here.

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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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