Back-to-school season has returned in full force, and that means it's time for college rankings. Three Dallas universities — Southern Methodist University, The University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Dallas — are being hailed top of the class for 2027.

The three Dallas-area schools earned new acclaim in The Princeton Review's new ranking of the "Best 392 Colleges" for 2027. Across town, Texas Christian University in Fort Worth also earned high praise.

The Princeton Review's 35th annual "Best Colleges" rankings are determined by a survey of 172,000 current college students that gave "candid feedback" about their schools and their experiences. The flagship guide does not rank the schools overall, but it does rank them across 50 different categories, including best-run colleges, best quality of life, happiest students, best athletic facilities, among others.

Schools don't pay to be included in the guide, but The Princeton Review clarified that schools could pay for a "featured" designation. No Dallas-Fort Worth school paid to be featured in this year's guide.

In addition to being included in the overall list, Southern Methodist University was highlighted in the regional Best Southwest list that contained 41 universities across Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

"This mid-size private university provides 'a wealth of academic resources...[and] a flood of opportunities for those who want them,' allowing SMU to lead the way for the Dallas-Fort Worth area in developing innovative industries and initiatives in semiconductors, biotechnology, clean energy, precision medicine, and AI," the university's profile says.

This is how the other Dallas schools shined in The Princeton Review's guide:

University of Dallas, Irving

• Best Value Colleges
• Best Southwest
• The Best 392 Colleges
• No. 2 – Most Religious Students
• No. 5 – LGBTQ-Unfriendly (based on "how strongly students disagree that their fellow students treat all persons equally, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression")
• No. 6 – Most Politically Conservative Students
• No. 15 – Professors Get High Marks
• No. 17 – Happiest Students
• No. 24 – Pot's Not Hot (a ranking of colleges with the "least marijuana usage based on ratings from real students about the popularity of marijuana on campus.")

University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson

• Best Value Colleges
• Best Southwest
• Green Colleges (colleges that "share superb sustainability practices, a strong foundation in sustainability education, and a healthy quality of life for students on campus.")
• The Best 392 Colleges
• No. 3 – Top 20 Best Public Schools for Internships
• No. 3 – Top Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies in the Southwest
• No. 21 – Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship Studies
• No. 40 – Top 50 Best Value Public Colleges