Three local universities made the top ten on Niche.com’s “2023 Best Colleges in Texas” list.

Schools are ranked based on academic, admissions, financial, and student life data from the United States Department of Education. Students, parents, and alums also weigh in. Niche.com compared more than 1,000 universities and colleges, with less emphasis on ACT/SAT scores to determine the rankings. 

The rankings for these three universities in 2023 are similar to where they ranked in last year’s list. Southern Methodist University, which came in at number four, held the same ranking in Niche’s 2022 list.

Fort Worth, Texas Christian University (TCU), also kept the same ranking as in 2022, number six. 

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The University of Texas at Dallas advanced its position to number nine, up from 10 in 2022. 

Rice University is the number one graduate school in Texas and ranks sixth in the United States. For 2022, Rice sat in the number seven spot in the U.S. 

The following list shows where Texas graduate schools rank in the top ten universities and colleges in the U.S., according to Niche.com, are:

  1. Rice University, No. 6
  2. The University of Texas at Austin, No. 46. UT also ranks eighth on the list of best public colleges in the U.S. and first in Texas.
  3. Texas A&M University in College Station, No. 75
  4. Southern Methodist University in Dallas, No. 82 
  5. Trinity University in San Antonio, No. 99
  6. Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, No. 104 
  7. Texas Tech University in Lubbock, No. 148
  8. Baylor University in Waco, No. 172
  9. The University of Texas at Dallas, No. 220 
  10. The University of Houston, No. 232 in the U.S.

As for how local schools scored, SMU received A’s across the board, with an A+ for “party scene,” the campus, and academics. SMU Athletics received an A, and the university earned an A- for diversity and also for value. 

TCU received an A+ for the campus and A’s for academics, athletics, and party scene. Diversity at TCU received an A-, and they were graded a B+ for value. 

As for UTD, the only A was for diversity. Academics and value received an A-. UTD’s campus got a B- and a C for the party scene and athletics.