A recent study that looked at the best higher education institutions in the country also listed the top 10 in the Lone Star State, two of which are found in North Texas.
Data used for the WalletHub findings looked for the best schools at the lowest cost for students. Thirty key measures were compared across seven categories.
These categories included Career Outcomes, Cost & Financing, Campus Safety, Faculty Resources, Campus Experience, Educational Outcomes, and Student Selectivity.
The Educational Outcomes category measures retention and graduation rates.
Career Outcomes looks at a school’s graduates with full-time employment as well as measures student loan default rates, median salary, and return on educational investment. Cost & Financing analyzes cost and student loan debt.
Student Selectivity measures admissions rates and test scores, while Campus Experience looks at student demographics. The Faculty Resources category considers class size, staff salary, and staff employment type.
Campus Safety measures arrests and crime on a campus.
WalletHub explained the weight of each metric, saying each was “graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best school performance and the most favorable conditions for undergraduate students during and after attendance.”
It said, “Finally, we determined each school’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.”
The Texas institutions determined to be the top 10:
- Rice University
- The University of Texas at Austin
- Trinity University
- Texas A&M University
- University of Dallas
- Southern Methodist University
- Southwestern University
- Austin College
- LeTourneau University
- The University of Houston
The North Texas schools that made the list were Southern Methodist University and the University of Dallas.
The total point score for SMU was 60.23, and the score for the University of Dallas was 60.61.
The average cost per year for a four-year degree, according to WalletHub findings, is around $23,000 to $52,000, once tuition, room, and board are considered. It depends on whether the school is a public or private institution and whether your permanent residence is in-state.
The website said, “For those prices, students want to know they are getting a good deal.”
“In a fierce global economy, a college degree can help secure employment and keep you ahead of the competition,” WalletHub claimed. “Though success ultimately rests on students’ own determination and performance, the quality of the schools they choose can certainly have an impact.”
College-bound students consider both school quality and cost when looking at their college options. WalletHub explained that rising tuition rates motivate many students to be more “selective with their options.”
WalletHub bills itself as a “personal finance social network” that focuses on reviews for financial advisors. It is owned by Evolution Finance Inc., a financial services company.
When considering colleges and universities throughout the United States, WalletHub determined the top 10 to be:
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Yale University
- California Institute of Technology
- Princeton University
- Harvard University
- Stanford University
- Rice University
- University of Pennsylvania
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Duke University.