WSJ Texas College Rankings 2021 (Dallas, Austin: real estate, schools, to move)

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by widespreadfan

I got into Texas A & M and opted to go out of state myself for undergraduate and graduate school, but that was 20 years ago. I had a scholarship that waived out of state tuition. My children are in elementary school, so we have a few years. It is my opinion schools like UNT and UTA have really become better schools than they were when I was coming up. As Texas has grown in population our public colleges have increased in enrollment and made some big strides in academics.

The only quip I might put in about Arkansas is that it seems like the Walton family have all moved to other places. I believe Alice Walton lives near Fort Worth for example.

Yeah, I don't know where they live. But they have certainly dumped a ton of money into NW Arkansas. Not just the university. This is a pretty spectacular and world class museum, for example: https://crystalbridges.org/

I've traveled a bunch in Arkansas and besides the fact that they have a lot of nice state parks, it's a pretty mediocre state except for NW Arkansas (Fayetteville, Bentonville, etc.) which is actually very nice. Almost has something of a New England sort of feel. And Fayetteville is as nice of a college town as you are going to find anywhere, including Texas for sure.

For sure TX schools are improving. Houston is greatly improved as is UTD. Texas is an enormous state and much wealthier than all of its neighbors. It does have plenty of options. But it does lack for traditional residential college town type of experiences. There is really no Texas version of Boulder, Madison, Anne Arbor, Chapel Hill, etc. Or even a Fayetteville. Maybe Austin was like that 50 years ago but is now a big city. College Station has some of it but isn't quite the same. No one not a student moves there because it is a cool place to live.

[As Above So Below...]

Rice being number one is certainly no surprise.

[Spade]

If you look up the top public universities in the US, you will find UT Austin up there along with the other ones. UT is part of the unofficial public ivies. Also, if you were to breakdown each department a university has to offer such as engineering or computer science, you will find UT Austin is listed more than Rice. Both UT Austin and Rice are great schools.

[As Above So Below...]

Originally Posted by Spade

If you look up the top public universities in the US, you will find UT Austin up there along with the other ones. UT is part of the unofficial public ivies. Also, if you were to breakdown each department a university has to offer such as engineering or computer science, you will find UT Austin is listed more than Rice. Both UT Austin and Rice are great schools.

UT is more of a "big tent" kind of school where as Rice is a school that is perfect in a few areas but doesnt offer other things. For example, you wouldnt go to Rice to get a Home Economics degree. At UT you could or you could go into pre-med, engineering, or whatever.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

I've always more or less hated these lists. Over the last couple of years they've worsened by installing financial metrics that overwhelmingly reward private schools.

These lists became bird cage flooring when more than one ranked The University of Texas ~50-60 in The US but 30-40 worldwide - plus any list that has Cal Berkeley at #34 in The US is broken.

I agree. 100%.

In my honest opinion....the real advantage of going to the top-ranked schools isn't that you get a better education...it is that you get to rub shoulders with rich kids with connections. I've known multiple Harvard Grads who are friends of mine who have told me as much...

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

UT is more of a "big tent" kind of school where as Rice is a school that is perfect in a few areas but doesnt offer other things. For example, you wouldnt go to Rice to get a Home Economics degree. At UT you could or you could go into pre-med, engineering, or whatever.

This is on the doctoral side of things os it's a little narrow, but the National Research Council ranks programs across 41 areas every 10 years or so. Per the last rankings Rice ranks better than UT in exactly two areas Religion and BioMed. The schools are tied in statistics/medical statistics and industrial engineering. UT is higher ranked in every other area - dramatically so quite often. TX is ranked in 38 areas (top 25 in 29 of those areas), Rice 17 and A&M 17 by quick visual count. Further, several UT system schools, in non-MD but still medically related areas, have ranked programs. Obviously, medicine and law are excluded from the above.




Top to bottom UT is an absolute powerhouse university. It amazes me how many Texans and others don't know that.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Baylor could’ve been up there with Rice had they not focused too much on growing too fast.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by As Above So Below...

UT is more of a "big tent" kind of school where as Rice is a school that is perfect in a few areas but doesnt offer other things. For example, you wouldnt go to Rice to get a Home Economics degree. At UT you could or you could go into pre-med, engineering, or whatever.

Rice has an extremely good pre med program since their BCM partnership. Other than that I agree.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by Spade

If you look up the top public universities in the US, you will find UT Austin up there along with the other ones. UT is part of the unofficial public ivies. Also, if you were to breakdown each department a university has to offer such as engineering or computer science, you will find UT Austin is listed more than Rice. Both UT Austin and Rice are great schools.

That will probably change. Rice recently poured millions on part of a series to improved its computer sciences program

[fleaflicker]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Top to bottom UT is an absolute powerhouse university. It amazes me how many Texans and others don't know that.

It's because there are too many Aggies who insist A&M is better than UT