North Texas universities got love on a national list for the best colleges, but one school got some major shine.
FORT WORTH, Texas — A national list of the best colleges in the United States featured plenty of North Texas schools.
The Princeton Review released its list of the “Best 391 Colleges” for 2026 on Tuesday. Five North Texas universities made the list: TCU, SMU, UTD, Austin College and University of Dallas. The Princeton Review does not rank the best colleges, but it does rank the universities that made the list by subcategories, like best campus, based on student surveys. Some schools got more love than others on those lists!
TCU stood out, earning some high ranks, including No. 1 for happiest students. The Fort Worth college also placed second for the best quality of life, third for best-run colleges, fourth for most beautiful campus and fifth for best athletic facilities. SMU did not rank in any subcategory.
The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) placed second among the top schools in the Southwest for game design and third among the 20 best public schools for internships.
The University of Dallas placed eighth for the most religious students and 10th for the happiest students.
Austin College ranked 15th among the 20 best private schools for internships.
Noticeably absent from the list was one of Texas’ largest universities by enrollment, the University of North Texas. However, UNT is still featured on the Princeton Review’s best colleges in the Southwest.