<p>Rank the following schools based on your opinions of their academic prestige, student life, and overall quality:</p>
<p>-University of Texas (Austin)
-Texas A&M University (College Station)
-Baylor University
-Texas Christian University
-Southern Methodist University</p>
<p>I'm trying to figure out the general population's opinions of these schools before I apply.</p>
<p>SMU
Baylor
TCU
TAMU
UT</p>
<p>Academically:
UT-Austin
.
.
.the rest.</p>
<p>In terms of student life, the rest all tend to skew to a very dominant and monolithic (some would say stifling) student culture–i.e. preppy, suburban conservative at SMU, Christian social conservative at Baylor and to a lesser degree TCU and bizzaro, military fetish, Aggy conservative at A&M. Out of the group, only UT is going to have any true amount of social and political diversity among its student body. If you’re sure that you fit into the dominant culture at Baylor, TCU, SMU or A&M, then it might be the place for you; otherwise, it might make for a long four years.</p>
<p>My D reluctantly visited Texas Tech and really liked it.</p>
<p>Their admission and graduation stats are fairly close. In terms of prestige</p>
<p>UT - national
A&M - very strong Texas networking</p>
<p>For the rest, I would say Baylor and SMU are a smidgen above TCU.</p>
<p>Regarding other Texas colleges, Rice has become nationally known, has a stronger UG than UT, but UT probably has higher recognition because it is so much bigger, so a lot more graduates (and football, of course). </p>
<p>I would put Austin College, Southwestern University, and Trinity University on par with or better than Baylor, SMU, and TCU.</p>
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<p>Academically great, but tiny campuses and in the case of Austin College and SU, small towns.</p>
<p>I think highly of Tech, especially the Honors College. It is over-looked by many, and should not be.</p>
<p>You almost had them in the correct order:</p>
<p>-University of Texas (Austin)
-Texas A&M University (College Station)
-Texas Christian University
-Southern Methodist University
-Baylor University</p>
<p>While SMU is slightly better known because of its Law school and because it is located in tonier Dallas, I believe TCU to be the better school. As far as fun, just think of the joy brought by its football program in the last years. </p>
<p>Baylor has a reputation for offering attractive scholarships, but the key words here are “having to attract students with scholarships.” It’s located in Baptist country (Waco) and is, at best, a decent regional school. </p>
<p>Texas Tech is particularly popular with the students who did not earn the automatic admission with the 10/8% rule or a high SAT score. Quality of life is also dominated by sports and … partying. As a friend said, Halloween seems to last most of the year at Texas Tech.</p>
<p>In addition to the others schools mentioned in this thread, the school that should be right on the heels of TAMU is also in Dallas, and that is UTD. The school is better than TCU and SMU, but the quality of life might still need some improvement before getting its just desserts. </p>
<p>For a different twist, one of the best medical school preparation ought to be at the tiny and often ignored University of Dallas. </p>
<p>Of course, the most prestigious school in Texas remains Rice, and this despite being in worst city in Texas. ;)</p>
<p>Rice is in a pretty nice part of Houston. I don’t think you’d be slummin’ it if you went there. :)</p>
<p>As for rankings of these schools, there are differences, but the value set that one brings to this evaluation will determine those rankings. Elite academia loves U Texas and hates (or at least underrates) nearly every other school in the Lone Star state. Inside the state, Texas A&M has an incredibly strong alumni connection and this should not be overlooked. And SMU is one of those places that is fashionable to dislike because it attracts a disproportionate share of wealthy kids/families who engender disproportionate amounts of disdain and/or jealousy.</p>
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<p>Isn’t Georgetown considered a quasi suburb of Austin? If not, it is still really close.</p>
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<p>Houston’s attractiveness is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Some like the hodgepodge style, others see it as urban blight. As my post indicates, I see few redeeming quality in that mess of a city. As far as being in a nice part of town, I guess you may say that Yale is in a nice part of New Haven. </p>
<p>As usual, everything is relative. I am happy to defer to the opinion of MOWC who knows Texas really well, knows the schools in the DFW metroplex, had a child at Rice. Even if she switched her fashion style from cosmopolitan garbs to raccoon hats! :)</p>
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<p>The location isn’t bad. Georgetown itself has about all a college freshman needs - Walmart, Target, grocrery stores, movie theatre complex, fast food. Go a few minutes down I-35 to Round Rock and you have even more movie theatres, an outlet mall, Ikea, lots more restaurants. And of course, a few more miles down the road is Austin. One needs a car, of course.</p>
<p>The thing about the SU campus is the size. No great workout center, no on campus Starbucks or movie theatre, no luxury dorms. It’s just really small.</p>
<p>Where would the assembled rank Trinity University in the group?</p>
<p>SMU’s reputation was probably perpetuated by the “Dallas” soap opera from the '80s.</p>
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<p>SMU’s reputation is local, and in this case local means Dallas. People might have heard “of it” via the soap opera of via the rise and fall of its football program, but the school is especially revered in the Dallas high end districts and bastions of wealth and power such as the Park Cities. In other circles, it is dismissed as a mediocre school for preppies and rich underachievers. The truth is that SMU is an average school for average preppies and rich underachievers.</p>
<p>In fact, SMU is THE soap opera of Dallas. Especially since the Cowboys migrated from Irving to Arlington. :)</p>
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Do Texans still like Craig James and his son (esp after what he did to Tech…whiny baby…story reported by ESPN (Craig James’s employer))?</p>
<p>I’m kind of surprised by some of these rankings! What is the national reputation for SMU’s business program? I’ve heard very good things about it, but then again… I am from Texas.</p>
<p>As a student in the region, I can tell you how these schools are considered in Texas and the regional South/Southwest, in no particular order:</p>
<p>University of Texas at Austin: Good school, fun school, party atmosphere but I really wouldn’t call it a “party school” because it’s a public ivy. Moderately pretty campus-lots of trees, white and red buildings, etc. It’s in Austin, an awesome, funky, sunny city with tons of “cool” computer nerds, politicans, students, and musicians. Overall a cool place. It’s massive, so if that bothers you that would be a huge issue. Sports and school spirit are HUGE here, so if you’re into the true college experience you’d like that. In terms of national recognition, you definitely wouldn’t have a problem getting into grad school or a good job. Like I said, it’s a highly regarded school, and its name is known nationwide, if in part because of it’s famous football team. USNWR Rank: 47</p>
<p>Texas A&M University: Also a fine school. The campus is honestly the ugliest thing I’ve ever had the misfortune of setting my eyes on, though. It has a very famous and extensive alumni network, and if you plan on staying in Texas, the name will be recognized and respected. The school spirit is legendary here, and the sports teams are definitely followed and cheered on. It’s also huge; I’m not sure if UT or A&M is bigger. College Station devotes itself to the university, so there are tons of bookstores and student discounts in the town. It’s not exactly Austin in terms of fun or beauty…not much to do and not a beautiful place, or even a moderately attractive one, but the city really does a good job of taking care of Aggies. USNWR Rank: 61</p>
<p>Baylor University: Oh Baylor…also known as my school’s 13th grade. Baylor is an decent school (tier one, at least) with an extensive alumni network, especially in Texas business, law, and medical circles. If you’re planning on majoring in one of these fields, your degree will be well respected in Texas. It’s not known as a party school (it’s Baptist. Read VERY heavily into that) and the sports teams that bring in Texan crowds (aka FOOTBALL) suck horribly. The basketball teams and tennis teams are great. School spirit…meh. They give good financial aid, so a good chunk of the kids that end up going there that I know were stuck because they got more money than other schools. They didn’t really want to go there. I get that feeling about a lot of their student body. Lots of religion, lots of women seeking MRS degrees. It has a beautiful campus with lots of trees and a first-rate student life center. To describe Waco accurately, I reference the College ******* college guide, written by students: “Waco is the armpit of Texas.” “Waco is the town of evil.” In two words: it sucks. It’s probably under SMU, UT, A&M, Rice, and Trinity, on par with TCU, and a little above Austin College. USNWR Rank: 80</p>
<p>Austin College: I don’t know anything about it, other than that it’s actually in Sherman, Texas, which is in North-Central Texas near the Oklahoma/Texas border. It’s never really talked about, but it’s rank is fine, so it can’t be totally ambiguous? I’m going to say that it won’t garner a “wow cool” reaction from people when you tell them where you go, if people have heard of it at all. USNWR Rank: 68</p>
<p>Texas Christian University: It’s in Ft. Worth, which has a lot of cool stuff to do, and it’s right outside Dallas. It’s a good school and is well respected in Texas business and law circles. It has a mostly regional reputation, has a beautiful campus, and has a very strong greek presence. School spirit is big here, bigger than Baylor or Austin College but less than UT or A&M. Very good football team=very happy students on game days. USNWR Rank: 110</p>
<p>Rice University: In Houston, a huge, sprawling, semi-ugly, awesome city. It’s close enough to the beach, tons of restaurants, tons of stuff to do. Very, very good school-the architecture school is first-class, as is their pre-med and…well basically everything. It’s a Vanderbilt/Emory type school and has that reputation. Students are very smart and quasi-nerdy. Well-respected nationwide and definitely well-known in Texas. School spirit isn’t a massive deal here but students are proud of their school. Definitely would get you "wow looks. USNWR Rank: 17</p>
<p>Southern Methodist University: This is known as the alma-mater of Texan financial gurus and CEOs. It has a slightly negative reputation in terms of their student body (snobby beyond belief), but I’d say it’s definitely an exaggeration. Yes, it’s a rich school, but there are normal kids that go there for sure. It’s in a very, very nice part of Dallas and has a gorgeous campus.</p>
<p>Trinity University: In terms of how it would stand amongst Texas schools, I’d say on par with TCU and SMU. USNWR Rank: 1 in Western Universities offering Master’s degrees</p>
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HaHa. All I really had to do was put my six-shooter away!</p>
<p>I am not a big SMU fan. It has a good graduate business program and a few other strong artsy-programs, but is at best a regional school. It is very fratty and known as “Highland Park High School North”. </p>
<p>I AM a big Rice fan. My daughter loved Rice and Houston as did her husband who went to medical school in Houston. There are great inexpensive ethnic restaurants (which they are missing in Nashville) and lots of cultural things to do. The Rice campus is beautiful. They did not have to deal with the urban sprawl, horrible commutes or interstates as students there.</p>
<p>We are not fans of Craig James or his son.</p>
<p>What about the University of Houston or Dallas?</p>