The Owls of Rice University have a lot to hoot about. The Houston school bested all the rest to be ranked the top college in Texas and the seventh best college in the United States in a new survey.

Neighborhood review site Niche.com’s latest college rankings, released August 21, rely on U.S. Department of Education data coupled with reviews from current students, alumni, and parents to judge American colleges on 12 factors, including academics, campus, dorm life, and professors. Niche.com helps parents and students choose colleges and K-12 schools.

Fort Worth's Texas Christian University made the grade among Texas' top 10 schools, ranking No. 6.

Two more North Texas universities also made the list. Southern Methodist University came in at No. 4, and University of Texas at Dallas slid in at No. 10.

For visual help, here are the state’s top 10 in order, according to Niche.com:

1. Rice University
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. Texas A&M University, College Station
4. Southern Methodist University, Dallas
5. Trinity University, San Antonio
6. Texas Christian University, Fort Worth
7. Baylor University, Waco
8. LeTourneau University, Longview
9. Texas Tech University, Lubbock
10. University of Texas at Dallas

There's a bit of a rivalry at the top. In the topsy-turvy world of college rankings, the recently released Times Higher EducationWorld University Rankings put University of Texas at Austin as the 44th best university in the world. Rice took the 124th spot on that list. On this list, Rice beats UT.

But, back to Fort Worth.

Statewide, TCU earned three No. 1 rankings: Best College Dorms in Texas, Best College for Nursing in Texas, and Best College for Education in Texas.

In national rankings, TCU earned high marks in some very specific categories, such as Best Colleges for Criminal Justice in America (No. 8 of 630), Best College Campuses in America (No. 9 of 1,408), and Best Christian Colleges in America (No. 10 of 362).

Curiously, SMU beat TCU by a few spots in that last category, ranking the sixth-best Christian College in America. Hmm.

But TCU beat SMU handily in the "Best College Campuses" category, with the Dallas rival only managing a No. 35 ranking to TCU's No. 9.

TCU did not fare so well nationally in the categories of Most Diverse Colleges in America (No. 741 of 1,589) and Safest Colleges Campuses in America (No. 794 of 1,336). SMU also did not have great showings in those categories, placing No. 559 in Most Diverse Colleges in America and No. 730 in Safest College Campuses in America.

UTD scored high nationally in the categories of Best Colleges for Information Technology in America (No. 8 of 219) and Best Colleges for Accounting and Finance (No. 39 of 789). Its lowest ranking came in the category of Colleges with the Best Student Life in America (No. 754 of 1,580).

To see all the rankings, compare state lists, and more, visit the report.