Winning streak

TCU makes the grade as No. 10 best college in Texas for 2024, new report says

TCU campus, football stadium, Fort Worth skyline

The Horned Frogs did it again.

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College students looking for an exemplary education in Texas can still apply to Fort Worth's consistently top-ranking university before its early decision deadline on November 1.

Perfect timing, as Texas Christian University has earned the No. 10 spot in WalletHub's 2024 ranking of the best colleges and universities in Texas.

The personal finance experts analyzed more than 800 colleges and universities in the United States using 30 metrics to determine their rankings.

Factors that helped determine TCU's placement include its acceptance rate (42.6 percent as of fall 2023), graduation rate (73.9 percent for four-year students), a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio, its gender and racial diversity, net cost, and more.

TCU is on a winning streak when it comes to best-in-Texas rankings. The university just placed No. 6 on U.S. News' rankings for 2024, and No. 6 on Niche's list.

According to U.S. News and World Report, TCU's tuition and fees cost $57,220.

Gerardo L. Blanco, an associate professor at Boston College, provided some advice for prospective students aiming to graduate college with minimal debt and significant job prospects in their chosen degree field. He advised that students learn the difference between a university's "sticker price" versus the net price after financial aid. It could be particularly useful for students planning for a post-secondary education at private institutions like TCU.

"There are public universities, both flagship and regional, that offer great value for money," Blanco said. "Many private non-profit institutions are committed to promoting access and, even with higher sticker prices, offer generous financial aid."

In WalletHub's regional ranking of best universities in the South, TCU earned No. 47.

Out of the top 500 universities in the nation, TCU ranked No. 222. Yale University took the No. 1 spot in the country, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 2), Princeton University in New Jersey (No. 3), and California Institute of Technology (No. 4). Harvard University in Massachusetts rounded out the top five.

Elsewhere in Dallas-Fort Worth, Southern Methodist University ranked No. 6 in the state and No. 170 nationwide, and Irving-based University of Dallas ranked No. 7 in Texas and No. 184 in the nation.

The top 10 colleges and universities in Texas are:

No. 1 – Rice University, Houston
No. 2 – The University of Texas at Austin
No. 3 – Trinity University, San Antonio
No. 4 – Texas A&M University-College Station
No. 5 – Southwestern University
No. 6 – Southern Methodist University
No. 7 – University of Dallas
No. 8 – Austin College
No. 9 – LeTourneau University
No. 10 – Texas Christian University

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

colleges rankings universities WalletHub reports texas texas christian university

Death Penalty

Tarrant County man gets death for murder of convenience store owner

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office

Christopher Turner

A man received the death penalty for his 2020 cold-blooded execution of a convenience store owner.

According to a release from the office of Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells, a Tarrant County jury sentenced Christopher Karon Turner, 48, to death on November 20 for executing convenience store owner Anwar Ali during a robbery. Tarrant County Assistant District Attorneys Charles Boulware and Allenna Bangs represented the state.

On March 27, 2020, at around 6:15 am, Turner, a convicted felon, wore a surgical mask and a glove and entered the Super Big Country Mart in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County south of Fort Worth. There, he held a gun to the back of Anwar Ali, the 62-year-old store owner, and walked him through the store.

Ali did everything Turner demanded, including opening the cash register to give him money. And yet Turner forced Ali into the bathroom and onto his knees, and shot him in the neck. Ali was discovered, dead in the bathroom, about an hour later.

Turner fled the store in Ali's Toyota minivan with the money from the register and Ali's wallet. In the van, he found more than $50,000 cash in a black bag. Over the next few days, Turner went on a shopping spree, buying cars, jewelry, drugs, clothes, and more. He and others used cash and a credit card that belonged to Ali.

Turner fled to Colorado where U.S. Marshals arrested him. On his body they found a firearm which was determined to be the murder weapon.

"This was a premeditated, cold-blooded murder," Boulware told the jury. "From the moment he was charged with this crime, he has tried to escape responsibility."

Bangs noted that before this trial began, Turner obtained the names of jurors and their telephone numbers, and gave them to an inmate charged with murder. At the trial on November 20, as Bangs addressed the jury, Turner tried to hold up a sign to the jury but was handcuffed by Sheriff's deputies who removed him from the courtroom, while he yelled out "she lied."

Ali came to the United States from Pakistan decades ago to pursue the American dream. Ali's son, Hussein, spoke in the courtroom after the death penalty was announced. "Thank you for giving us justice," Ali said. "I hope there are no more devils like this person."