Iron skillet showdown

Fort Worth's TCU beats SMU in new list of best Texas colleges for 2025

Texas Christian University has done it again.

Fort Worth's prestigious Texas Christian University has risen through the ranks among the top 10 best colleges and universities in Texas for 2025, and it has ranked No. 1 in all of Dallas-Fort Worth. Yep, ahead of cross-town rival Southern Methodist University.

The just-released list, from personal finance website WalletHub, analyzed more than 800 colleges and universities in the United States using 30 metrics to determine their rankings.

TCU claimed the No. 6 spot in Texas (SMU was No. 10) and No. 35 in WalletHub's regional category of best universities in the South. The school also ranked as the No. 168 best college nationwide.

The private university performed the best in the national ranking of "Education Outcomes," which covers retention and graduation rates, and bachelor's degrees awarded per undergraduate enrollment. TCU ranked No. 93 with a 74 percent graduation rate, according to U.S. News & World Report, and a 92.9 percent "first-time-in-college student" retention rate.

The school fell behind in the national category for cost and financing, ranking No. 774, as tuition and fees add up to $61,740 per year.

Here's how WalletHub broke down the rest of TCU's national ranking:

No. 109 – Career outcomes rank
No. 114 – Student selectivity rank
No. 263 – Campus safety rank
No. 296 – Campus experience rank
No. 479 – Faculty resources rank

TCU's recent accolades add to an ongoing winning streak of high rankings. In September, the university ranked as the No. 6 best Texas college for 2025 by U.S. News, and No. 105 nationally. Education information and review platform Niche also recently ranked TCU the 8th best college in Texas and 163rd best nationwide for 2025.

But in both of those rankings, TCU was outpaced by SMU. (The Mustangs landed at No. 5 in Texas in both the U.S. News survey and the Niche report.) This time, TCU's on top. Someone get an iron skillet.

In the spring, TCU's graduate business school ranked as the 5th best statewide, and No. 44 best in the nation. The graduate education school ranked No. 7 in Texas, and No. 117 overall.

Elsewhere across North Texas, the University of Dallas (No. 9) and Southern Methodist University (No. 10) rounded out the top 10 best colleges and universities in the state. Southwestern Adventist University in Keene - a town about 30 miles south of Fort Worth - ranked No. 13 in Texas, followed by The University of Texas at Dallas (No. 14). The University of North Texas ranked at the bottom of the statewide list in No. 18.

The top five best colleges and universities in the nation are Princeton University (No. 1), Yale University (No. 2), Harvard University (No. 3), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 4), and Dartmouth College (No. 5).

The top 10 colleges and universities in Texas are:

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

The full report can be found on wallethub.com.

colleges wallethub rankings lists smu tcu

Police News

Fort Worth police officer fired for unjustified use of force

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A Fort Worth police officer has been terminated following his involvement in a use of force incident. According to a release, Officer Matthew Krueger was let go on December 18, following an investigation into an incident involving someone who was videotaping his actions while he was on duty.

On Sunday, June 23, Fort Worth police officers responded to a hit-and-run collision near 1000 Foch St. The incident involved a suspected intoxicated driver who crashed into another vehicle and a structure before fleeing the scene on foot.

While officers were investigating, a woman approached them and used her cell phone to record their actions. Krueger asked and advised her multiple times to move across the street. When she failed to comply, she was placed under arrest.

During the arrest, Krueger used force to take the woman into custody, resulting in injuries that required medical care at an area hospital.

After being treated, the woman was released from the hospital, booked into jail, and charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest and/or detention, evading arrest, and making a false alarm or report.

Krueger had been with the department for just under eight years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau at the time of the incident.

The Fort Worth Police Major Case and Internal Affairs Units began immediate and congruent investigations. Krueger was transferred from Patrol to a unit with no public interaction, pending the outcome of the investigation.

After a review of the Internal Affairs investigation, Krueger’s chain of command determined that the level of force used was unjustified and violated departmental policy. Police Chief Neil Noakes concurred and terminated Krueger’s employment.

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