SMU, TCU move up in latest U.S. News rankings

Why it matters: Despite perennial debate over college rankings, U.S. News remains one of the most prominent measures used to compare colleges and universities nationwide.

Zoom in: U.S. News has added a new category this year of what it considers best value schools for in-state students.

• UT Austin is No. 19 on the list, two spots below Ohio State and seven spots above Texas A&M.

State of play: SMU came in at No. 85, a five-way tie, on the overall ranking of U.S. universities.

• TCU is No. 90 in another five-way tie that includes Baylor University.
• UT Dallas is No. 121, UNT is No. 208 and UT Arlington is tied with another school at No. 236.

The upside: UNT is tied at No. 26 for top performers on social mobility, per U.S. News.

• SMU and UT Dallas are tied at No. 39 on the ranking of undergraduate business programs.
• UT Dallas is tied at No. 58 in U.S News' ranking of the country's top public schools. TCU is No. 70 on the list of best value schools.

Go deeper: Browse the rankings here.