The Owls of Rice University have a lot to hoot about. The Houston school has been ranked as the seventh best college in the U.S. and the best college in Texas.

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.

Last year's Niche.com list of the best colleges put Rice at No. 10, so it jumped up three spots this year.

On the new list, Rice ranks fourth among the colleges with the best professors, 10th among the colleges with the best value, and 16th among the hardest colleges to get into.

Here's Niche.com's new report card for the country's 10 best colleges:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston
2. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
3. Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
4. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
5. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
6. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
7. Rice University
8. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
9. Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
10. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Known as the "Harvard of the South," Rice "is a premier research institution with a 300-acre campus that serves as a green oasis in the heart of Houston," Forbes noted in 2019.

In Niche.com's ranking this year, Rice earns bragging rights as the best college in Texas. Here are the state's top 10, 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

Shortly after the Niche.com rankings came out, Rice appeared at the top of The Princeton Review's list of American colleges and universities with the overall best quality of life. Every year, The Princeton Review rates colleges and universities based on critiques submitted by students at 386 schools.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.