The University of Dallas has enrolled the most undergraduates in its history just a semester after graduating a record number of students.
The private Catholic university has its biggest undergraduate class -- nearly 1,400 students.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Orange Line added a stop near the campus this summer, increasing accessibility to the university.
"There's been more than one case where I was bicycling through bad parts of town at 2 a.m. with, you know, poster boards strapped to my back," said John Beasley, of Reno, Nev., who is in his third year.
"We have the highest number of out-of-state students of any university in the state of Texas -- even more than Rice," said Thomas Keefe, university president. "That means that we have any number of students that come here without automobiles."
The University of Dallas has also teamed up with other universities in the area to provide more majors and other academic programs.
"We have a three-two nursing program with TW, which means they spend the first three years at the University of Dallas and the next two years securing a nursing degree," Keefe said.
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A similar program with the University of Texas at Arlington offers an engineering degree. Such programs are examples of how the university is flourishing, Keefe said.
"Virtually all the rankings have raised the University of Dallas," he said. "Forbes ranked us 120th in the country. You have to drive 1,052 miles to find a Catholic university that's ranked higher than we are."
In the new U.S. News and World Report's rankings, the university moved up to rank No. 12 in the Regional University West rankings.
Mariana Gutierrez, a freshman from Nicaragua, said the school's improved rankings boost her confidence for her future.
"I know that once I graduate from this school, I'll be able to get any job I want and I'll have connections," she said.
For the first time, the University of Dallas with host an international broadcast. BBC Radio's popular "The Public Philosopher" will air Oct. 7 in front of a public audience.
