<p>I am a prospective college student who is a National Merit Scholar, top in my class of about 450, 2400 on SAT, and lots of extracurriculars. I say this not to brag, but just to explain my situation. The thing is, I'm struggling with deciding where to go. Unlike a good number of posters to this site, I haven't applied to 10 Ivy League schools or anything. I'm actually not incredibly concerned with the prestige of a school as much as the quality of the degree (I want to major in mechanical or aerospace engineering). Prestige is still a factor, just not a huge one for me.</p>
<p>I applied to OU, Texas A&M, Rice, and Baylor. Got into all of them, and fairly quickly decided I didn't want to go to Baylor because their engineering program is not great enough for me to pay the costs of attendance, even with some nice scholarships. I only applied to OU because of their scholarship package for NM, which is considerable. Rice was my first choice, but I am now faced with a dilemma. You see, my family is what you would call "middle middle class". We aren't rich enough to afford the tuition for a private school, but we aren't poor enough to get enough need based financial aid for me to attend. Rice costs $48,000 a year, and they offered me $13,000 in aid, plus $2,500 each of workstudy and loans. This obviously leaves us with $30,000 a year, which simply is not feasible. In order to attend I would have to incur about $100,000 in student loans, and I really am hesitant to do that. A&M, by contrast, is offering me enough to only pay about $5,000 a year, give or take. And their engineering program is very well respected.</p>
<p>Do I go to Rice because its what a student with my academic profile is "supposed" to do?
Or do I go to A&M, not solely for the money but with that being a definite consideration?</p>
<p>PS - I have visited both schools and like them both about equally. I am mainly wondering if the prestige of a Ivy-esque university like Rice is worth the ridiculous cost of attendance. I appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>A&M is outstanding for MechE/AeroE. If you have questions about those programs, you might want to ask boneh3ad over on the Engineering Majors subforum, as he’s a grad student in AeroE at A&M.</p>
<p>I don’t think Rice is inherently a better school. If you felt comfortable at A&M, that would be a fine choice.</p>
<p>DO NOT take out 100,000 in loans when you can get an excellent education at A&M! 100,000 is ridiculous, and it will be hanging over your head for a really, really long time. This is especially true because you say that prestige isn’t that important to you - and by the way, if you aren’t in or near Texas, few people have even heard of Rice outside of academic circles. Also, never do anything JUST because it’s what you’re “supposed” to do. I got a 2340 on the SAT (and will hopefully have 2400 when I retake) so I understand that you feel that you belong at a more prestigious school. But you need to be pragmatic and realize that finances come first. As noimagination said, “A&M is outstanding for MechE/AeroE.” So, go to A&M! :)</p>
<p>I’m with everyone else on how little scholarships you got. I’m wondering if perhaps the reason why you got so little is because of the school you go to. Does EVERYONE at your school have similar credentials that send 90% of its graduating class to Ivy Leagues??</p>
<p>Well, never mind. That’s not the issue.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d go with TAMU. Even though I’m not partial to it, it’s a terrific school in engineering. If you live in Texas and you’re in the engineering, all the “big boys” go to A&M. I’d highly recommend it. However, if Rice and A&M are just weighted equally in mind, maybe you should look at factors other than academics to make your decision. College Station and Houston are VERY different towns. The former is small, the latter is extremely large. Chances are you’ll find a more diverse student body in Rice, but I wouldn’t say that for sure. Houston is a much larger city and you’ll meet a more variety of people; on the other hand, maybe you’re more conservative. If that’s the case, you might want A&M back in College Station.</p>
It’s really not that surprising. Public universities are notoriously unreliable when it comes to merit aid. </p>
<p>What is far more surprising, in my opinion, is that the OP did not apply to UT Austin, which would have been quite a nice option; it beats both A&M and Rice in engineering and is cheaper than the latter to boot. </p>
<p>I’m kind of confused as to why you mentioned your stats, including your SAT score in the thread title, since you’ve already been accepted to your schools other than just to brag. It’s not like you are asking for advice on what schools to apply for or your chances on getting in…</p>
<p>BEST PROGRAMS AT ENGINEERING SCHOOLS WHOSE HIGHEST DEGREE IS A DOCTORATE </p>
<p>Rank School (*Public) Peer assessment score (5.0=highest)</p>
<ol>
<li> Massachusetts Inst. of Technology 4.9 </li>
<li> Stanford University (CA) 4.7 </li>
<li> University of California–Berkeley* 4.7 </li>
<li> California Institute of Technology 4.6 </li>
<li> Georgia Institute of Technology* 4.5 </li>
<li> U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign* 4.5 </li>
<li> Carnegie Mellon University ¶ 4.3 </li>
<li> University of Michigan–Ann Arbor* 4.3 </li>
<li> Cornell University (NY) 4.2 </li>
<li> Purdue Univ.–West Lafayette (IN)* 4.2 </li>
<li> University of Texas–Austin* 4.2 </li>
<li> Princeton University (NJ) 4.0 </li>
<li> Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison* 4.0 </li>
<li> Johns Hopkins University (MD) 3.9 </li>
<li> Northwestern University (IL) 3.9 </li>
<li> Virginia Tech* 3.9 </li>
<li> Pennsylvania State U.–Univ. Park* 3.8 17. Texas A&M Univ.–College Station 3.8 </li>
<li> Rice University (TX) 3.7 19. Univ. of California–Los Angeles 3.7 </li>
<li> Univ. of California–San Diego 3.7 </li>
<li> Univ. of Minnesota–Twin Cities 3.7
<ol>
<li> Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. (NY) 3.6 </li>
<li> Univ. of Maryland–College Park* 3.6 </li>
<li> University of Washington* 3.6 </li>
<li> Columbia University (NY) 3.5 </li>
<li> Duke University (NC) 3.5 </li>
<li> Harvard University (MA) 3.5 </li>
<li> North Carolina State U.–Raleigh* 3.5 </li>
<li> Ohio State University–Columbus* 3.5 </li>
<li> University of Florida* 3.5 </li>
<li> University of Pennsylvania 3.5 </li>
<li> Univ. of Southern California 3.5 </li>
<li> University of California–Davis* 3.4 </li>
<li> Univ. of California–Santa Barbara* 3.4 </li>
<li> University of Colorado–Boulder* 3.4 </li>
</ol></li>
<li> Brown University (RI) 3.3 </li>
<li> Iowa State University* 3.3 </li>
<li> University of Virginia* 3.3
<ol>
<li> Arizona State University* 3.2 </li>
<li> Lehigh University ¶ 3.2 </li>
<li> Vanderbilt University (TN) 3.2 </li>
<li> Washington University in St. Louis 3.2 </li>
<li> Yale University (CT) 3.2 </li>
<li> Case Western Reserve Univ. (OH) 3.1 </li>
<li> Michigan State University* 3.1 </li>
<li> Rutgers, St. U. of N. J.–New Brunswick* 3.1 </li>
<li> University of Arizona* 3.1 </li>
<li> University of California–Irvine* 3.1 </li>
<li> University of Notre Dame (IN) 3.1 </li>
</ol></li>
<li> Colorado School of Mines* 3.0 </li>
<li> Dartmouth College (NH) 3.0 </li>
<li> Drexel University ¶ 3.0 </li>
<li> University of Delaware* 3.0 </li>
<li> Univ. of Massachusetts–Amherst* 3.0 </li>
<li> University of Pittsburgh* 3.0 </li>
<li> Boston University 2.9 </li>
<li> Clemson University (SC)* 2.9 </li>
<li> Illinois Institute of Technology 2.9 </li>
<li> Northeastern University (MA) 2.9 </li>
<li> Tufts University (MA) 2.9 </li>
<li> University of Illinois–Chicago* 2.9 </li>
<li> University of Iowa* 2.9
<ol>
<li> Auburn University (AL)* 2.8 </li>
<li> Colorado State University* 2.8 </li>
<li> Kansas State University* 2.8 </li>
<li> Michigan Technological University* 2.8 </li>
<li> Polytechnic Inst. of New York U. (NY) 2.8 </li>
<li> Rochester Inst. of Technology (NY) 2.8 </li>
<li> SUNY–Stony Brook* 2.8 </li>
<li> University at Buffalo–SUNY* 2.8 </li>
<li> University of Tennessee* 2.8 </li>
<li> University of Utah* 2.8 </li>
<li> Washington State University* 2.8 </li>
<li> Worcester Polytechnic Inst. (MA) 2.8</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>
<p>Was the $13K offer from Rice need based, or merit based? I thought they were fairly generous with their merit scholarships, so I’m surprised you did not get more. You could try getting them to increase the amount by emailing them the details of your most generous offer. This may be more effective if your GC sends the message.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’d need to close a pretty big gap, but if you are very interested in Rice, you may as well give it a shot.</p>
<p>What is far more surprising, in my opinion, is that the OP did not apply to UT Austin, which would have been quite a nice option;</p>
<p>The OP made it clear that he doesn’t qualify for aid, so going to UT would be a mistake. UT got rid of its NM scholarships. Therefore, he would have likely gotten a lousy package from them.</p>
<p>However, I agree, he wasn’t advised well for other places to apply.</p>
<p>That said, he’ll get a great education at TAMU.</p>
<p>Not that your choices are bad, you got into Rice and A&M, but you could also get a lot of merit money at schools like Case Western, South Carolina, USC, Miami(FL), Bama, LSU, Tulane, etc… Some of the schools mentioned like LSU, Bama, etc… you would have a shot at a full ride. </p>
<p>You might also be able to get $ from schools that are usually pretty stingy like Michigan, Maryland, etc…</p>
<p>I’m thinking about doing a Gap year, and I’m thinking about studying abroad through Rotary or something, volunteering with something like City Year, or getting a more permanent spot at my current job for a year. I’m thinking of going through the application process again (yikes!) or hoping that the school I like and choose lets me defer. </p>
<p>If you take a gap year, you will be able to apply to a few more schools. You have plenty of potential, you got into Rice and that 2400 SAT is pretty helpful.</p>