<p>I like cold weather, so I would choose Michigan.</p>
<p>Rjkofnovi,</p>
<p>Rice has very few academic weaknesses either, especially in the engineering realm. All the engineering programs are very strong at Rice, and so are most of the other departments as well. However, I will concede that certain departments, such as art, drama, etc., may not have as many resources as equivalent departments at Michigan, but then again Michigan is a huge (albeit good) state school.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>If you want a more personal college experience, go to Rice. We have 3200 undergrads versus the 26,000 undergrads that Michigan has. Although you can still definitely get a personal experience at Michigan, it will be a lot easier at Rice. Our median class size is 15, and our student-to-faculty ratio is 5:1. The largest lecture class here is only 220 students, whereas I heard that Michigan has lecture classes as big as 800.</p>
<p>Also, don’t choose a school based on name. Although I had some second thoughts about turning down the brand name of Duke, I have realized that Rice is the best fit for me and I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I don’t even care if people don’t know about Rice anymore because it just means that I am not just following the status quo and going to a school with an Ivy brand name. Along with Emory, Rice is truly a “hidden gem” among the top 20 universities in America. Be sure to research Rice, along with Harvey Mudd and Michigan, A LOT.</p>
<p>Also, I suggest you consider all this AFTER you get your admission letters in late March/early April.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d go to Harvey Mudd. I went to a liberal arts college for undergrad, and I really loved the atmosphere and the personal attention earned from professors, as well as the focus on undergraduate education. It’s in California, which has better weather than Michigan and Texas in my opinion, and the Claremont Colleges are known for having a good balance of academics and social life. Going to a campus that’s 33% male puts the odds in my favor (I’m a female) but I’d still get the benefit of the more equally balanced Pomona, CMC and Pitzer and the all-female atmosphere of Scripps (I went to a women’s college and I loved it). HMC is known for its prowess in producing engineering students as well.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is a great school, but it offers only a general engineering degree. Most graduates go on to grad school to narrow down a specialty. Also, it is really small and definitely more nerdy. The professor to student ratio is ridiculously low…which is nice. Rice is probably more well rounded, since it doesn’t focus solely on math/sci/eng. You can specialize there also. Michigan is huge and I would worry about how the economy has affected the school. Some of the larger public schools are so impacted that it is very difficult to graduate in 4 years, so plan on spending 5-6 years at the most expensive out-of-state public school in the nation. I would vote for Rice with Harvey Mudd being a close second.</p>
<p>
Check your facts. 33% is not equal to “most graduates.”</p>
<p>These are pretty different places and hopefully the following comparisons will illuminate some of the stark differences that a prospective undergraduate should consider in choosing a college:</p>
<p>School …… Undergrads , OOS , Black , Asian , Hispanic , White , Intl
Rice ……… 3154 , 45% , 7% , 21% , 12% , 53% , 6%
U Mich …… 25994 , 35% , 6% , 12% , 4% , 71% , 5%
H Mudd …… 738 , 40% , 2% , 21% , 8% , 66% , 3%</p>
<p>School …… 4 Yr Grad Rate , 6 Yr Grad Rate<br>
Rice ……… 82% , 93%<br>
U Mich …… 70% , 88%<br>
H Mudd …… 83% , 90% </p>
<p>School …… % classes taught by TAs , Student/Faculty Ratio , % classes with < 20 students , % classes with > 50 students<br>
Rice ……… 6% , 5/1 , 65.4% , 8.1%<br>
U Mich …… 14% , 15/1 , 45.9% , 17.8%<br>
H Mudd …… 1% , 9/1 , 58.8% , 7.0% </p>
<p>School …… CR 25 - CR 75 , Math 25 - Math 75 , Writing 25 - Writing 75<br>
Rice ……… 650 - 750 , 670 - 780 , 640 - 750<br>
U Mich …… 580 - 690 , 640 - 740 , 590 - 700<br>
H Mudd …… 670 - 770 , 750 - 800 , 680 - 760 </p>
<p>School …… % scoring 700+ on CR , % scoring 600+ on CR , % scoring 700+ on Math , % scoring 600+ on Math<br>
Rice ……… 53% , 90% , 65% , 91%<br>
U Mich …… 22% , 73% , 46% , 86%<br>
H Mudd …… 64% , 96% , 94% , 100% </p>
<p>School …… ACT 25 - ACT 75 , % scoring 30+ on ACT<br>
Rice ……… 30 - 34 , 79%<br>
U Mich …… 27 - 31 , 44%<br>
H Mudd …… 33 - 35 , 100% </p>
<p>School …… Accept Rate , Top 10% students<br>
Rice ……… 23.0% , 85%<br>
U Mich …… 42.2% , 92%<br>
H Mudd …… 31.1% , 95% </p>
<p>School …… OOS Tuition % students who borrow, Amt , % getting FA, % of Need Met<br>
Rice ……… $31,248 , 42% , $11,108 , 35% , 100%<br>
U Mich …… $35,391 , 46% , $25,586 , 50% , 90% (62% est for OOS)<br>
H Mudd …… $38,467 , 53% , $21,018 , 56% , 100% </p>
<p>School …… Endowment Per Capita , USNWR Financial Resources Rank<br>
Rice ……… $844,916 , 22nd<br>
U Mich …… $181,883 , 37th<br>
H Mudd …… $337,744 , 12th</p>
<p>I wouldn’t presume to tell you which of these fine schools to select. You should make your own decision, based on cost, geography, whimsy, or whatever. There’s no bad choice here.</p>
<p>IBClass06 : Here is a quote cut and pasted from the Harvey Mudd website.</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd alumni continue to be high achievers. Two-thirds of all Harvey Mudd students go on to graduate school. A recent study ranked Harvey Mudd College first in the nation in percentage of graduates (40.7%) earning the Ph.D.</p>
<p>
Keep context in mind. That statistic includes science students, which make up over 50% of the student body. The percentage of science students at Mudd going on for further study is higher than in engineering.</p>
<p>engineering/science/math is 99% of the student body.</p>
<p>Mudd, for the 5 c consortium. think about ann arbor in february!!</p>
<p>^^and wild fires, smog, and earthquakes anytime…</p>
<p>Why are people so afraid of a little snow and cold weather? I’d rather have that than getting my house destroyed and my friends killed by wildfires and earthquakes or hurricanes.</p>
<p>For the record, if you go to Mudd, your “house” will not be destroyed. I’m from Southern CA and obviously, see the fires on the news every year. Things that burn are way high up in the mountains. Beautiful mansions built in the middle of nowhere in the hills. Do NOT look at Harvey Mudd and fear fires, because Claremont isn’t going to burn down.</p>
<p>As for earthquakes…well, I’ve lived here for seven years and have only felt one earthquake. It feels like the ground wiggles for like five seconds. Again, earthquakes should not deter anyone from CA schools.</p>
<p>As for smog, well…it’s not really the smog that’s bad (especially in Claremont), it’s the ashy air from the fires. But fire season is relatively short, and most of the time the nice weather definitely makes up for it.</p>
<p>well the reason i started this was NOT to ask which you would pick for me, but rather to see what highlights each school is known for. Ive done much research, but i just wanted a second opinion. =]</p>
<p>thanks all, im very happy that i got supporters of all 3 schools. your posts have given me some insight into things i might not have considered. sorry for not posting in a while, i dont get notified when you guys make a post so i had no idea.</p>
<p>thanks again,
techguy</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose Rice. I prefer its location, its campus set-up and its residential system which is pattered after Oxbridge’s. </p>
<p>Michigan is an awesome school with great international prestige, especially for engineering, sciences and business. It has loads of students who look quite decent and well-bred people despite the school’s liberal culture, which is something i personally find attractive. However, its weather is appalling. </p>
<p>HMC’s atmosphere is depressing despite its nice campus and beautiful weather. Lots of geeks and less fortunate looking people on campus. It losses one’s appetite to go to class under such milieu. It could be different now, but that was the impression I got when I visited the campus years ago.</p>
<p>Rice, definitely.</p>