Best School in Texas

<p>People say Rice because they go by US news and can’t think for themselves (for the most part).</p>

<p>UT has amazing programs (engineering, accounting, and business are reallyyyyy well respected).</p>

<p>So it depends on what you want and/or are going for. It’s huge though, just like Michigan.</p>

<p>correction:</p>

<p>You’re ignoring the geographical advantages of UT Law. No or little traveling involved for either party, firm or law grad [for interview].</p>

<p>Not sure what basis makes it Rice with ‘no debate’. UT is #1 in Texas in basically every academic discipline and across MORE disciplines than Rice, so seems to me that would make it #1 from a purely academic perspective. Check any academic faculty/departmental ranking, not USNWR undergrad rankings. How is it logical to say a school with LESS and LOWER RANKED academic departments is better? More selective, yes, no question.</p>

<p>Rice is a private university without the bureaucratic mess of a large state university system. That alone puts it ahead of UT. It is very selective and has a very impressive student body. UT also has a lot of extremely bright students- but there is a definite lower half. That’s just the way it works. There are many reasons why a student might choose one over the other and be making a very valid choice. The answer to the OP’s question, however, is Rice.</p>

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No, USNWR have nothing to do with it (I don’t even know the ranks for Rice and UT). I truly believe the smaller classes, research opportunities, professors, students, etc exceed the caliber of those at UT. I’m not saying UT isn’t a good school, it is. And it’s a close second (a very close, and in some cases, a superior one) but overall, I think Rice is a better university.</p>

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<p>Not necessarily. Read the OP’s question again. </p>

<p>Depending on one’s focus, it would be easy to claim that Rice is more selective, hence better than UT. However, that is only when comparing average vs average a la USNews. UT-Austin is not a homogeneous: it attracts not only highly competitive students who apply to the more selective departments such as business, engineering, communications, Plan II but also the hordes of top 10 percenters from the large Bubba HS that are more know for Friday Light prowesses than their SATs, as well as plenty of the top 10 percenters of impoverished rural high schools. </p>

<p>But even if Rice grabs the “title” of best academics, the OP question also included the social component. Is Rice able to compete with UT at Austin at that level? How does Austin compare to Houston when viewed through the lenses of a college student? Despite the fact that Rice is located in one of the better "hoods of Houston, it cannot mask that Houston is, for most parts, a miserable and smelly urban hodgepodge. </p>

<p>Older people might be attracted to Houston’s good restaurants, shopping, and medical facilities, and perhaps ethnic diversity, but those are not precisely great social attributes for the 18 to 25 years old.</p>

<p>Rice doesn’t receive as many applicants as UT-Austin, hence it seems more selective (it’s math, kids). They are both competitive, but sometimes UT is grouped with the other UT schools.</p>

<p>UT obviously compensates for this by having a lot of resources. By your logic momofwildchild, a school like Berkeley or U of Michigan should be disregarded.</p>

<p>I am not saying Rice is a bad school, I am saying that you can’t just say “no questions asked.” I seriously don’t know what Rice is known for (maybe medical?).</p>

<p>But UT I know Law, Accounting, Business, and Engineering are very well known. That’s just me though, but I am sure I am not alone on this one.</p>

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This perfectly describes Houston. I was there a couple weeks ago visiting Rice, and after seeing Rice and UT Austin, I know I’d be a Longhorn over an Owl in a second. Houston was truly a wretched city. Austin was amazing.</p>

<p>**drax, huh?</p>

<p>you said EXACTLY what I said</p>

<p>here is your post:**</p>

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<p>and here is my post:</p>

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<p>If you actually spent time at Rice and in the surrounding area you would find it very desirable. My daughter and her friends LOVED Houston- lots of great places to eat (and cheap), lots of cultural events and easy transportation to everything. She liked Houston much better than Dallas. Of course, everyone loves Austin, but it has become crowded with horrible traffic that you DO have to deal with as a student more than you have to deal with the negatives of Houston as a Rice student. The social life at Rice was great- it depends if you want a huge athletic scene, frats etc. Like I said, there are very valid reasons to pick either school. In my mind, private and smaller trumps huge public in terms of a general question like the OP. (and I went to huge public)</p>

<p>Is this really debatable? I mean, its Rice vs. UT. These schools aren’t even in the same ballpark.</p>

<p>^ yes, it’s true UT’s academic departments and faculty are much higher ranked, and it certainly has greater academic breadth and depth than Rice. However, at the undergrad level, Rice is actually very strong. It’s only when comparing overall faculty quality, ranked programs, resources, etc. that it can’t be compared to UT.</p>

<p>Rice has top academics and reasonable tuition costs for an elite private school.</p>

<p>Saying UT is better than Rice is like saying Berkeley is better than Stanford.</p>

<p>Well…You certainly can say both are schools of world importance. Who cares which is “better”.</p>

<p>Sorry, I should have been clear because of the UT ■■■■■■, but I was saying that these two schools aren’t comparable because Rice is significantly better. No one considers UT a top schools, but most people would consider Rice to be one of the top schools in the nation. These schools aren’t comparable because Rice is academically superior to UT. </p>

<p>UT has better football though. So they have that.</p>

<p>Does Rice have a significantly better faculty?
Does it have better libraries, labs or other facilities?</p>

<p>The answer to both is no. It has better students on average but UT has more high achievers by number and has even established programs that offer them the benefits of smaller classes etc that Rice offers. </p>

<p>So the answer would be–not so much. They just are different in size and scope. But both offere the high achiever a top notch education and shots at any grad school or job you could want. And if you plan to stay in Texas a UT degree will never hurt you. BUt UT cannot be beat for attractive coeds and fun.</p>

<p>As someone who graduated from UT undergrad and UT law, who currently lives in the Austin area, who has lived and worked in Houston and who has family members in the Rice area, and who has had many friends, acquaintances, and colleagues who graduated from Rice, I will weigh in.</p>

<p>Just considering undergraduate students and programs, roughly, the top 10 percent of students at UT are comparable to Rice students academically. Also, I would think that the UT Honors programs, particularly Plan II, Dean’s Scholars, and Engineering Honors (not including Business Honors because Rice does not have anything similar), are roughly equivalent to some of the undergraduate Rice programs, and research opportunities are there for the honors students. So, one could argue there is a sort of Rice within UT in terms of programs and students, though it shares UT with the other 90 percent of UT undergrad students and the programs fitting their needs.</p>

<p>But the top UT students and the Rice students are self selecting and so are not necessarily that similar outside of academics. Of course there would be overlap, but on average the UT students would be more social, less wealthy, more liberal, more interested in big time sports, and more interested in partying on the weekends. Also, there is a quite large and active Greek scene, where one can find some of the UT students who do not fit the “less wealthy” description. Rice has no Greek presence.</p>

<p>Only a small percentage of UT students live on campus, more live in surrounding neighborhoods (West campus and North campus), and most live in apartments miles from campus. There is still a lively campus area though, as only a small percentage of 50,000 can constitute a crowd.</p>

<p>As for the differences in quality of life between Austin and Houston, I think they are a bit overblown. Houston has more violent crime, but Austin has at least as much property crime, and the area around Rice is not particularly dangerous. Houston has worse traffic, but Austin traffic gets worse every year, as the Austin metro keeps on growing at a rapid pace. Austin has the Sixth Street music scene, but Houston has all the amenities of a large city, including good museums, a major symphony orchestra, ballet, and many other cultural attractions. Houston has a little more humidity, while Austin temperatures are a little higher, so the summers are equally miserable. </p>

<p>Instead of focusing on the difference in cities, the prospective student should focus on fit with regard to the two very different universities and the two student bodies. One is like a small LAC, while the other is a large state flagship. Opportunities abound at both for the good student.</p>

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<p>Still nonsense… ; )</p>

<p>Your post DEFINITELY, excludes UT Law grads as if they were lowest on the list – only HLS, SLS, YLS grads apply. Not even remotely true: Probably just about all firms in Tx would have UT Law first.</p>

<p>Umm, isn’t the discussion about UT undergrad v. Rice undergrad? Not sure why UT Law is even being discussed. </p>

<p>Rice - #17
UT - #45</p>

<p>That is a huge difference.</p>