Carnegie Mellon VS Rice (Social Sciences) - International student really needs help!!

<p>Hey guys, I am an international applicant and I was accepted to Rice University and Carnegie Mellon. (: With imperfect information about these universities (everything I know I found from online) and being unable to visit the university campuses at all, I really really do need informed and objective advice that could help me in deciding whether I should go to Carnegie Mellon or Rice. >.< </p>

<p>With regards to my major, I am planning to study both social sciences and business.
Rice is stronger in the social sciences, but it only has a Business minor whereas Carnegie Mellon has its Tepper school of Business. Carnegie Mellon also offered me a place in their Humanities Scholars Program, which is a tempting offer even though my interests lean more towards social sciences than humanities.
Questions: Is it possible for me to study both business and social sciences in Carnegie Mellon (considering I only got accepted into the school of humanities and social sciences)? Is the Humanities Scholars Program something very good and worth considering? For my area of interest (social sciences and business), which school would be better? </p>

<p>With regards to school culture, location and general feel, I think Rice wins because it seems to have a more close knit and collaborative community that is bonded through the Residential College system. Location wise, Houston also seems to be a better place than Pittsburgh because it is more of a city and more accessible? I am not entirely sure though because I am unable to visit these two places :// I would prefer the weather of Rice as well I guess because I can't really take the cold. Going by the general feel, I think I would like Rice because the people there seem more warm, fun and friendly. I am wondering how true the common saying is that people at Carnegie Mellon are geeky/nerdy? Personally I'm okay with that because I am pretty much a geek as well, but I would like to mix with a wider variety of people which is why I think I might prefer Rice better. Do correct me if I have any misperceptions! </p>

<p>With regards to reputation and recognition, Carnegie Mellon seems to win because it is more well known internationally. Rankings wise though Rice is 17th and CMU is 23rd in US News rankings, in most other rankings CMU is much higher than Rice in its position. Also, in my country I think more people know about CMU than Rice. I guess this matters quite a lot as an international student because I may be finding a job back in my home country, and so the reputation/recognition of the school does matter. So I guess I would like to check: Which has a higher brand name actually, Rice or Carnegie Mellon? And does brand name of the university really actually matter when employers make decisions on whether to hire you? </p>

<p>Finally, due to limited finances, I am hoping to do really well in the first year and be able to get a scholarship/bursary/half-full tuition waiver from the university in order to lighten the financial burden for my parents. How possible is this in Rice/CMU? Will I be able to get a scholarship from the university if I do very well in my first year? Or how else then could I get a waiver/earn money for tuition fees? </p>

<p>So sorry for such a long post and the asking of so many questions! I do wish I could visit the universities myself so it could help in making my decision but unfortunately I can't. ))):
I really do hope that you guys can provide some answers for the questions I have and maybe provide advice on which university you think I should choose!</p>

<p>Thank you so so so much!!! Please do help me, your help is greatly appreciated. ((:</p>

<p>Many students in the Social and Decision Science (SDS) department do an additional major in Business, so you shouldn’t have any trouble completing a double-major in a Social Science and Business if you come here. There’s a lot of course overlap between the two, so this makes it easier to complete a double-major.</p>

<p>Also, I’m from Houston, so I can tell you while the weather is better in Houston during the winter, it is terrible during hurricane season. Your first few months at Rice will be abysmal due to the weather. Not only that, but you’ll find it difficult to explore the city (many of my friends at Rice have never gone off the campus).</p>

<p>Finally, while we do have a lot of nerdy/geeky people, we have people who fit in all parts of the social spectrum, so you’ll be able to interact with a wide variety of people.</p>

<p>CMU only provides financial aid to US citizens or those with permanent resident status. Also, the aid is only need-based. They don’t award merit scholarships.</p>

<p>If reputation is an important criteria to you, CMU is more highly regarded than Rice, when the whole the university (including graduate school) is considered. The USNWR rankings that you referred to where Rice #17 and CMU #23 are for undergraduate education only.</p>

<p>In the USNWR World’s Best Universities Rankings, CMU is #49 , Rice is #120.
[World’s</a> Best Universities; Top 400 Universities in the World | US News](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world]World’s”>http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world)</p>

<p>In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, CMU is #22, Rice is #75.
[World</a> University Rankings 2012-2013 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2012-13/world-ranking]World”>World University Rankings 2013-14 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>

<p>In the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, CMS is #26, Rice is not ranked in the top 100.
[Top</a> universities by reputation 2013 - Times Higher Education](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2013/reputation-ranking/range/01-50]Top”>World Reputation Rankings 2013 | Times Higher Education (THE))</p>

<p>In the Center for World University Rankings, CMU is #43, Rice is #57.
<a href=“http://www.cwur.org/top100.html[/url]”>http://www.cwur.org/top100.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I’ve heard really good things about Rice’s residential college system. CMU doesn’t have anything like that.</p>

<p>With the large gift Dietrich gift, I wonder how this would enhance programs like Social and Decision Sciences?</p>

<p>go for CMU!!!</p>