Carnegie Mellon vs. Rice University

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone. I’ve been accepted to both CMU and Rice, but after almost a month of comparing them I still really haven’t come to a decision. I’m thinking about majoring in either Chemical Engineering or Civil/Environmental Engineering. I only really want to know which is the better university, so weather, location and money aren’t as important to me as the university experience itself.

In terms of what I like about each university, CMU has a higher ranked engineering program (although it usually also includes CS, which I’m not as interested in), while Rice has a much better social atmosphere, with a lot less of a stressful environment, while also being smaller.

However, from what I’ve heard, CMU is also one of the more stressful universities out there, and their teachers tend to be more difficult to interact with than at Rice. On the other hand, Rice’s engineering programs are all about 10 spots lower than CMUs on average.

I really like each school, and was just hoping for some advice or which university I should choose! Thank you!

2

We toured CMU four years ago now. My D was interested in Chem E. All we kept hearing at CMU was about their CS ranking and all the new CS buildings and resources. That was a turn off to my D who had zero interest in CS. She also didn’t like the intense vibe.

You have great options here. No wrong decision.

3

I visited CMU twice with my kids, and both got the same vibe and refused to apply there. Nobody we saw on the tours looked happy.

In contrast, Rice consistently competes for and often wins the happiest students award. And afterwards, Rice students do fine in terms of career placement.

To me, this is an easy decision.

4 Likes
4

For a better overall experience, Rice wins in a landslide. We also didn’t like the vibe at CMU. Or the campus. It was rather depressing, tbh.

1 Like