<p>Hi yall lol, i like saying that, i currently attend Cornell </p>
<p>i got into Rice as a transfer, and i got into rice as a freshman, i mainly disregarded it back in the day, b/c I was really concerned with the fact that very few ppl in the northeast knew about it. It seemed like all of my professors were pretty impressed with it, but other than that, my classmates and other people I encounted, really didn't seem to have much respect for it. Well, here, I come again, I have gained acceptance to Rice, U Chicago, WUSTL, and i got a waitlist spot at both Columbia and Duke.</p>
<p>Can someone please reassure me that my job placement will not be impaired by going to Rice?</p>
<p>Why should one go to Rice over Cornell, Chicago, and Wash U?</p>
<p>it all depends by what you mean by most people? your employers in your field will know respectable colleges but the average joe might not know about it. to me, it doesnt matter what people in the street think. i believe you earn your successes through your own merits, personality and other things than just a diploma. when it comes down to it, a person with a diploma from the first 20 colleges in the nation is very well off. i totally understand wanting to transfer out of cornell. i met a cornell transfer at rice and he told me about the "depressing atmosphere", the bridge, etc.</p>
<p>I just turned down UChicago. I visited the campus, and I liked everything about it except for two aspects: the first aspect was the average GPA, which is low. I had the opportunity of seeing GPAs of a specific major, and they were around the low threes to high twos. As a prospective law school applicant, UChicago became to risky. Aside from that, many of the students I met seemed miserable and the campus is not as clearly defined as Rice's.</p>
<p>Also, do not let the pictures fool you: UChicago is much smaller than it appears. Though the actual campus is larger than Rice's, the part that you will be using is significantly smaller (I hope you will not be visiting the hospital a lot!).</p>
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Employers and grad schools know of Rice and will respect your degree.
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<p>Indeed.</p>
<p>Important people know about Rice, period.</p>
<p>I should emphasize, however, that Cornell, Rice, and UChicago are all excellent schools for what you want to do, bball. Choosing one or the other should not depend on prestige or ranking, since the schools are all highly regarded in the fields for which they specialize. What it should really come down to, at this point, is what environment will make you happy for the next three years. If you see yourself as miserable at UChicago, go to Rice. Choose what suits you.</p>
<p>When I told my friend about the choice I had, he told me to flip a coin. I do not have a three-sided coin, though;)</p>
<p>Rice is very well known in California. There are many Rice grads here because we all went west for the engineering. It is also well-known throughout the South. I have a friend who majored in history and she got a very interesting job in Virginia in her field. Of course, in Texas, it is the premier school. There are Rice grads in interesting positions throughout the USA. John Doerr is a well-known venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. The CEO of Ernst and Young is a classmate of mine. Another classmate wrote for Forbes magazine. The school is amazingly well-known considering its small size.</p>
<p>Rice is respected internationally in the world of academia. I have been emailing with a researcher in king's college in london and he knew exactly where Rice was and knew it as an excellent school.</p>
<p>I don't think the issue is just whether Rice is known or well respected. That Rice is both is without question. The issue is also where in the US a grad would like to work and also whether a strong network of alum exist in the industry in which that grad would like to work. Just an example....here in Houston, a Cornell engineering grad would most likely take a back seat to a Texas A&M engineering grad despite the fact that Cornell has a more prestigious engineering program. The Aggie network is that strong here in Houston. </p>
<p>So the OP needs not to just consider whether Rice is well regarded, but where he will work and how easily he will hire in that geographic area with a Rice diploma.</p>
<p>Never underestimate the power of a strong alumni network in the real world. Here in Houston and Texas, A&M and UT have extremely large, formidable alumni associations and the affiliation goes a long way in career advancement. And of course, here, Rice grads are revered even though their alum numbers don't approach that of the big flagships.</p>
<p>Rice is definitely a small school with a big name. But I agree that a surprising number of people in the Northeast know little or nothing about Rice. Here in Maryland, when I tell people I'm going to Rice, I usually get a blank stare followed by, "Oh, where is that?"</p>
<p>On the other hand, those who have heard of it (and these are mostly professional people) know that it's an amazing school. I seriously doubt that transferring to Rice from Cornell would impair your chances of landing a job in the Northeast. I had a similar concern a while back when I was making my college decision, but when I talked to teachers and counselors about it they thought I was being rediculous. What attracts me most to Rice is its close-knit environment and its prestigious name (without the snobbery I found in other competing universities).</p>