<p>My D is between two schools - Rice and Cornell. Rice offered her 27K(merit scholarship) and Cornell offered her 41K(36K grant, 2K work study, 3k loan). She is planning on attending graduate school, and maybe even go for a PhD afterwards. She plans on majoring in Electrical Engineering. Which one should she go to?</p>
<p>D is having trouble deciding which one she wants to go to. Please advise (advantages/disadvantages, etc.). Thanks.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer since I think both would be fine but isn’t the important number not the amount of merit $$ but rather, what it’ll cost after factoring the merit $$?</p>
<p>If cost ends up to not be a factor then maybe she should consider other attributes like location, weather, travel cost/hassle, city/town setting, general feel of the campus, etc.</p>
<p>If the financial aspects (calculated in the way that GladGradDad suggests) are similar enough so that the decision need not be made on the basis of money, then she can decide on whatever basis she wants.</p>
<p>Both are excellent schools. There is no bad choice here.</p>
<p>If she has not visited both campuses, perhaps visiting now would help her make her choice.</p>
<p>Haven’t set foot on Cornell’s campus, but did get a chance to see Rice during Owl Days. I was really impressed with Rice (a lot more than my D was, unfortunately). One thing that I would be interested in knowing is if either engineering program is a “weed out” program. Also, I’d like to know how its engineering students do getting internships and jobs.</p>
<p>My recollection was that one of Rice’s selling points was that they were a good $10K cheaper than a comparable private school, so the out of pocket cost of attendance will be similar between the two schools. That would be important to consider also.</p>
<p>Haven’t set foot on Rice’s campus, but my daughter went to Cornell and so did I. Neither of us was in engineering, but we both had friends who were.</p>
<p>Engineering is not a “weed out” program, but it is one of the most demanding and time-consuming programs at Cornell. Of course, it’s one of the most demanding and time-consuming programs at many universities. I’m not sure about internships, but on-campus recruiting for jobs is excellent. An amazing number of companies throughout the country recruit for Cornell engineering graduates.</p>
<p>Has she visited both? This is the time to “go with the gut” and see where she feels she belongs. Once DD was on Rice campus, particularly for Rice Owl days, she could not see herself going anywhere else. She revisited all of her top three final in April. It is a different experience visiting when you are accepted vs when you are still applying. .</p>
<p>For Rice, we would still have to pay around 26K total (after rooming, board, etc.), while for Cornell, we would still have to pay around 18K total.</p>
<p>Don’t know about Rice, but watch out Cornell Engineering, there are plenty of weed out class in the first year. If you go, don’t fall into the trap and end up not be able to hold the grant.</p>
<p>JMO.</p>
<p>Engineering is generally pretty intensive everywhere and the curriculum as I understand it is to a large extent determined by the ABET accreditation. My nephew had an amazing experience at Rice (majoring in Bioengineering), he started working in a research lab during freshman orientation, loved the residential college system, and was accepted to all the grad schools he applied to. (He’s at MIT now.) He enjoyed getting to know a new part of the country.</p>
<p>Both are wonderful. Weather differences are huge, needless to say. The campuses are very different, and both beautiful.
My daughter is a Rice grad and her experience was perfect. We were extremely impressed with Rice and Houston. My son was recruited by Cornell, and it is wonderful, too, but has a much larger feel than Rice and doesn’t have the offerings of Houston.</p>
<p>Agree that it comes down to things she wants in a school- size, location, climate, etc. my ds is a mechE from Rice and I cannot say enough great things about the school, the opportunities to work with entrepreneurs, internship opportunities, etc. good luck with a tough choice!</p>
<p>I think weeder classes in engineering, at least at the colleges with the highly ranked programs and very selective admissions, are typical but I don’t know about these two colleges in particular. I also don’t know that I’d use that as a factor in the decision. If you don’t want to worry about weeder classes go to a much lower ranked college without much selectivity. The advantage of the weeder class is it lets you know fairly soon if you’re compatible at that school for the particular engineering major and one can always switch out.</p>
<p>FA is safer than merit money. If there is one weak semester, the merit money can be lost in some cases. That would make Cornell safer.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to Rice, but I love it from its pictures. </p>
<p>I’ve been to Cornell and it’s beautiful. (Gorges – gorgeous as the old joke goes.)</p>
<p>People call them “weeder classes” (and they do weed people out), but that’s not their purpose. In engineering, there’s no way around mastering the content. Bridges need to stand, and chemical production lines must function. Many folks find that engineering really isn’t a fit, and it’s good to find this out early.</p>
<p>It will be like this at any engineering program worth attending, and it wouldn’t be a reason to choose between Rice and Cornell.</p>
<p>Make sure you know if the FA at Cornell would last 4 years (jobs staying same)… in other words, if there is an older sibling your costs will go up later.</p>