<p>Does anyone feel this way? I got accepted to Duke and Rice today, and now I have a very difficult choice to make. I've also been accepted to Purdue and Washington University in St. Louis. I almost wish I'd gotten two rejections today to make the choice that much easier. </p>
<p>I'm going into engineering, so if I was making my decision solely based on the strength of the program, Purdue would clearly be first. However, it doesn't carry the prestige of the other three schools (especially not that of Duke), which I believe should also be taken into consideration. I'm pretty set on engineering (mechanical), but if for some reason I decide to switch majors, I want a school with others strengths. The huge size of Purdue doesn't appeal to me either (I'm a person, not a number!), so as of now I'm barely still considering it.</p>
<p>The quality of life at WUSTL and Rice is awesome. I really like Rice's residential college system, and I also like WashU's South 40. I've only visited WUSTL, and I loved the campus. Could anyone give input on the other two campuses?</p>
<p>Sorry this is a long post, and I don't want you guys to make my choice for me, but how should I go about deciding? Thanks for your help</p>
<p>i'm in the same boat as you. I have to choose between UT, Rice, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Illinois, and maybe Carnegie Mellon, all for either aerospace/mechanical engineering.. I got into WashU, and was waitlisted at Duke. I pretty much crossed off WashU and I dont know if I really care about CMU so much since it is super expensive. Also I didnt feel G-Tech or Illinois are that well rounded, so I'm really down to just UT (because its cheap), Rice, and Michigan. I would go with Duke or Rice in your case, since you can switch majors easily there (plus I'm into athletics and both have DI sports...Duke's great at basketball, Rice at baseball). I also really like Rice's Residential College System. Any thoughts about my/our situations?</p>
<p>Wow, I am in a similar situation! Waitlisted at Duke, but also accepted by WashU and Rice. I seriously thought Rice would reject me and that I'd be in at Duke, but apparently I was mistaken. :)</p>
<p>Rice's campus is GORGEOUS and it really is an engineering powerhouse. I'm not so sure about WashU but Rice is probably better than WashU at engineering. But I mean, I think Rice/WashU/Duke are schools that you can't really go wrong with in terms of switching majors... WashU's clear strength is in premed, but that doesn't mean its humanities departments are not great, either.</p>
<p>Rice and WashU's environment are simply superb and phenomenal, I completely agree with you on that. I love WashU's castle look! Duke, however, despite its prestigious reputation, has significant racial tensions with the city of Durham. Most students elect to stay on campus, as outside of Duke's campus the city isn't quite so nice and friendly. As for Purdue, I have no idea.</p>
<p>I think the best thing you can do is try to visit those schools, and ask current students for advice and any questions you have, as well as just to get a general feel of each campus' environment as well.</p>
<p>Also, I don't know if money is an issue for you, but perhaps financial aid/tuition will play a role in your decision as well? I don't know, for me it will, but I'm still waiting on more schools to come.</p>
<p>hotasice that's exactly the vibe I got at Duke. Durham was just kinda run down...although I really liked the campus...it just felt like there was nothing to do outside of that massive forest. Rice is definitely better than Wash U for OVERALL engineering... although Wash U and Rice are similar for biomed, and Duke is really good for biomed (like # 2), although I think Rice has the best engineering OVERALL of the 3. I thought about applying to Purdue, but I decided it just wasnt well rounded enough. I mean if you dont end up doing engineering at Purdue, you're sorta hosed, because Rice, Duke, and Wash U are all more well rounded than Purdue. Rice, Duke, and Wash U all have high acceptances to med school as well, I dont think you can go wrong with either of them. As far as stuff to do outside of campus, WashU and Rice are both far better than Duke as St. Louis has tons to do, and Rice is in the 4th largest city in the country.</p>
<p>i would be happy to get into those schools despite the hard decision. I couldn't imagine wanting to get into one and not the other over getting into both. Be thankful you have the luxury of choosing.</p>
<p>westsidewolf: what made you cross off washU?
haha i think this is one of those things where the more you think about it the harder it is to make a final decision. maybe i'll just flip a coin... a three-sided coin</p>
<p>man, you are in a very enviable position. All the schools on your list are awesome. personally, i would go with duke, cuz it's got bball and top academics. but, congrats.</p>
<p>Wow...I was accepted at Wash U and Rice and waitlisted at Duke as well. I love Rice's residential college system. The campus is awesome, and the academics are stellar. Wash U is pricey without financial aid...I would much rather go to Rice for a few thousand less per year, and I have no doubts whatsoever that an education at Rice would be in any way weaker than one at Wash U. Duke is great, of course, because of its national and international reputation, which imo exceeds that of Rice or Wash U, but I was turned off by the scene outside of the campus. I also don't know what to expect at Duke. I want to go to a university because I want to learn, not just to play and brag to everyone about how much I play. Duke kind of gives off this frivolous vibe imo, while Rice seems to maintain a better balance and reputation. I'm probably completely wrong though...anyone that wants to counter my statement, feel free to do so.</p>
<p>So what do you guys think? I could just be unconsciously bitter right now because of my waitlist at Duke, but hey... :)</p>
<p>imo, both Rice and duke are really good. I personally am a big fan of Duke, bc they're amazing in sports and they are still really good academically. I guess Rice had better rep in Texas than Duke, but I think Duke is better known in the East Coast. But, I would go where there is more aid given to you, since both schools are really good.</p>
<p>Yeah...that's the one thing about Duke that attracted me more than Rice. Duke goes crazy during March Madness, which is awesome, and it generally has a more involved student body when it comes to sports and sports events. Rice does have a good baseball team (so I've heard), but too bad I'm really only interested in the football, basketball, and soccer teams....</p>