<p>As the title says, I was accepted by Dartmouth and Rice (Rice offered me 17k merit aid) and waitlisted at Duke. I'm interested in poli-sci (maybe IR), but might go into the sciences. Thoughts on what would be the right choice? Also, would UVA be worth checking out?</p>
<p>I mean, I recommend Rice, but I’m biased. I’m not that familiar with poli-sci, so I can’t help you there. Do you have any more specific questions? What attracted you to Rice (and these other schools) in the first place?</p>
<p>i also got into dartmouth but can’t go because i won’t be receiving any financial aid there. i also got a 17k scholarship to rice, so that’s probably where i will go next year.</p>
<p>in my opinion, I would FOR SURE choose dartmouth over rice. yes, i love rice, but dartmouth is just a better school. i visited for a native american weekend a while back and randomly decided to sit in on some poli-sci classes and was really impressed. their poli-sci dept is AWESOME :)</p>
<p>the alumni network is also much better than @ rice and i think that a dartmouth degree would be more prestigious in your future job/grad school/law school endeavors. if you were, say, pre-med, i would go with rice due to the scholarship, but if $ isn’t an issue, i’d go to dartmouth! good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>Just to put it out there… 70% of Rice students get into their 1st or 2nd top choice grad school. If you do well at Rice, you will probably have just as good grad school options if you went to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Plus, Houston has WAY MORE to offer than Hanover, New Hampshire.</p>
<p>^ True. By the way, for Pre-Med, Rice should be chosen over Dartmouth hands down.</p>
<p>Hands down? Based on what? Everything out there shows Dartmouth winning the grad placement battle pretty significantly.</p>
<p>I think students can have equally good grad placement coming out of both schools. There is only one study that I know that compares grad placement, and that is the WSJ study. Yes, Dartmouth is ranked higher on that. However, that study is outdated (from 2003) and has not been repeated multiple times like the most effective statistical studies are.</p>
<p>For me the difference is only 5k between Rice and Dartmouth, and it’s STILL a hard decision. What does Dartmouth have to offer that Rice doesn’t? (other than the prestige and alumni network)</p>
<p>Money concerns and others’ opinions aside, it all comes down to this - where do you see yourself for the next 4 years? At Rice? Or at Dartmouth?</p>
<p>Do you like the people? What kind of vibe do you get at Rice versus Dartmouth?</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with either choice. But, they are vastly different–not in student caliber or academic quality (Ivy or not, the argument is moot and difference negligible in this relative comparison), but in social life, weather, environment, location, and more. </p>
<p>Either school provides you with great opportunities for success–it’s up to you to seize them once you step foot on campus. </p>
<p>But you need to think carefully about which place personally appeals to you the most, and the one that would make you the most happy. After all, you’re going to be the one attending for the next 4 years.</p>
<p>if $ isn’t an issue and you don’t care about prestige, look at the environment. the people who go to rice are much different than a typical dartmouth student. </p>
<p>greek life dominates dartmouth social life and many students go out 3-4X/week. as a prospective student, i was offered alchohol numerous times and was taken to multiple frat parties. i don’t drink, and everyone was cool with it, although it was awkward. dartmouth students are smart, but they also know how to party.</p>
<p>rice is more centered on the residential college system. there is are parties, but they aren’t centered on frats. i was not offered alchohol when i visited. i think in general rice students study more and there is a larger percentage of students who are dry.</p>
<p>good luck with your decision!!</p>
<p>good heavens…my son is a Duke 09 grad rejected from Dartmouth…so I agree that Dartmouth is a great community if you can stomach 24/7 frat life in harsh winters…the kids there are fun, the classrooms are great and there is school spirit at Dartmouth. You will get your one big summer on campus with your class and plenty of great friendships at Dartmouth.</p>
<p>I do NOT agree however that Rice is in any way inferior to Dartmouth or Duke and with a 17 grand discount, wake up and smell the coffee re the cost of graduate school and the decreased likelihood of discounted tuition there unless you are hard core science. Expect to borrow reams of money for grad school. </p>
<p>Rice has the best weather, the best Residential College housing system and incredible classrooms. Personally, we think Rice is a jewel in America with its own special something.</p>
<p>If you want to say that Rice excels in engineering and sciences and music, no one will argue but think about how you could shine if you picked a liberal arts route there.</p>
<p>I am a VA resident with tons of access to beautiful UVA. I suppose if you are keen on IR UVA has some merits (lots of UVA grads go far in the IR field) to compete with your Rice offer but UVA students do have to move off campus early in most cases (they don’t seem to mind…I prefer 3-4 years of on campus housing) and they have NOTHING comparable to the Residential College system at Rice which is in our view fabulous.</p>
<p>Anyway, if your parents don’t have your grad school cash socked away to hand over, I would be a proud Owl on merit dollars that others would be so honored to get. You are fortunate. Rice is a great institution and gets tons of respect.</p>
<h2>“What does Dartmouth have to offer that Rice doesn’t? (other than the prestige and alumni network)”</h2>
<p>That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out. I know there’s the Greek life (which I’m hoping I’ll figure out if I like during Dimensions) and really cold weather. There are also lots of really great professors (though Rice has them too). It’s so hard to choose without being able to really experience life at both (I’m not counting admit days).</p>
<p>The other questions is how relevant is the prestige long term, especially if I use the Rice savings to go to grad school somewhere with more of a rep (at least in the Northeast). I know the alum network helps, but I hear a lot more talk about its use for banking than for politics/science/nonprofits.</p>
<p>well my son who was rejected at Dartmouth would have said…he liked the macho sports atmosphere at Dartmouth, the presence of Olympic quality winter sports athletes around campus, the prospect of getting on buses to other Ivies to go root for Big Green Teams often, and the intimate size and undergraduate focus of Dartmouth. He also “went Greek” at Duke and would have liked spending his weekends doing the same at Dartmouth, where there is so much of a focus on Greek life at night. Sport enthusiasts are near the top of his list for college happiness, and now that he is a Duke grad, he is in constant contact with alum talking about…sports now.</p>
<p>My second son wouldn’t look at Dartmouth or Duke… doesn’t have to have a big sports team every season 24/7 to talk about and root for, and was admitted to Rice…where he revered their Residential College system, the incredible effect of sunshine and the intimate campus without Greek life in the middle of a major city. Rice was one tram stop from museums and major art institutions and we lost count trying to count the hospitals within walking distance, yet the campus was serene and the student body seemed innovative, relaxed, ethical and smart. Loved the modern new all glass coffee shop that advertises that Rice is nationally famous for its architecture school right in the middle of the European and serene campus. Loved Rice Village…where my son felt he would spend much time with friends…and Rice students do not get four years of housing…they get three years on campus…so he could see himself living within walking distance of campus one year. </p>
<p>I think you may be underestimating the prestige of a Rice degree re respect it garners. </p>
<p>anyhow, our second son took merit dollars elsewhere and did not receive merit dollars at Rice, so Rice is in his mind, a happy trip and good memory, just as Dartmouth is now a memory of visiting a great institution in the mind of eldest son.</p>
<p>good luck as you make your decision…you have only to love your college of choice to succeed in life.</p>
<p>faline – you have such a beautiful view of Rice that’s so on target, I’m almost tempted to start a fund so that your son can attend there. (Unfortunately I have 2 sons who are in college now so you know where all my money is going.) ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing your viewpoint.</p>
<p>thank you blackeyedsusan! Rice we felt had an amazing self directed feel to it…as if it was steering its own course and not copying anyone else…</p>
<p>He would have been most proud to be an Owl, believe me, but he followed the money in a major recession and thus he was busy greeting prospies at Vanderbilt today, where he is now deeply involved with his college…and where his parents also lived and studied once.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt is also a wonderful school - congrats to your son!</p>
<p>thanks, anxiousmom, I remember the bevy of gracious parents on this board! :)</p>