<p>Rice and Dartmouth... similarities... differences... is one any more prestigious/wellknown/better than the other??</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>Dartmouth is more prestigious and better known nationally than Rice. In general, Dartmouth is better in the humanities and social sciences but Rice is better in sciences and engineering. Dartmouth is more selective and more expensive.</p>
<p>Rice is a LOT warmer. Also, it is in a big city. Dartmouth is much more scenic, although the Rice campus is nice.</p>
<p>Thanks... Do you think the difference in prestige is significant for jobs/grad schoo?</p>
<p>I would assume that employers and graduate admissions officers would be knowledgeable about specific strengths and weaknesses at Dartmouth and Rice. I think Rice would definitely have an edge in engineering, other things about the candidate being equal. In the sciences, it might depend on the specific science field. For everything else, I think Dartmouth might have an edge, other things being equal. The "knowledgeable employer" assumption might not always be valid, but I would proceed under that assumption.</p>
<p>Rice is pretty well known in texas. In texas if you say youre an engineer and went to Rice, you are considered a pretty smart person. Outside of texas, Rice is not as well known.</p>
<p>In the Pacific Northwest, no one knows anything about either one of them. They have no alumni networks to speak of. Maybe we are not part of "nationally", but neither of them would make an impression here. (I'm sure the graduate schools know them both, and wouldn't be able to choose between them.)</p>
<p>Go where you'll feel challenged, and do well.</p>
<p>Mini, in Seattle aren't they pretty familiar with the Ivy League?</p>
<p>No. (If you mean the "man on the street".) If you mean when you go interviewing for a job, they might know "Ivy League" but won't know the names of the schools. Out here, "Brown" means UPS (founded in Seattle.) Most folks from here who leave for Ivy League schools don't come back and so the schools have little to no track record in employment, or if they do, they'll head to UW Law School or Med School and hiring will be based on the graduate school attended, not the undergraduate one.</p>
<p>It would be one out of a thousand who could name the state Dartmouth is in. In 15 years out here, I have never met an employer who knew what Williams is (I, being an alum), though I get mileage of UChicago (lots of social workers, which I am not.) And even if they knew a Williams, a Dartmouth, a Brown, it would basically get you 15-30 seconds over a cup of coffee. The Yale interviewer in my town last year had been unemployed for 6 months; the Mount Holyoke interviewer went back to nursing school with my wife. </p>
<p>The only non-state, out-of-state school that I know you can get traction with out here is Brigham Young (maybe Stanford, though I haven't met any recently.)</p>
<p>I can't speak for Washington, not having spent alot of time there, but clearly most parts of the country are familiar with Columbia or Dartmouth, if nothing else, hollywood has seen to that. I grew up in the mid-west, every college-bound kid I went to school with knew of every Ivy and could tell you which were more difficult to get into, which were more fun...prestegious etc.
On the other hand, some students probably knew of Rice, I had certainly heard of it, but I cold not have told you whether it was better or as good as Umich.
Now I am well aware of Rice and the fact that it is a very good school.</p>
<p>You cannot make a bad choice between these two.</p>
<p>For an engineering school Rice has excellent liberal arts departments. If you want to be an engineer you would be better off at Rice. </p>
<p>if you don't know what you want to do then if you like to play frisbee in January go to Rice. If you would rather ski in January go to Dartmouth. They are both hugely endowed institutions with their focus mainly on undergraduates. Nobody sees a prestige difference between these two institutions except the alumni.</p>
<p>But why is it that residents of parts of our own country haven't heard of the Ivies when kids from other continents are doing everything they can to get themselves in?</p>
<p>Well, isn't the real question why they should want to? I mean if the Ivy-bound (I don't mean to pick on them - my d. goes to Smith and it wouldn't be much different, and my alma would be the same) don't come back, don't have much track record in employment, and the state is well-served by UW, Washington State, Gonzaga, Whitman, Evergreen, and Brigham Young graduates, all of which have great networking, why SHOULD they care?</p>
<p>Yes, the top kids at a few high schools, and those at the fancy private schools know the names, but again, if they don't come back, what difference does it make?</p>
<p>Mini,</p>
<p>Here's hoping your daughter comes back! I totally understand your feeling.</p>
<p>frats.</p>
<p>rice=none.
dartmouth=present.</p>
<p>I don't know much about Rice, but I know alot about Dartmouth. Dartmouth is very campus oriented, it has frats but they aren't overwhelming, its a much more casual scene (i.e. no id checking, no "lists", everyone is welcome, etc). You really end up making strong bonds with people. Its also surrunded by amazing nature and the campus is beautiful. As a result there is also alot if random fun, like swimming in the river at night, pranks, football games in the snow, sledding, ice skating, etc. The academics are great, and recruiters are plentiful. Alot of individual attention is given, but I can't imagine that not happening at Rice.</p>
<p>I would have to give the edge to Dartmouth in terms of "prestige" (I do not like the word). But Rice holds its own when it comes to its reputation in academe as well as in the professional world, so I would not worry. The two schools are completely different in most respects. Here are some differences (those are by no means 100% accurate, but merely an observation from what I have heard):</p>
<p>Rice is primarily science focused. Dartmouth is better known for the humanities and social sciences. That is not to say Rice isn't great in non-scientific fields or that Dartmouth isn't great in the sciences, but each has its own tendencies.</p>
<p>Rice has more of a West coast feel to it. It is laid back, open, easy going and relatively down to earth. Dartmouth has a more New England/Ivy League feel to it. It is more intense and more elitist.</p>
<p>Rice is located in a large city. Dartmouth is located in a more rural setting. If you love big cities, forget about Dartmouth. On the other hand, if you like the outdoors, you cannotbeat Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Weather is an obvious difference, but I do not think it is worth discussing.</p>
<p>Both are awesome universities.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is a college :p</p>
<p>That's misleading Tore. Dartmouth has an MBA program, a Medical School and has graduate programs in the Sciences and Engineering. Of the 5,700 or so students atr Dartmouth, roughly 1,700 (30%) are graduate students.</p>
<p>I was evenly split but now I'm pining for the big green</p>