Duke degree vs. Rice degree

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am currently a student at Rice University, and I love it here (although it has been quite a slow transition). However, it is quite disheartening to discover that Rice is a relatively unknown university compared to HYPSM, Duke, NW, Cornell, Hopkins, lower Ivies, Vandy, etc. </p>

<p>When I was making the decision between Duke and Rice, I was fully aware that I was turning down an internationally-acclaimed university for another excellent but more unknown university. However, Rice was $25k/year cheaper for me, I was offered a 2 year research apprenticeship here, the people here seemed friendlier, and the atmosphere here was more accepting and collaborative (less pretentiousness and cutthroat feel). I visited both schools last April, so these were my observations (not just what other people told me).</p>

<p>However, even though the profs here are excellent and the people here are amazing, I am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake of turning down the prestige and opportunities affiliated with a Duke degree. People on CC make it seem that Duke is this university that will get you any opportunity in life as long as you work hard there... as if Duke, Stanford, the Ivies, and MIT are some "God-like" universities. Although Rice's engineering and science programs are world-class, I am wondering if a social science degree here will offer as many career opportunities as a Duke social science degree.</p>

<p>Even though my parents were willing to pay for the $50/year tuition and board for Duke, I didn't want to put my parents in $120,000 extra debt when I could go to a top 20 university for half that price. Plus, grad school will be expensive too. Anyway, if I did go to Duke, I mainly wanted to just go for the name, the excellent environmental sciences program offered by the Nicholas School of the Environment, and the brilliant/interesting/social peers (although Rice seems to have attracted the same type of people). I wasn't into the frat/sorority culture and the heavy drinking at Duke.</p>

<p>Do you really think there is that much difference between the career, networking, and life opportunities given by a Duke degree or a Rice degree? I know Rice is king in Texas, but I plan on moving back to Ohio or to the Southeast after grad school. Very few people I know consider Rice as good of a school as Duke back home and on CC, even though personally I think it is (which is why I selected it).</p>

<p>I plan on going to med school, business school, or an environmental science grad program after graduating from Rice.</p>

2

<p>Remove College Confidential from your bookmark list. </p>

<p>Problem solved.</p>

3

<p>I completely agree with MilwDad.</p>

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<p>If I were in your shoes, I’d have no trouble turning down ANY college for Rice.</p>

4

<p>If you enjoy the place then you made the right choice. Rice and Duke are peer institutions where selection should come down to fit, not prestige. Because you fit better at Rice, because they will both offer great opportunities (and heck, I can almost guarantee that Rice will be Duke-level in prestige in 20 years; it’s a huge riser right now), and because you’re saving your family so much money, it was definitely the right choice.</p>

5

<p>I really don’t see what exactly you think you might benefit by having attended Duke. You’re obviously a better fit at Rice. Re-read what you’ve typed about Duke, and you’ll see that you’d be paying 120K just for a name. The name of the school won’t guarantee you a thing, except maybe a degree. No one is entitled to anything just because they go to X school, even if that school is Harvard. </p>

<p>You need to stop being so insecure.
Rice is the better choice for you. Done and done.</p>

<p>Lastly, prestige varies by person to person. Relying on a bunch of high school student’s opinions(CC) is self defeating. If people aren’t aware of Rice’s prestige or excellence but they do about Duke, what does that say about their knowledge of institutions? I can even take a guess that most who are uneducated in various institutions think highly of schools with strong college football teams or big state schools(just because of simply popularity) than they do of schools like “Brown” or “Cal Tech”(I know plenty of californians who don’t even know what cal tech is, and whose name sounds like a trade school who runs commercials during jerry springer or soap operas during the day).
The people who matter will know Rice as a great institution and as a peer institution to Duke.</p>

6

<p>It’s a waste of your time to second guess your decision especially when your worries are over what other people will think. It sounds like you made the right choice.</p>

7

<p>I think you did the right thing, especially since you want to go grad school. Rice and Duke are practically identical in terms of academics, I believe Rice’s endowment is even bigger. Duke’s name recognition is largely from its prominent Basketball team, although it also has great academics, along with Rice.<br>
To answer your question

, the answer is “no.” Most of the people on this board don’t constitute the real world…</p>

8

<p>Rice will serve you well. It is an awesome college experience and a valuable degree. If you do well, you will have wonderful opportunities, especially for graduate/professional school (subject to your MCAT etc scores).</p>

9

<p>The folks in Ohio who have not heard of Rice obviously are not serious Browns fans. The last Cleveland team in any sport to win a national championship was the 1964 Browns, quarterbacked by Dr. Frank Ryan, who received both his BS and his PhD from Rice (and in his spare time taught at Case).</p>

<p>On a more serious note, four members of my immediate family are Duke grads. One is a Rice grad (currently in med school). All things considered, the son who went to Rice had the best educational experience.</p>

10

<p>Some of the most brilliant people I know are Rice graduates. It’s a school I happen to respect a lot and anyone “in the know” would respect it quite a bit, too. Stop coming to this dumb site.</p>

11

<p>Slik nik - relax. Rice is a great school, and if you’re really worried about all the “opportunities” you’re giving up by not going to Duke (whatever these are - I’m not sure), I’d recommend doing the BEST you can do at Rice and NOT looking back. If you have a stellar academic record and pursued varied activities at Rice, you’ll only open more doors for yourself in the future. Instead of lamenting your place on Rice, really concentrate on making the experience as great and successful as possible.</p>

<p>That being said, the whole idea of Duke somehow providing better options that Rice is just not accurate. From what I know, you won’t get a GPA boost for going to Duke over Rice, and for med school or business school, I don’t think Duke grads get extra leverage for going to Duke. Put another way, a 3.7 from Rice and 3.7 from Duke would be treated the exact same way, all else being equal. As another example, I’m sure Duke has a lot more recognition than places such as Pomona or Haverford, but admissions committees view all these schools as peers. Put another way, if you do great at Rice, you’re going to be on complete level ground with your peers from all the other schools. Haha once again put another way, Duke may have good lay prestige, but I don’t think there’s any evidence it offers its graduates a lot more opportunities than grads of lesser known top schools (with the possible exception being for finance, and this is more because the finance world covets the jock-pre-professional type that Duke has in spades). </p>

<p>Finally, I was never really into the fratty culture at Duke. On the other hand, Rice just offers this great, chill quality of life that’s really hard to turn down or NOT enjoy. All my friends who went to Rice LOVED it because it seems like a sincerely chill place. Don’t waste away your days pining for something else when what you’ve got is outstanding.</p>

12

<p>Duke is not HYPSM. You’re not missing out on much, if anything. HTH.</p>