<p>My daughter has been accepted into Duke and Rice and is at a crossroads on her decision. As parents, our preference is Duke, however after her recent visit to Rice, she is leaning towards Rice. It's a difficult choice especially given that she has not decided on a major. Possible majors could be pre-med or bioengineering. Minor will be in international studies. </p>
<p>We would appreciate your comments on the pros & cons of both schools. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Not having decided on a major doesn’t make the decision more difficult; I would maintain that even if your daughter has decided on a major, she still hasn’t really decided on one because the odds are good that she will be doing something else by the time she graduates.</p>
<p>Anyways, if you had taken a little initiative and scrolled down the page instead of knee-jerkedly posting a thread (just kidding…sorta), you would have found this:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/rice-university/678292-rice-v-duke.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/rice-university/678292-rice-v-duke.html</a></p>
<p>Oh, and if she’s leaning towards Rice, then she should go to Rice. Choosing a college shouldn’t be a rational choice, in my opinion. It should be based on whatever feels right.</p>
<p>Rice is very good for bioengineering and premed…</p>
<p>For pre-med/bio/engineering and sciences, my D chose Rice over Duke. There is more going on at Rice and the surrounding area than at Duke. There are also more resources per student and more surrounding opportunities for internships.</p>
<p>I am a bioengineering major, and I chose Rice over Duke, along with Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins (also accepted to BME major), and Olin College of Engineering. The first five of those are all ranked higher than Rice and may arguably have bigger “names,” but in the end, what does that really mean? Sure, I denied my parents the ability to say “my kid goes to an Ivy League!” but other than that? I plan on going to grad school, and that name will be far more important in my career. And besides all that, Rice is actually very well known where it counts. Average Joe may not know its merits, but future employers, graduate schools, med schools, and most educated people do. Above all, Rice is just the right place for me. </p>
<p>Duke, I can say, was just not the correct fit for me. I came from a very Duke-oriented family (my dad’s uncle was a professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies there), but I visited, and I could not picture myself in the type of community where students are so elitist and, for lack of a better word, preppy. I would actually say that Duke felt like more of a “southern” school than Rice does. </p>
<p>May I ask, why do you favor Duke?</p>
<p>I guess the college ranking system had us convinced that Duke’s a stronger college, but with everyone’s comments coming in, this may be the wrong way to evaluate a school’s merits. We’re slowly becoming more open-minded to other factors. Our daughter is very impressed with Rice’s Residential College system. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Personally, I think rankings or sort of silly, and many people on CC who have gone through the admissions process agree. They’re a great tool to give people a general idea of colleges compare to each other, but they shouldn’t be analyzed down each college’s score or actual rank. I’d say any school within 10 to 15 points of another in the USNWR rankings is comparable to said school. Sure, there are reasons why No. 8 Duke is ranked higher than No. 17 Rice, but keep in mind that USNWR rankings are always criticized (especially for the peer institution aspect of the ranking system) and are popular because they’ve been around for a while, and because they’re published in a national magazine. These rankings from StateCollege.com could’ve easily become just as popular if the resources and timing were right: [Top</a> 2000 Ranked Universities for Highest Overall School Score](<a href=“http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/score_rank.html]Top”>http://www.stateuniversity.com/rank/score_rank.html) Also, this system uses objective government sources to rank the schools. I still hate rankings, but sometimes they’re a necessary evil, and I when I use them I try to look at multiple sources before I make any conclusions. After all, I wouldn’t formulate a thesis for a paper or a general opinion in any other fashion.</p>
<p>Tiger: My daughter and son-in-law (BioE) are Duke grads. Youngest son is Rice grad (BioE) and is now in med school. For undergraduate teaching, research opportunities, and overall academic environment I would give the edge to Rice. The residential college system at Rice is a unique advantage.</p>
<p>I made this same decision last week. My parents were also encouraging me to go to Duke, but when I visited I liked the atmosphere at Rice better. Reputation and rankings do matter, but it’s more important to enjoy the four years. And seriously, you can’t go wrong with bioengineering at Rice.</p>
<p>Why do you want your kid to go to Duke, anyway? Most people I met there had gotten alcohol poisoning at one point. And it’s so expensive.</p>