<p>I was born in Houston but have lived in the SF Bay Area for most of my life. Is it easier to get in to Rice if I'm from CA? Also if I end up going to Rice, but after graduating want to get a job in other regions of the US, is Rice not as respected as other top private schools (which is what my dad thinks)? Most people over here have never heard of Rice.</p>
<p>Ummmm being from CA could be a hook, seeing that they do want geographical diversity. I say Rice is respected among those who know about colleges. There’s always going to be the ones that wouldn’t “ooh” and “aah” unless you said that you graduated from Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. Being in Houston, I think that it’d be easier to get a job having graduated from Washington University in St. Louis as opposed to University of Houston. I feel that it’s more-or-less the same for Rice. Regardless of whether or not Rice is respected as much as other top private schools, you shouldn’t have trouble finding a good job upon graduating…or so I don’t think.</p>
<p>Funny you say that, because my dad got his PhD at University of Houston and he’s doing pretty well now :)</p>
<p>Yeah UH does really well in the Houston Area(outside of it I have no idea, no knowledge) but if one was to move away from the Houston Area and especially Texas…an employer or grad school would recognize and respect Rice more than UH</p>
<p>I’m from Ohio so I had the same concerns. I have found that most people have not heard of Rice in my hometown. However, I have been pleasantly surprised with the reactions of those who know Rice. I would say 80-90% of the people I talked to who know Rice are very impressed with it. Here’s an anecdote: I went to Bed Bath and Beyond in the outskirts of Cincinnati (it was in a more rural area) to order stuff for my dorm. When the cashier or store manager (not sure what position she had) asked where I was going, I said Rice and then she asked, “What are you going to such an elite university?” Other people have said it’s a good with a “high reputation” and that “you must be smart.” So the people who have heard of Rice usually hold it highly. But at the same time, it is not going to draw as many ooh’s and aah’s as the Ivies, Duke, Stanford, MIT, Northwestern, etc. But I like to argue that Duke would be in the same position as Rice if it wasn’t for their nationally renowned basketball team. Rice’s situation is much similar to that of WashU’s, Emory’s, Vanderbilt’s, Brown’s, LAC’s, etc.</p>
<p>By the way, people from Houston that I meet at the airport and such are always impressed with Rice… the locals hold this school highly.</p>
<p>Fifty percent of Rice alumni/ae live in Texas, and of those, thirty-two percent live in Houston. That you’ll end up here is likely if you enroll. </p>
<p>This table is useful if you’re interested in geographical distribution:</p>
<p>[Rice</a> University | Faculty | Researchers](<a href=“http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/US__International.asp?SnID=1521667458]Rice”>http://www.professor.rice.edu/professor/US__International.asp?SnID=1521667458)</p>
<p>I sense that, though I can’t say for sure, since I don’t think the university has or publishes the data, that this principally applies to students who don’t wind up getting graduate degrees, or head to UT, UH, etc. post-baccalaureate.</p>
<p>In the Northeast, I would say that the name of Rice is known, and that it has a generally good reputation, but that most people wouldn’t know where to place it in terms of quality–if it is better or worse than, say, Emory, Wustl, Utexas, SMU, or whatever. So, I think it sounds solid but not one that will blow people away like UChicago or the like.</p>
<p>I’m always amused at how people coming from pretty much any state other than Texas think that the “geographic diversity” they’ll add to the incoming freshman class will be an advantage in getting in. Do you know which state has the second-most students at Rice? California.</p>
<p>I agree with NYSkins. Being from outside of Texas is no guarantee of anything. In fact, in 2008, the percentage of applicants accepted from CA was actually lower than the percentage accepted from Texas (somewhere on this forum there’s a link I pasted in for that data). No matter what state you’re from, you just have to be a competitive applicant.</p>
<p>As for whether Rice is respected or not, you may find that average people on the street don’t know much, if anything, about Rice. That’s been our experience in CA. However, employers and graduate schools know it well and it’s very well respected. That’s what really matters.</p>
<p>Would you consider being from Oregon an advantage?</p>
<p>No. I wouldn’t consider being from anywhere inside the contiguous 48 states an advantage.</p>
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<p>It’s very telling that you seek validation for your college decision from cashiers or store managers of Bed Bath and Beyond.</p>
<p>Goodby, mean girl. Please go away.</p>
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<p>This makes no sense. The MAIN reason that many Rice alumni live in Texas/Houston area is because the vast majority of them were originally from Texas/Houston area. Back in the day, Rice had less geographic diversity than it does now (which is really saying something.)</p>
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<p>I laughed so hard, when I saw this hahaahaha…ROFL</p>
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<p>slik nik has shown me who is really in the know and what really matters. When I decide where to go for law school, I plan to run it by the nice salespeople at my local Pottery Barn.</p>
<p>Colleges, </p>
<p>Whether it “makes no sense” or no is tough to say. Again, the university doesn’t publish the data you’d need to do more than speculate. My feeling is, most people will go wherever their best offer takes them. Applying for jobs now, as a senior, I can say, it’s much tougher to find work with <em>just</em> a bachelor’s degree from Rice outside of Texas.</p>
<p>Rice, very respected nationally, and I know Europeans and Israelis, living in their respective countries who know Rice and think highly of it. Graduate schools, of course, know Rice, well. And, just as important, students love Rice–academically, socially, intellectually. And, no, I’m not a graduate of Rice, and my child would have applied there had she not gotten into her ED choice.</p>
<p>@meangirl: Or you could always go to Wal-Mart :)</p>