<p>@alam1: I only stated Rice is better than Emory academically IN MY OPINION. I’m not generalizing that Rice is better than Emory in academics overall. And here’s my reason, most of which are anecdotal:
– I visited Rice once and Emory three times. Rice definitely had a more intellectual feel than Emory did. Rice students seemed to be more interested in learning the material for the sake of learning, whereas Emory students seemed more pre-professional.
– If you look at the metrics (graduation rate, average SAT scores, acceptance rate, etc.), Rice usually comes out SLIGHTLY higher than Emory.
– I talked to many people when making my decision. Most people I talked to describe Rice as being the 2nd best school in the South (behind Duke, obviously). 4 out of the 5 people, adults who were familiar with both schools, explained that Rice is slightly stronger than Emory academically.</p>
<p>By the way, Rice is very diverse as well. We come out #10 in the country for “lots of race/class interaction,” which is due to the sense of diversity and cohesion brought upon by the residential colleges. Every day, I always see a lot of people from different races/backgrounds mixing and I have observed very few cliques. Rice also has a strong international population (11% of our freshman class was international). When I visited Emory, I observed more cliques, but I’m sure you can have a very diverse group of friends as well.</p>
<p>Again, Emory is an excellent school and a “hidden gem.” I’m not denigrating it in any way. These are my reasons why I THINK that Rice is slightly stronger than Emory… I’m not claiming they are right or wrong. There is no need for this thread to get into another argument between Rice and Emory academics. </p>
<p>To the OP, can’t go wrong with either of the 3 schools.</p>