Also @MYOS1634 on the spectrum of USF vs. SCU, it is definitely closer to SCU in terms of prestige than USF.
Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to two schools: Rice or Northwestern. Which one should I pick? Northwestern has been my dream school for such a long time, and I love it so, so, so, so much, but Rice seems like the practical choice. Also I’m on the fence about greek life:
At Northwestern, are students, who don’t want to rush but still want to attend greek parties, pressured to join sororities and frats? Or can students still attend parties freely without rushing?
Probably Northwestern. Friend at work has a daughter graduated from Northwestern and is now working in NYC for McKinsey.
If your family can afford Northwestern with you taking on no more than the federal loans and working no more than 12 hours during the school year, I’d go with Northwestern. If they need to dip into retirement funds or remortgage the house for Northwestern, then Rice.
I think a heart to heart talk with your parents is in order. I don’t know how you turn down Rice when it is significantly less expensive. This is coming from my particular perspective as a full pay parent. Every families circumstances are different, what is easy for one family is not easy for another. You can be full pay and it doesn’t effect a families life style and you can be full pay and be in a position where great sacrifices are being made to cover the necessary expenses. Some parents would do anything to not let their children down, sometimes to their own detriment.
Talk to your parents. You have wonderful choices, good luck!
My S majored in Econ at NU. He maintained strong grades, had a couple of internships that he got thru NU’s career services and has a nice career in finance 4 years out. He’s now looking to make a change, but it was a good choice for him. He went to school with students who graduated with 2.6 GPAs, who have not fared as well unless they had strong family connections, in which case they moved into that biz. Makes you wonder whose money they wasted. The point is that you determine your success.
We could afford NU. If we were in any sort of compromised situation, I know I would have strongly encouraged him to look hard at Rice, which is an excellent school, because ultimately, it’s personal effort that determines success.
As for frats/sorority life. Our S did not belong to a fraternity, which he says can make for a long, very cold winter, because pledging and rushing activities (rushing and pledging?) tend to dominate campus life. You can go to the parties, but you can’t participate in the myriad activities they engage in. My S would advise you to find a solid activity quickly. There are plenty of orgs to get involved in. Once he got deeply involved in some other campus activities (playing coffee houses, joining a social, service-oriented group), he was able to satisfactorily fill his social time.
Best wishes to you ~
@ecat108: If not being involved in Greek life matters to you, then Rice is probably a better choice than NU, unless the NU admission team can quickly get you in touch with someone who participates in a club you’d be interested in, so as to be sure you can have a social life that doesn’t depend on the Greeks.
Thanks for all your feedback everyone! I really appreciate it!
After doing more research, I don’t think that Rice’s economics/business program is as strong as Northwestern’s or USC’s (correct me if I’m wrong). Although turning down a 3/4 off tuition scholarship from Rice will be hard, I think I’m set on Northwestern or USC (sorry, forgot to add that school in my original post).
ACTUALLY I’ve decided to choose Rice. After doing some more research, I discovered that Rice recently added a bunch of new econ professors, including a new department head, from prestigious schools, such as UPenn Wharton and Princeton. On top of that, I realized that Rice graduates DON’T just stay in Texas. In fact, Rice has a very active alumni base in NYC, Chicago, SF, LA…etc. It’s just that people who are from Texas originally choose to stay there. I’m so excited to go to Rice, and after looking at it, I’ve realized that it is quite simply a perfect school.
P.S. At my regional school, my peer group would be -700 points below my SAT score, so I decided to turn it down.
Congratulations!
Congratulations - A very wise decision!
Once you get to Texas, you may change your mind about staying. Great people, low taxes, opportunities everywhere, a great entrepreneurial spirit, music and culture all over, warm weather …whats not to like?
Great decision!
Congratulations on your wonderful choices. Since your parents can afford all three schools, I suggest going with your heart and that means Northwestern. Reading your responses to the posts, you are looking for reasons to attend NW. So do it.
If I had the choice with these options, I would chose Rice. But that is me. Fit and love for a school, in my view, will definitely improve your performance and it appears you have that with NW.
Congratulations! I hope you have a wonderful four years at Rice.
I am wondering whether you did any research or contacted career services about finance or consulting companies that recruit at Rice. When I was there, most of the major investment banks and all of the major consulting firms (strategy and technology) recruited at Rice. There is a long history of successful Rice graduates at consulting and banking companies, and many who go on to top MBA programs, and I can’t imagine that has changed since I was there. But I would be curious to know.