Hey y’all! I’m beyond ecstatic and grateful to be admitted to both of these schools as an incoming sophomore transfer from a T30 (it’s NYU lmao) and would really appreciate any help or advice in choosing between the two.
For reference, cost is the same at both schools and I’m undecided but plan on majoring in social policy analysis/business at Rice and Political Science/Organizational studies at UMich (possibly applying to Ford as a Public Policy major if i do choose UM).
I’m leaning towards Rice due to the smaller student body, residential college system, and flexibility in choosing majors, etc. but I’m just uncertain of its reputation globally compared to UMich and how it may be considered less of a well-known school despite its renowned reputation in the South.
Funny, I live in West Houston and drove past Rice tonight, on my way to Zoo Lights. Rice Village (area of town Rice U is in) is my favorite part of Houston! Great shopping, places to eat, minutes from Zoo, Museum District, the Medical Center, NRG (where Texans play, home to RodeoHouston. Final Four will be played there in 2022). It’s an incredibly beautiful campus, so much to offer within minutes.
Have you thought about climate? Definitely Houston weather is FAR different from NY or Michigan. Snow is rare, humidity is daily, hurricanes are very real, the heat can be brutal. But spring and fall can be lovely.
Yes, I do live in Houston, so I’m biased, but Rice’s name and reputation is highly regarded worldwide.
You are leaving NYU. You are leaving for a reason.
I’m assuming the reason is some sort of dissatisfaction.
So when you lay out an article about how one outstanding is in so many ways for you.
The other, you feel has a better rep…well, you’re already leaving one school and you have to spend 3 years, day after day after day at the next school - so why would you choose the one that checks no boxes other than - possible perception.
I just don’t see a question here at all - even if Rice didn’t have the pedigree that it has.
While it sounds like you’ll end up overseas - I still say, having to spend 3 more years each and every day - pedigree alone is a horrible criteria to use.
I have to agree to the above. One of the most important factors in deciding which school is fit and feel. I am on the Michigan threads and not here to try to convince you. If you had the opportunity to dig deep into both schools with possible visits and this is what your saying then you have all ready made up your mind. My friends daughter was in the exact position last year but she didn’t have enough reason why Rice was better for her and is in her first year at Michigan and loves it… Fit /Feel is really important and you already experienced this in NY. The name of the school won’t get you the job BTW - only you can do that with being an active participant in the college community experience.
Rice is so much smaller than Umich. To me that’s one of the biggest factors. Rice has a small school/more personal feel b/c it’s significantly smaller. People seem to think it’s a large university but it’s NOT. I went to Rice (transferred for more complicated reasons) but it’s a fantastic school with so many resources for students. Truly unlimited and the res college system is great. Just be mindful it’s in Texas. While Rice is its own place it’s an outlier in Texas. Feel free to ask any questions.
Speaking of “Final Fours,” can we talk CFP (College Football Playoff)? Michigan is actually playing in a “Final Four.”
Michigan has plenty of flexibility in switching majors within LSA, unless you desire a business degree. Then transferring into Ross would be difficult.
Houston is a very nice big city. Rice is an excellent school.
Ann Arbor is always at or near the top of list of best college towns. And whatever major you decide to pick at Michigan, it’s probably in the Top 10 (45 of them), if rankings matter to you.
Congrats on your acceptances! While I am a student at Michigan, I’m not really here to convince you, but rather to make some clarifications on major flexibility. I think public schools generally get a bad rep in terms of being able to change majors. At Michigan, that’s pretty much a non issue for most majors (including CS!). As a LSA student, transferring to engineering is not hard at all and I can freely major in most majors offered by LSA, including polisci.
Org studies, however, is a separate department / major that you must apply to within LSA. Because the department likes to keep their cohort small, they’re quite selective.
Public policy, on the other hand, is hosted by Ford school of public policy, which requires an internal transfer. This transfer process, in general, is not too arduous for ford, which accepts around 50% of applicants (they say that they receive 150-200 apps and enroll 70-80 students annually, which doesn’t account for yield). I’m sure you’ll be able to get into ford given your pedigree.
Also, have you considered Ross or getting a business minor, since you seem to be interested in Rice’s business program.
With all that said, it seems that you’ve already settled your heart on rice, and I’d be inclined to agree that rice seems to be a better fit for your wants. Good luck!
LOL it’s a rite of passage. Michigan uses number of credits to determine when you get to register. AP credit doesn’t count, which kinda sucks for me :(, but it helps guarantee that most upperclassmen get the courses they want.
Also, I noticed that lower division (100 and 200) CS courses aren’t included in the restriction. Michigan is one of the premier engineering schools in the country.
Additionally, often it’s difficult to get classes at small schools too. There was a thread on that here recently, but for art classes at a LAC, IIRC.
Look … you don’t have to convince me - my son did apply EA (Mich is his #3 choice after Big Red and GT) … but it is very scary though - been following a thread on Wisconsin, and all over a sudden CS kids simply can’t get into any courses - all are full …
My daughter is a junior at Rice and her final two choices came down between Rice and Michigan. As you know, both are great schools and but very different culture-wise, size, and location/climate. It was a hard decision for her and she changed her mind daily. Luckily, I don’t think you can make a wrong choice. Maybe make a list of pros and cons of each and think about what you want out of the next few years. For my daughter Michigan was the safer choice - it’s closer to home and she would have been able to continue in a sport she’d be in for many years - but she ultimately decided the size and culture at Rice was a better fit for her (and she also wanted to get away from the cold winters). For her it was the right choice BUT I have no doubt she would have had a fabulous experience and education at Michigan. Let me know if you have any Rice specific questions that I can help with.
Congrats on having 2 strong options. Good luck to you!
@PrdMomto1 I’m a lifelong Houstonian. Thankfully your daughter just missed Hurricane Harvey, but she has experienced several wicked tropical storms and the great snow/ice outage earlier this year. Only in Texas can you experience all 4 seasons in 1 week or less😂 And humidity daily is a given. I hope she’s enjoyed her time in Htown!
She is actually loving the weather. Yes, it’s crazy hot and humid the first month or so of school (and she was there for part of the summer - yikes). But we live in Wisconsin and she loves this time of year there when it’s freezing and dark here. We had below freezing weather this week and it’s been in the 70’s there. Overall she just likes that she can enjoy being outside for most of the school year. She did miss Harvey but was there for the ice storm and a couple of other decent storms. Rice does a fabulous job with weather. They have generators and their own water so the kids really don’t realize how bad things are off campus for the most part when those events happen. And the residential colleges open up for any off campus kids who need some shelter during bad weather.
@PrdMomto1 love to hear this! The fact that the residential colleges open up to off campus students is amazing! Houston weather can knock out power and water for days.
I hope she’s been able to soak in everything Houston has to offer. Rice Village/Museum District is fantastic, my favorite part of town.
July-September are unbearably hot, tho we’ve set records this week for highs of 86…in December?! Fingers crossed for a cold snap.
declaring CS maybe easy … getting into CS classes not so much …