How do you tell if a school's program is actually great?

<p>Hey! So, here's my situation. I'm a high school senior currently choosing between Stanford and Rice. I'm looking to double major in English and something else (haven't quite decided on the something else yet, but it will be in the humanities or possibly the social sciences). I think Stanford inarguably has the better English program, but I'm terrified of the "Stanford bubble" and feeling comfortable and separated from the real world. Since Rice is in downtown Houston, I wouldn't have that problem. I don't know if this will eventually make my decision for me, but right now I'm just trying to figure out how to tell if Rice really has a good humanities department or not. Of course, every professor/recruiter/etc. I've talked to at Rice has told me they do, but they've all been in quasi-recruiting positions, so it's not like they're just going to tell me "no, it sucks, just go to Stanford". However, I'm really lost as to how else to determine the quality of these programs. I've tried looking through course lists and professor bios, but I'm not sure I really know what to look for. Thoughts on either of the schools, their programs, or how to figure this out? Any help would be appreciated--thanks so much :)</p>