<p>don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to degrade Rice. i love Rice, and i've already applied.</p>
<p>just a brief intro, i'm an international student from indonesia whose parents are chinese. you know what that means. they are really concerned about USNWR rankings (i really hate those. they've brainwashed every international student's parents!), and rice is always at the lower 10s. </p>
<p>since i'm the first kid to go to the US among my cousins, i could imagine my trip back from the US for the family gathering as a big feast. then my aunts and uncles would ask me:
"so where do you go for college?" </p>
<p>"Rice University.."</p>
<p>" (they've never heard of colleges other than Harvard, and they have no idea how hard it is to get into HYPSM) is that a good school? is it in the top ten?" </p>
<p>"no. but, it's an amazing university. even much better than some of the top tens"</p>
<p>"(they give me a weird look) really? (and think that i'm a big waste of money)"</p>
<p>how to prevent such a conversation? helppp meeee... </p>
<p>PS= even if i'm admitted to Harvard (i don't even apply there lol) the conversation will not digress much:</p>
<p>"Harvard College"</p>
<p>"Oh, so you go to Harvard? that's good (then they go back to eat)"</p>
<p>Not quite as good as HYP, but I'd rank Rice over Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, and maybe on par with UPenn. I personally chose Rice over Columbia mainly for financial reasons but I think Columbia is generally regarded as the better school.</p>
<p>edit: Take all of that with a grain of salt, I've got no data to back it up, lol, just general perception. And major kudos to you for ignoring the rankings.</p>
<p>Remember that rankings is a collection of a bunch of random criteria such as other people's opinions, acceptance rate, and so on.</p>
<p>I personally believe Rice is ranked "low" mainly because not many people have heard of Rice (like me before I moved to Oklahoma) and therefore do not have any idea how good of a school it is.</p>
<p>Do keep in mind that Rice is one of the top schools that gives you the most for the value (42k a year).</p>
<p>I probably could have gotten into schools such as WashU, Cornell, JHU, and Northwestern, but I got into Rice ED and UMich. This is how conversations go when people ask about colleges-
Person: so where do you want to go?
Me: I'm going to Rice next year
Person: ummm.... nice, where's that?
Me: Houston.
Person: Why would you want to live in Texas?
So part of the beauty of Rice is that the general public doesn't regard it as a "brand name" but in educated circles it is highly regarded</p>
<p>I had never heard of Rice until I started my college search last year (I live in Oregon). Rice is surprisingly unknown around here (and people who have heard of it know almost nothing about it)</p>
<p>A big reason for Rice's lower ranking is its relative lack of a large graduate program, which is definitely not a bad thing for undergrads here. Though it may not be necessarily as hard to get into Rice as some of the Ivies, it is absolutely just as good a school as some of them. You will get a TOP NOTCH education from Rice. </p>
<p>I turned down acceptances at Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern, Duke, and Johns Hopkins (BME major) to come to Rice, and all of these are ranked higher. </p>
<p>silentsailor, I didn't know you turned down Columbia for Rice too... good choice ;)</p>
<p>@topaztrex
same here... Asains care about ranks A LOT... i could not help it
I love Rice, but it's not very famous here either, so if i get in then i'll have a lot explanation to do ( and i'm sure they are going to think rice as a crappy place anyways)
what is worse for me is that my favorite school is even much less known, even unknown among Americans and it's really really small that USNews doesn't rank it in the same catalogue with HYP...so there would be no way to give my friends and relatives what it is like at that school</p>
<p>LOL. Wow, that's what my life has been like ever since Rice became my top choice. I have met people who know that Rice is a reputable school, but these people are generally education-focused. I don't think the general public outside of the mid-west recognizes Rice like they would most of the Ivy Leagues. On the other hand, most people probably couldn't even name all 8 Ivies off the top of their head or would put other schools in their place (happens with Stanford and MIT all the time). So really, it's nothing to worry about. </p>
<p>To be completely honest, if I could have gotten into Stanford or Yale, I probably would have turned down Rice. Perhaps Princeton and Penn. However, I'd definitely have chosen it over any of the other Ivies and top-tier schools.</p>
<p>Ok, I'm also in the same kinda situation as you. But instead of Rice...I go to a similar but less internationally known university, Washington U. in STL. I really think that Rice is more well known in Asia compared to WashU, but I know in Indonesia people only know about HYPSM, Cornell, Purdue, UC Berkeley, and Michigan. They don't even know that Dartmouth is a university and not a commmunity college. </p>
<p>But in my opinion, Rice is more suitable for you. Especially the weather...it's just perfect for ppl who are from tropical countries. But I would also recommend you to apply to Duke University. Plus, if you decide to stay in the US...it's best to go to Rice. I mean, why do you wanna go to the east coast and make it difficult for yourself to find a job after graduation. Rice is in Texas and I can say that it's the "King" of the south. I know there are other excellent universities in the South, but the south is so much bigger than the east coast...so you'll have easier time finding job there.</p>
<p>I really had to fight the urge to make an ethnic joke here, lol. </p>
<p>But BearCub speaks truth. Houston is the 4th-largest city in the United States and houses 23 Fortune 500 companies, among others. Rice is a huge name in Houston, so getting a job wouldn't really be a problem. After a few years of experience, you could move (if you wanted to) and get a job just about anywhere.</p>
<p>My mom grew up in indonesia. When she was going to school, students knew Berkeley and new Harvard, knew Wharton in UPenn, but didn't know Princeton. Go figure.</p>
<p>Also, the person who says Cornell has better Engineering, well I turned down Cornell because I just didn't like cornell. I turned down Harvey Mudda and Berkely, and I'm a ee.</p>