<p>I'm thinking about applying to Rice for engineering subjects like electrical and computer.</p>
<p>When I looked at US News Engineering Undergraduate ranking, Rice was only about 15~20th place in the electrical and computer engineering area. However, I've found out that Rice is one of the best school you can find in United States.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if US ranking is true, so I'd like to ask you if Rice would be a good choice for studying engineering.. :) </p>
<p>(Is it competitve choice among schools like CMU, UIUC, Cornell, Northwestern, etc?)</p>
<p>From what I've seen, Rice looks to be excellent in ECE, and other types of engineering as well. Rice is a great school in general, with a student: faculty ratio of 5:1, that insures your classes will be pretty small with the exception of a few intros. I know their architecture program is ranked like #4 in the country, but engineering is definitely one of their strengths too. Sometimes it ranks a little lower because it's slightly less competitive to get into, but it's definitely a great school with a liberal arts feel. And even though you'd apply to the George R. Brown School of Engineering, you'd be encouraged to take advantage of other courses the University has to offer and pursue secondary interests (but if you don't wish to explore, that's okay too, there are no stifling dist. req.). Plus, there's so much to do in Houston, it's a great area. I would strongly recommend Rice. (One telling sign that ECE is a strong dept. @ Rice is that it has the largest number of grad students of any Rice dept.) Plus, many of the faculty have recently been honored with teaching awards, so not only are they at the top of their field, but they actually have the capacity to share this knowledge with you. I think Rice is definitely a good choice, esp. for electric & chemical engineering.</p>
<p>I have also noticed that in deparmental rankings, Rice really comes up short. On the whole, however, Rice is ranked fairly high, but this is because of other reasons like acceptance rates, student/faculty ratios, financial aid, resources, etc.</p>
<p>yeah, that was the main reason why i decided not to attend. It is a fabulous school, but it does come short in department rankings, as its departments are not ranked high in much. This is basically the same w. Dartmouth, but Dartmouth has the ivy league label which immediately brings respect and prestige to the school. Anyways, you can't go wrong w. Rice, great school.</p>
<p>Rankings stink! =) Rice will really teach you how to be an engineer. The departments may not be of the caliber that you'd want to stick around for grad school because there aren't a <em>ton</em> of research options (that's what the rankings are all about), but you're for sure going to get into any graduate program you'd like, if you're a conscientious student.</p>
<p>Rice confers approximately 25 computer science bachelors degrees per year. Many universities can graduate hundreds more. The "saturation" of people in a field affects the ratings-number-games too. UC Berkeley, by reputation and other factors, is ranked higher than Rice's CS department. However, a Rice graduate currently working towards his masters at Berkeley was amazed to find that Berkeley CS undergrads weren't exposed to "design patterns" until their senior year -- something Rice introduces to freshmen and continues to teach as a part of the core curriculum. Rice might not be ranked higher, but certain methodologies can pay off and allow you to do just as well or better than the "de facto" comparison school.</p>
<p>If a school is ranked in the top 100 vs. the top 25, there's a difference to consider. If you're comparing schools all within the top 10 or 25 of a particular field, pick the school that appeals the most to you -- not the rank. What's it matter if your school is ranked a place or two higher if you would've been happier elsewhere with a comparable education?</p>