<p>What would you choose?</p>
<p>A. MIT - 4 Years, 45k each year. No Scholarships</p>
<p>B. Rice University - Hopefully Graduate in 3 years, 22500$ Scholarship first two years, 14500 for third year. (almost 60k)</p>
<p>How are the most important things to look at when deciding which collegeto attend?</p>
<p>I'd choose Rice and the scholarship, but if finances aren't an issue, it comes down to preference. </p>
<p>
In the hopes that it might be of use to those in decision quandaries, I thought I would share a decision rubric which has served me well over the years in all aspects of life. It serves both the right- and left-brained among us. Some might use just the one method, some just the other, but I recommend the combination of both, analytic and gut.</p>
<ol> <li><p>Make a list of all your criteria (location, offerings in majors of interest, strength of program, cost, etc.). Value each school for each criterion. Use whatever method you want: assign point values to each on 1-10 scale; give it a yes or no; id the Best school for each. Add up your values, your yeses and nos, your count of Bests for each school.</p></li> <li><p>Looking over the results, note your reactions. Do you find yourself annoyed that Princeton got only 78 points and Harvard got 88? That tells you something. Do you find yourself tempted to go back over Carleton's results and add a bit here and there? That tells you something.</p></li> <li><p>Look over the results again. Do you know that the answers the rankings give you just won't work? Because your mother would never be happy if you don't go to Duke? Because your dad will be furious if you go to Reed? Because the cost is just plain prohibitive for the winner? Then, go back and add whatever criteria these issues raise: Mom's favorite, Dad's view. Or, add more weight to the cost criterion.</p></li> <li><p>Study the final results. Perhaps you now have your answer, and you are done.</p></li> <li><p>To me this is the most important step. If you do not have your answer, put the tables and analyses away. Now, imagine that the decision has been taken completely out of your hands: a Big Boss has swooped in and told you that your acceptances to Earlham, JHU and UNC have been revoked. You have to go to Amherst. How do you feel? Relieved? Thrilled? Incensed? Ready to fight for that JHU acceptance? </p></li> </ol>
<p>Test out this scenario for each college you're still considering. Believing that the decision has been taken out of your hands, and monitoring your reactions should give you your answer. If it doesn't narrow it down to one school (I think it will), it should at least eliminate some and you can redo the process for the remaining.
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<p>If finances aren't an issue, then I would go for MIT. Rice is excellent, but MIT is in a league of its own. </p>
<p>If finances are an issue, you save well over 100K by attending Rice, so I would probably recommend Rice.</p>
<p>id go with rice even if they were the same price, rice is a hell of a school</p>
<p>Rice. Save $ for graduate degree from MIT</p>
<p>I'd go to MIT irrespective of finances, but that's just me.</p>
<p>Realistically: if money doesn't matter, MIT (if you're majoring science/tech, of course). If finance is a problem, Rice.</p>
<p>i say MIT</p>
<p>you'd get more rec. at a job interview w/ MIT grad than Rice grad</p>
<p>I've never heard of anyone doing this but it might be worht a try: contact MIT's admissions office to discuss this, it might not get you anywhere or it might get a sympathetic heart to try and help you find a scholarship. I just think it would be a real shame to pass up a chance to be at MIT.</p>
<p>MIT does not have merit scholarships</p>
<p>I would choose rice especially if you saw yourself working in texas or in some state near it in the future</p>
<p>I would choose Rice even if it were slightly more expensive than MIT. MIT's campus is unappealing. Plus Rice is a better balance of techy and humanities plus awesome music school. And it has better school spirit (Does MIT even really have a football team?).</p>
<p>^
I agree (in the OP's case). I also like Rice's house system, academic flexibility, and small size.</p>
<p>Obviously go where the money is at, so Rice. Starting salary differences will be very minimal no matter where you graduate, and both offer great opportunities for students. </p>
<p>And yes, definitely save up money for grad school, which is really really expensive...</p>
<p>it would be really hard for anyone to turn down MIT. plus, if you're considering weather, Cambridge would win against the sweltering Houston heat.</p>
<p>go to MIT. even though its expensive, ull get an amazing education. and like then dude above me said, Houston is scorching hot. take it from someone whos lived there all his life ;)</p>
<p><a href="Does%20MIT%20even%20really%20have%20a%20football%20team?">quote=Clendenenator</a>
[/quote]
Uh, yes, along with 40 other NCAA-recognized varsity sports teams -- actually, as I understand it, MIT has the second-largest number of varsity sports teams of any school in the country.</p>
<p>It took a while but I finally found this thread in the archives of the old forum. Maybe some of this will be helpful. </p>
<p>My son would choose MIT, but my nephew is at Rice and loves it. It probably doesn't matter that much for undergrad, but does one have a stronger department in your probable major?</p>
<p>RICE MIT is for losers whod dont liek girls</p>
<p>Rice is a very good school and you should strongly consider attending (especially since it will be very cheap compared to some of your other schools). MIT is on a whole other level in terms of academics and prestige and will be very hard to turn down. When looking at it from a financial stand point, no college is worth that much debt and it would be foolish not to go to Rice. The thing to be wary of is how easy/hard it will be to maintain your scholarship. If you lose academic eligibility, you will be stuck with the sticker price and it would suck paying as much for Rice as you would have for MIT. One thing you should do is visit both places and see if either is a fit for you. If you hate Rice, you probably will not be able to succeed as much as you would at MIT making grades, employment, and grad school harder. If you end up liking Rice more than MIT, you get to go to your first choice and save money as well.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Rice. Save $ for graduate degree from MIT
[/quote]
I hate it when people say this. There is no guarantee what will happen in the next 4 years. A student may change his interests and MIT may have a weak program in the field the student wants to pursue or a student may just not have the grades or scores for MIT, or maybe the student never goes back for a graduate degree. Also, grad school will be very different from undergrad and some of the things that attracted an applicant to the college for undergrad may not exist for graduate students (in terms of social life, peers, etc). End rant.</p>