OP, please let us know which you chose.
Did you go with Evanston/Chicago and the overall academic machine that is Northwestern, or Houston and the smaller feel of Rice?
We spend days and weeks in these threads and half the time the OP doesn’t give us the result of our toil. It sometimes keeps me up at night, wondering. 
About @robotrainbow not knowing about NU, despite being a Penn alum and also having gone through the college search with his daughter.
It’s possible. I find it surprising, but I’ve seen other posts on these boards where people out east know Northeastern but not NU, or people who confuse the two.
Yes, most educated people know NU. Also, a lot of people–educated or otherwise–know NU because of its affiliation with the Big Ten. There are a lot of college football fans. There are a lot of NFL fans who may not care about the college game but sort of know that NU is a Big Ten school, Stanford is a Pac-12 school, Vandy is an SEC school, Duke is an ACC school (though Duke, of course, is much more known for its prowess in basketball).
I’m willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that @robotrainbow is not a football fan. That’s not a knock. Just a relatively safe deduction.
@prezbucky thank you everyone for your help and opinions! I know I would’ve been happy going to either of the schools, but chose NU over Rice because I fell in love with NU’s campus when I visited (even though it was snowing) and I think my premed experience won’t be any easier or harder at either of the schools. It pains me to turn down Rice, but I’m happy with the decision I’ve made!
Congrats! Go Cats!
Congrats and good luck!
NU all the way… never judge ur college decision based on weather lol and NU has a better name and is better academically and is a “true” college town meaning it will have several opportunities + it has great sports, great city near it, great food and the campus is gorgeous