<p>This thread has gotten a bit off topic from the OP’s original question. Slik Nik–as you can see, there’s no shortage of opinions about what school is best, and the one that matters the most is your own. You’re only a few weeks into the school year. As several people have said, buyer’s remorse is not uncommon at this stage. Relax and give yourself time to settle in.</p>
<p>interestingguy, I went through and read some of your old posts. You have already been accused of ■■■■■■■■. Are you a student…high school or college…or a parent?? Do you have ANY connection to Rice at all? Most of the other people on this list have a strong connection to Rice and know it very well. I have seen how their graduates do.
Are you ■■■■■■■■ again??? People are about to pay a lot of money to go to college. Many of the high school students are nervous enough without you giving them more reason to be nervous over NOTHING. I’m guessing you have to be a very young person, to not know yet how shallow it is to just judge only by prestige.</p>
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<p>Sure, it’s an elitist comment. I don’t think anyone is going to argue against that. This is an elitist country that gives much more favor to Ivies and top 20 schools than those ranked #148. Favor, meaning promising employment opportunities, networking, connections, open doors, high graduate school acceptance rates, not to mention social status. Part of the reason is because of private vs. public universities and their endowments, but that’s another story.</p>
<p>No one says elitism is fair, but that’s just how the world runs. I would venture an argument that “those that know” Rice have favorable associations of top notch, rigorous academics rather than conjuring an image of a state school party image (I’ll go easy on the stereotypes, though).</p>
<p>Just by being on CC, one can feel the palpable atmosphere of anxious and insecure students yearning for prestige and social status granted by admission to a top school.</p>
<p>As for “who knows and matters” – it’s all relative. If you want to impress that girl on the street, being an all-star quarterback for the USC Trojans will make you look much more impressive than if you tell her that you just got your sociology research from Brown University published in a big-name journal. It all depends on your goals, and your audience. What do you want in life? Where do you want to go? </p>
<p>Being the smart guy that you are, you probably know what OldCard was referring to when he said those who “know” and “matter.” If not, let me clarify it for you: those “in the know” recognize universities for their superb academic quality and rigor, not because of their basketball team. Those “in the know” and who “matter” wield admission to Harvard Law, internship opportunities to Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and so forth. Those “in the know” and “who matter” don’t give a damn about your school’s sports accomplishments (should I give you this job or be impressed by your 2.8 GPA just because your school won the Rose Bowl?), but rather come away impressed by the school’s ability to publish research and advance progress in science and engineering.</p>
<p>This is based on my presumption that OldCard meant graduate schools (including professional schools) and future employers–those that instantly recognize the Rice name and know its esteemed worth. </p>
<p>And Rice’s situation is not entirely unique–the same can be said for Brown University, Dartmouth College, and all LAC’s, for that matter.</p>
<p>The common layman doesn’t “know” Dartmouth or Brown, nor Williams and Amherst – but your statement of the justification being graduates of those schools, as well as Rice, Emory, and WashU (insert other “not well known” schools here) haven’t done anything “worthwhile” is simply ludicrous and absurd.</p>
<p>There is the common layman who cares more about OSU football than breakthrough research in nanotechnology or alternative and renewable energy (things that might actually affect them in their daily lives), and then there is the future employer and Harvard Business School who doesn’t give a damn about school sports, and actually pays attention to academics.</p>
<p>If you go to Podunk State College, in tier four or something, and nobody knows about it, then sure, there probably is a very legitimate reason for that.</p>
<p>But if you go to Rice, ranked #17 in a country with more than 3,000 colleges, thus making it in the top 1%, people “not knowing” Rice does not automatically undermine its standing as a top-notch university. </p>
<p>Rice rakes in millions of dollars in research grants, so I wouldn’t be so hasty to say that Rice and its graduates aren’t “accomplishing much worthwhile” things. Science and engineering, as well as research in those areas, are not as easy fodder for the press and public as winning basketball championships or making it to the Final Four in March Madness. </p>
<p>I would even venture to say that the public thinks science and engineering are pretty boring (read: difficult to understand) topics, and rah-rah sports are much more exciting and entertaining than quantum physics. </p>
<p>That is poor logic to say that because a school is more “well known” for its sport accomplishments is accomplishing much more “worthwhile” activities than another university with emphasis on science and research. This doesn’t just go for Duke, but also to OSU, USC, Penn State–which are great universities as well, but not top 20 school quality. Barring Harvard/Yale/Princeton, most schools are “well known” because of sports, and the only top schools that combine those very well that are in the top 20 are Duke and Stanford. What’s MIT? And Cal Tech - is that like ITT Tech for vocational students or something?</p>
<p>I agree with much of your post except a few things.
I wouldn’t include this in your post. It’s not exactly Rice’s strong point, especially compared to Dartmouth or Duke.</p>
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While it is true that Rice’s lack of major athletics have a deleterious effect on its name recognition, it is a bit odd to imply that it’s the only factor. Rice’s small size and relatively local pull (33% of applicants are from TX) are perhaps equally to blame. It’s much easier to have heard of NYU when it has thousands of alumni around the country.</p>
<p>I would be careful in the phrasing of that sentence, since you seem to be implying that Rice is stronger in science and engineering. I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply that, considering that Rice draws in much less research money than any other top 50 university except Notre Dame (which has a slight lead), but it could be misconstrued and cause a Duke supporter to derail the thread. </p>
<p>Incidentally, I had certainly heard of MIT before I started researching colleges. Schools like Chicago, Brown, Dartmouth, WUStL, and Hopkins were completely unknown to me, however.</p>
<p>Let’s just put it this way: if you need to go to school in the northeast to work in MBB or a BB bank, you’re doing it wrong.</p>
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Adjusted for size, Rice pulls in more research money than most of the top 50 universities. It’s an awesome place, like I’m sure many universities are. Let’s put this baby to rest now… ;)</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you! I feel a lot more comfortable about my decision… It was just a sense of buyers remorse. I do not believe this needs to be discussed any further… this thread has been beaten up already :)</p>
<p>slik nik,</p>
<p>Glad you feel better. Next time you need reassurance talk to a friend. No need to start THREE simultaneous threads about the same topic! :)</p>
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<p>Rice has very strong academics, but most other top 20 schools are better for seeking “favor” and “social status.”</p>
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<p>Obviously, Dartmouth and Brown aren’t HYPSM. But they are fairly well known (compared to Rice, Emory, WashU, etc.) due to their ivy status and references in popular culture (see The OC, Gossip Girls, Superbad, etc.).</p>
<p>I didn’t say that Rice graduates haven’t done ANYthing worthwhile. My point is that Rice’s list of Nobel Laureates, Rhodes Scholars, MacArthur Fellows, etc. is underwhelming relative to other top 20 schools.</p>
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<p>When did I ever say such a thing??? In an earlier post, I explicited stated that I’d prefer not to be associated with a school (e.g. Duke) that primarily made its name from sports.</p>
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<p>I wasn’t aware that you had to have a “connection” to a particular school in order to post in that school’s forum.</p>
<p>But since you asked so nicely, my cousin is applying to Rice. It is one of his top two choices. The other is Carnegie Mellon.</p>
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<p>No and certainly not again. But if I were to “■■■■■,” you’d know about it.</p>
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<p>Couldn’t resist a parting shot, eh? :)</p>