<p>I've wanted to go to Stanford for as long as I can remember. Rice didn't appear on my radar until about a year ago. Both schools are excellent for biology and also give me the chance to dabble in Slavic studies. I also like the research opportunities offered by both: Stanford has its medical center, and Rice has Texas Medical Center across the street. Going into the admissions process, I thought, "All right, Stanford's my first choice, but if I don't get in there, I'll be thrilled attending Rice."</p>
<p>Well, I got into both, and the price tags differ wildly. Rice offered me a ton of money and Stanford offered me none. Excluding transportation costs (a factor for Rice), Stanford would cost my family something on the order of $180K (yikes!), while Rice would probably be around $75K.</p>
<p>So I have a bit of a dilemma. My parents insist, "Go where you want, we've been planning on paying full freight," but hey, there's over a $100K difference between the schools! I've been applying for any and every little scholarship that comes my way, but that probably won't add up to more than $10K.</p>
<p>Admittedly, Stanford is my first choice, and I am strongly leaning toward it. It's 30 miles up the road, and I know my parents are probably more comfortable with me staying in CA than moving to Houston. Also, I worked at Stanford in a research lab last summer, had an incredible experience, and would probably be welcomed back to work there. I think I'd have a tough time "cold calling" labs at Rice/MD Anderson Cancer Center and asking if I could work there (I was offered a spot in Rice's Century Scholars program, though, which guarantees me a research mentorship for at least two years, albeit not necessarily in my area of interest).</p>
<p>So what do you think -- am I crazy for turning down Rice?</p>
<p>It depends partly on your parents' financial situation. Do they have to borrow? Did they dip into their retirement savings? Do you have other siblings whom they will have to put through college? </p>
<p>It also depends partly on your post-graduate plans. Will you want to go to law school or med school(It looks like you lean toward med school)? Such schools usually give little or no financial aid to their students, so having $100k to fund your post-graduate studies would be great. </p>
<p>I know someone who went to Rice and absolutely loved her time there (but she's from TX!).</p>
<p>Thanks for the speedy reply! My parents are in a very solid financial situation (i.e., mortgage paid off, high income by most standards) and won't need to take out loans if they don't want to do so. My brother will enter college three years after I; however, it looks like he'll do community college for a couple years before transferring to a private university.</p>
<p>Understandably, any "extra" money spent on college has to come from some other source, so yes, you could say it's coming from their retirement funds. I am planning on going to med school, but I'm on my own for paying for that (thinking of doing an MD/PhD program -- government pays for it!). That said, having extra cash floating around might help me out with living expenses in addition to the MD/PhD stipend.</p>
<p>The money is one thing...this is another...and I think the more fundamental issue maybe...</p>
<p>"It's 30 miles up the road, and I know my parents are probably more comfortable with me staying in CA than moving to Houston. Also, I worked at Stanford in a research lab last summer, had an incredible experience, and would probably be welcomed back to work there. I think I'd have a tough time "cold calling" labs at Rice/MD Anderson Cancer Center and asking if I could work there (I was offered a spot in Rice's Century Scholars program, though, which guarantees me a research mentorship for at least two years, albeit not necessarily in my area of interest)."</p>
<p>Not only is Rice offering you a heap of money, they are offering you a chance to get out of your comfort zone- only you can decide if that is important to you or not. Only you can decide if you are ready for it or not!</p>
<p>If your parents tell you not to worry about the money, then don't.</p>
<p>Rice is a wonderful school. If I were you, I might make another visit just to make sure. Let them show you all the research possibilities. The sky is probably the limit.</p>
<p>That said, Stanford is science heaven. </p>
<p>Congratulations Avalon. You've got a high class problem. Too many wonderful choices!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Not only is Rice offering you a heap of money, they are offering you a chance to get out of your comfort zone- only you can decide if that is important to you or not. Only you can decide if you are ready for it or not!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Avalon~</p>
<p>Roby made an excellent point here. This was actually VERY important to my son. We live in a state where nearly EVERYONE stays within their comfort zones (Kansas). It was VERY important to my son to "get away" and stretch in both academics AND other areas. Both Stanford and Rice are obviously fabulous schools, and frankly, for the difference in price AND the fact that you have been admitted to the Century Scholars Program at Rice, I would be quite tempted in that direction. But ultimately, of course, this is entirely the decision of YOU and your family!</p>
<p>Congratulations on being faced with such a fine dilemma!!! </p>
<p>You'll get lots and lots of research opportunities at Rice - and there are lots of opportunities to work with the medical centers across the street. (My DD - not premed - is doing an internship there.) You won't be "cold calling" labs; there will be profs facilitating and helping you get research opportunities.
If you are feeling uncomfortable about going far away...Rice is very
close and friendly and supportive. Have you visited for admitted students weekend? 100K is a lot of money....... and Rice is a great place to be.</p>
<p>There are probably many CCers who wish your parents would adopt them! You are so lucky to have parents who are in a position to provide this level of financial security for your undergraduate education. </p>
<p>It's really your call what you choose to do. Stanford offers all of the status and prestige. But it would be nice not to tie up your parent's resources on that prestige.</p>
<p>Would you consider Rice for undergraduate studies and possibly utilize the $100k savings for graduate studies at Stanford or elsewhere?</p>
<p>I would echo what was written above and really try to visit each school again. The money differential, given your parents' circumstances, is not that great. </p>
<p>Speaking as a parent whose son had a similar decision to make two years ago, and chose Stanford, I can tell you that all the money in the world would not buy the happiness I feel when I see my son thriving and achieving his dreams. I am not trying to say that Stanford is the right or wrong school, just that for you and your parents, if you think you'll have a better experience at one school or the other, don't let money be the determining factor.</p>
<p>Follow your dream--whether it is close to home or far away, you only get to go to college once. And remember--since you are planning to be a scientist, there is graduate school in your future. So whether you leave your comfort zone now or later, you will almost certainly have that experience at some time in your life. There is nothing that says that it has to be right now.</p>
<p>It's not Rice vs. Stanford. It's Rice + $110,000 vs. Stanford. Think of what you would buy - educationally speaking - for $110,000 in addition to a Rice education. Three summers in Europe? A post-graduate year doing research, unpaid if necessary? A year between college and med school studying painting in Italy? Or a full year and a half of med school paid for? (By the time you are ready, med. school will be $200k plus, and everyone else will be thinking of MD/Ph.D. route if they can get someone else to pay for it.)</p>
<p>I'd do Rice in a heartbeat. Straight up, they're pretty close (I'm not convinced that Stanford is better in biology, but I'm also not sure it matters - I doubt they have more "prestige" in biology), and $110,000 (reinvested over 4 years) is much more than a downpayment on a house, even in California.</p>
<p>Don't go to Rice if you don't like it. But if you do, sit down and ask yourself seriously, what are you buying for $110k.</p>
<p>I would say choose Rice (I know I would!). I agree with all the above posts and you don't know what your future holds - you may need the money for grad school. Talk to your parents about what could be done with the extra ~110K if you decide to choose Rice, because if they just say "well we'll keep it all" then it might be a different story.</p>
<p>I went to school right close to Rice. It is an excellent college. My sister went to Stanford. I would give Stanford a slight edge but not $110K. My vote is Rice.</p>
<p>Avalon,
As usual I read the tail end of your post after I had already posted an answer. I have two additional comments. People who go to school within 60 miles of their home often don't have as good a "college experience". That would tend to favor Rice.
As to labs in the Texas Medical Center there will be many opportunities. In my medical school class there were close to 15 students from Rice. The were very sharp and well prepared. My impression was that although Rice was called the Harvard of the South, it was really the CalTech of the South.
Go to Rice. I've never regreted my time in Houston.</p>
<p>Perhaps with the money your parents will theoretically save from undergraduate years at Rice, they can contribute some to your grad school education - which we all know is even more important. And I agree with the "getting out of your comfort zone" comment.</p>
<p>If you don't feel too strongly about Stanford, Rice would be the best choice. Have you tried negotiating with the FAO at Stanford yet? It's a pretty big difference in the amount of money.</p>
<p>edit: Oh yeah, I'm not a parent. Just another senior like you. Who doesn't have such happy options at the moment just yet xP</p>
<p>Heck, I live in Houston. It's not so bad here. Well, at least it isn't so bad in October through April, which are the main months you'd be at school.</p>
<p>Seriously though, I grew up in the upper midwest and went to grad school in New England. Other than the weather, the transition here was much less drastic than you'd suppose.</p>
<p>Visit Rice again. Stay over more than one night if you can, meet with professors, take classes. Then go home and listen to your heart as your parents are being so gracious with allowing you to make that decision. If you choose Stanford, make a committment to pretend it's far away from your home. Many students choose schools like NYU or Columbia and live within thirty miles. It can be "a million miles" away if you and your family agree that you should have the full college experience and have your space.
My child was accepted to Harvard and is also an Emory Scholars Finalist which gives a huge chunk of tuition, if not the complete package for four years. I empathize with you. It's a tough choice. I've advised my child to give both places a fair shake by extensive visiting and then decide.
You have obviously worked hard for the choices which lie ahead of you. Work hard at this decision and you will make the right one.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Rice = damned good school + $110K + out of your comfort zone.</p>
<p>Stanford = more recognizable to those who don't know much, more prestige to those for whom it matters</p>
<p>Looking at that balance sheet and it's an easy choice if it were mine.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Pretty damned simplistic balance sheet. What ever happened to:
*relative size of schools
*urban versus suburban
*graduate school placement rates in biology
*number of post-graduate fellowships gained by students at each school
*weather
*quality of extracurriculars at each school
*value of the "scholars" designation for quality of experience at each school (this might be a big factor) versus already-existing connections with a lab
*gut feel/desire to be in one place or the other and how you feel about each when you are there
*quality of housing
*political feel of each campus if that matters to you
*ethnic diversity
*caliber of students at each--how you fit in the SAT ranges, etc.
etc. Much of what you learn will be from your peers--what student body do you feel will challenge you the most?</p>
<p>You have a great choice to make--enjoy the process and hopefully you'll be happy with the end result!</p>
<p>S was faced with a similar decision last spring---JHU with the Hodson Scholarship designation (and great $), Penn with the Vagelos Scholar designation (+ tons of $), or Duke without a similar designation but with "dream school" status and tons of $. We did basically what you described---looked at each item on your "balance sheet." The decision was difficult, but we are now both convinced that it was the RIGHT one for HIM. I think your suggestions of types of information to consider will be most helpful to Avalon. </p>