<p>What would you guys say are Rice's peer schools? I say Duke, Stanford, JHU, Cornell, Emory and Vandy. Does this sound about right?</p>
<p>Cornell? How?</p>
<p>There's a lot of overlap between Rice and Cornell with the students who apply, and many students choose Rice over Cornell -- my son was one of them.</p>
<p>Washington University in St. Louis, UChicago, Northwestern, Columbia.</p>
<p>While Rice is usually ranked with schools like Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and Emory, I see Rice as being more like a Cornell or Brown. I guess this is because the schools is practically deified in Texas while simply looked at as a "good" school elsewhere. Point is, the school is really underated considering the caliber of students and atmosphere. The cliche that its a hidden gem is very true.</p>
<p>Based on reputation among the graduate programs that it feeds, particularly in medicine, engineering and the sciences, Rice's peers include Yale, Princeton, Duke, and Stanford. That strength is combined with a level of excellence in architecture and music that most of its peers (except for Cornell in architecture) do not match.</p>
<p>"There's a lot of overlap between Rice and Cornell with the students who apply, and many students choose Rice over Cornell"</p>
<p>i'd argue that its more the other way around.</p>
<p>Actually, it's 51% Cornell to 49% Rice, according to the Revealed Preference ranking survey that was done several years ago (could be upwards of + or - 10%, but I'd be shocked if it was more than that).</p>
<p>P.S. also note that, to some degree, this doesn't adequately show Rice's popularity over Cornell with the students because many parents (particularly Asian parents, if it's not too generalizing to say that) influence their children by pushing them in the direction of the more "prestigious" school (in this case Cornell) over the one to which they really want to go. One kid got into both and really wanted to come to Rice, and during Owl Weekend, his parents sent in a deposit to Cornell without even telling him. That is an extreme case, but I doubt it happens much in the other direction.</p>
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One kid got into both and really wanted to come to Rice, and during Owl Weekend, his parents sent in a deposit to Cornell without even telling him
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oh gosh. no offense to anyone in here but why are foreign parents such prestige whores when it comes to colleges? Rice is golden. Cornell may be ivy but it's the most populated ivy.
anyways. IMO, Rice seems to bask too much in the spotlight in Texas when it should push for more national recognition. It's great that the school is in the know with the people that matter but it could be the Stanford of the South if it pushed its name out a litte more. Then maybe parents wouldn't yank their kids out of the school of their dreams. ;)</p>
<p>Okay, mrsopresident, just to clarify -- I said "many students choose Rice over Cornell." I didn't say "most" students choose Rice over Cornell. So there was no reason to argue with what I said.</p>
<p>I have met a lot of Rice students that have turned down good schools for Rice. I wouldnt have agreed with all of their choices but a Rice over Cornell decision is not that hard to believe.</p>
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<p>You have to remember that there is so much more to a school than the education and name recognition it offers. I would have picked Rice over any other school in the country, bar none, regardless of the fact that some of those Northeastern schools are "better." There is no one answer for whether you should pick one school over another, which is why all of these "Duke or Cornell?" and "Rice or UPenn?" and such threads really upset me.</p>
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I would have picked Rice over any other school in the country, bar none, regardless of the fact that some of those Northeastern schools are "better
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<p>Rice hands down over any of the colonial colleges. Princeton and Yale are elitist bastions, Cornell is so large its practically an over priced state school, Harvard's campus was actually a HUGE disapointment, and UPenn's overly ambitious competitive gunner culture is a turn off to me.</p>
<p>I have no appeal for Dartmouth, Columbia is in the most expensive city in the US. Brown I really like but it seems like a Rice education can get you as far as one from Rice. Sometimes Rice is more respected because it is so science-oreinted. </p>
<p>That takes care of the ivies but do not get me started on MIT, Stanford and UC Berekeley. Bascially my point is that Rice is the cheapest of the T20 and the only one out of all of the non-ivies that REALLY does match the ivies. It is the Stanford of the South.</p>
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<p>But the reason I would have picked Rice over any other school is not just the cost; Rice could have been as expensive as those other schools and I still would have picked it because of the culture here.</p>
<p>NYSkins1 - Can you explain? From the outside, as a mom with a senior son, the Rice culture sounds incredibly appealing. But I'd love to hear it in your words if you don't mind.</p>
<p>An econ professor of mine told me that he thinks Rice has a much better student learning environment than does Princeton, where he taught for maybe 10 years. He sent both his children to Rice, too. I'd say unless Caltech or MIT is a serious possibility, Rice would be a great choice for anyone.</p>
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Just today one of my English professors said (I wrote it down during class because I wanted to remember it), "I thank my lucky stars every day that I teach at Rice. This is such a wonderful place to be a teacher." He expounded upon the academic freedom that the university grants him, and the fact that he has students who are genuinely excited about learning. He talked about the fact that professors only have to teach two classes, so they can be incredibly prepared for all of their classes, and still have time to do their research (if that's what they're working on).</p>
<p>I'd say that even if Caltech or MIT are a real possibility, if you're looking for happiness and student satisfaction, Rice goes far above those two. Most of the kids at Caltech and MIT that I've talked to kind of say, "I guess I'm happy..." but Rice kids <em>know</em>. Rice kids <em>thrive</em>. Great academics are a given at many schools, but a great LIFE, and a great EXPERIENCE... Now that's rare.</p>
<p>I loved my time at Rice. For grad school, I got into every one of the seven top-ten programs I applied to, and I picked prestige, and I deeply regret having picked the most prestigious school despite the fact that I didn't feel it was a good "fit" for me. I was miserable the entire time.</p>
<p>Rice isn't for everyone. Visit it. See what you think. See if you fall in love with the people there, and the gorgeous campus. If you do, you should seriously consider it.</p>
<p>As to peer schools... The ones I've heard are a lot like Rice are Duke, Stanford, Davidson, Wash U, and Carnegie Mellon, but Rice is really most like Hogwarts.</p>