<p>I don't know - but Rice is 20th on the WSJ list, which is not bad at all. I think that The question is really, how many students from Rice applied to harvard law school, were accepted but decided not to ATTEND it. It is quite possible that some Rice students who were accepted to Harvard law would choose UT-Austin over it for financial reasons. Harvard is expensive. UT for instate is not - and it is very well ranked.
P.S. Threads like this make me wince a little. It's good to have goals - but really, it seems too linear-thinking for young 17-year-olds to be planning out their whole lives step by step... stop and smell the roses! Go to college and expand your horizons and figure out who you are and how you can contribute to the world in a way that fulfills you. Choose a college that can help you do that. If you end up wanting Harvard - fine, but please, stop and smell the roses!!!!!</p>
<p>A lot of this is also due to the fact that students tend to want to go to grad school near home and/or near where they eventually want to settle. For many Rice kids, this means Texas/surrounding states. Had they included Baylor College of Medicine as one of their schools (US News puts it at number 10), or UT Law (also top 10), the results likely would have been very different. </p>
<p>Coming in at #20 out of more than 3000 schools, considering this, is pretty darn impressive, IMO.</p>
<p>Yes, and for in-state students those schools present more affordable options too. Also, the wsj rankings are from 2003 - and presumably the data is from the prior year, so it's not even current info. And I agree -- #20 is pretty impressive!</p>
<p>Seems like a bad study off the bat. First, what constitutes an "'elite" grad school? Second, it doesnt take into account that some schools arent as geared to having undergrads go to grad schools. Since rice has a lot of engineering compared to the ivies and other "elite" schools, its acceptance percentage is going to be lower. The same goes for cornell and caltech--thats why they are so low too. </p>
<p>Also, I doubt that UT grad schools are considered as "elite" and for many texan rice students this is the cheapest, smartest solution when it comes to grad school.</p>
<p>The only thing that this study confirms is the level of inbreeding in the Northeast. The suggestion that the quality of an undergraduate education is reflected by the number of students admitted to someone's notion of the "top 15" graduate programs is preposterous.</p>
<p>The most meaningful numbers regarding Rice grads who choose to go to grad school are that 70% are admitted to their first choice program and in 2006 102 of 116 applicants were accepted to medical school. Fortunately, most Rice students understand that the world does not end just west of Philadelphia and north of the Mason-Dixon line.</p>