Our S has surprised us by (after attending Owl Days) moving Rice up to #1 on his list. He would like to major in Economics or MEA and minor in math. He would then likely apply to business school.
Does anyone have info on the school’s placement into highly regarded MBA programs?
Thanks.
Having a BA from Rice won’t hurt, just make sure he maintains a high GPA & does good on his GRE or whatever test is required. Excellent choice if he gets in.
If he wants to get into a top MBA program, you should also think about where he wants to work after he graduates undergrad. Most of the top programs want at least a few years of work experience in their applicants. He also could consider becoming a CFA, etc. These aren’t decisions that need to be made now, but I’m just putting them out there to remind you that it’s not a single pipeline from BA to MBA and there are a lot of other factors your song can and will control.
As for the info you requested, I think your best chance is to contact Rice admissions and ask if they know how you might access those statistics.
Thanks for the comments. My S is deciding b/w Rice and an econ or MEA major and Notre Dame’s business school. He will likely pursue an MBA after working for a few years. He told me that there were a few kids at the Rice admitted students event that are making the very same decisions, which is interesting given that Rice and ND are not obvious overlaps.
I sent you a PM, but thought it might be helpful to comment here. I am a Rice alum, and off the top of my head I can think of several friends and peers who went to top notch business schools after working for a few years, including HBS (quite a few in my year and the year below), Stanford Business School, Kellogg, and Wharton. Many of the firms that are often good feeders into premiere business schools recruited actively at Rice - top investment banks and consulting firms. Rice graduates have had a tremendous track record at these firms so I can’t imagine that recruiting has changed in the years since I graduated.
In order to even get an interview with one of the top consulting firms or investment banks, a GPA of at least 3.6 was an informal guideline. I heard from a friend whose son is at Duke that 3.7 and above is now the threshold. When I was there, a core group interviewed for these jobs but there was not a ton of competition, maybe because many Rice students go immediately to grad school or because Rice doesn’t specifically have a pre-professional vibe or an undergrad business school (although there are many business related classes).
The friend who went to Stanford Business School was an engineer undergrad and went into an engineering oriented job before applying to b-school, and the Wharton friend was a tech guy (I can’t remember his major). Most of the HBS friends were in consulting or finance. Most worked in Texas after Rice, before b-school.
My friends who went to these business schools felt that having a Rice degree was actually a differentiator when applying to business school, since b-schools are also looking for a diverse and varied class whose students come from all over the country and the world. I have also felt that my Texas connection (through Rice and living in TX for a few years after graduation) has always been a very positive force in my life. In writing this, I remembered that there is Texas Club at HBS that warmly embraces anyone with a Texas connection.
Hope this helps.
Faulkner, I got your PM and when I tried to reply a thank you message it didn’t go through.
Thanks for the very informative comments. I think my S will be attending Rice this Fall.
Congratulations! Hope he has a very happy four years at Rice.
This article might be of interest to you: http://m.ricethresher.org/news/econ-mtec-curricula-undergo-major-restructuring/article_4687d54a-e910-11e4-84d9-aba407640578.html?mode=jqm
@Lagunatic Interestingly my son is in similar situation. He wants to do an MBA and JD (law) after working for a few years. He would like to work in Management consulting (Bain, McKinsey, BCG) after graduation. Currently he is admitted to Rice (Econ), Carnegie (Business), Berkeley (Business/Econ), UCLA (Econ) and UT Austin (business/ Business Honors). Rice seems to be his #1 Choice or is leaning towards it because he loves the college residential system at Rice. I have similar questions i.e. Does top Consulting and Top Investment Banking companies recruit heavily at Rice? I am researching this and will again post as I learn more.