<p>Taking MONEY into account (i'm probably not qualified for any financial aide), which school is better in terms of premed and overall atmosphere?</p>
<p>Also, how strong is the undergrad. psychology program at Rice? And would it be smart to major in psychology while taking the premed route.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about psychology, but if you're looking at pre-med and taking money into account, it is Rice hands down. Not only does Rice give away generous merit aid, but its tuition is cheaper than peer institutions.</p>
<p>Rice also has the Texas Medical Center accross the street. Plenty of opportunities are available for pre-meds at Rice. There is a high acceptance rate to med school at Rice as well. Look into the Rice/Baylor program too.</p>
<p>yes Rice wins this one hands down...</p>
<p>Rice. I'm applying under almost the exact same circumstances.</p>
<p>so anything great about the psych department?</p>
<p>Premed? Any top school is excellent for "premed". Environment? Visit both and see. They both have a lot to offer.</p>
<p>Neither atmosphere is "better." It really depends on what you're looking for. I like Rice because it's full of a bunch of smart people who don't take themselves too seriously. It's like an Ivy League school without the snobbery and sense of entitlement. Of course, I'm biased.</p>
<p>And Rice definitely wins the money argument, hands down.</p>
<p>When it comes to the money, Rice is definitely a winner. It is one of America's Best Value Colleges. Its tuition is $23,000+ while Duke's is $31,000+. I'm biased since Rice is my first choice school, but from the general consensus, Rice's atmosphere sounds a whole lot better than Duke's (I gathered this from hanging around the Duke's forum a few months ago when I was still interested in Duke). But there are students who are happy at either school, so it just depends, really. =)</p>
<p>i think the new tuition for rice hovers around 26K, but i could be mistaken.</p>
<p>how much does the tuition usually increase each year?</p>
<p>well, i actually had this choice, as I was accepted to both Rice and Duke (which was my 1st choice). duke gave me much less aid(like 10 grand) in comparison to Rice, which gave me a merit scholarship. also, duke is much more competitive than rice in terms of pre-med and general courses. at rice, it seems like the atmosphere is much less competitive. duke's premed acceptance rate is below rice's 90%. psychology at rice seems to be a strong respectable program, maybe not the best in the nation, but definitely solid.</p>
<p>I chose Rice over Duke. The finaid I received led both institutions to have the same bottom-line dollar sticker price; so although cost was important to me, it was no longer a differentiating factor. While visiting, I liked the atmosphere at Rice better than that of Duke. But I'm not doing the whole premed thing so I can't comment there. Good luck deciding, both are great schools in my opinion.</p>