<p>I've been accepted to both and Rice is giving me a great financial package, a grant of about $32500 which includes a scholarship, whereas Duke is giving me $11,000 plus $2,000 work study plus $5,000 in loans which comes to $18,000. i'm thinking about majoring in Biology and i'm not sure which to pick. Rice appears to be a great school but Duke seems to fit my character more.</p>
<p>does anybody have any advice or suggestions?</p>
<p>what's your "character"?</p>
<p>Duke :] (10char)</p>
<p>I'd suggest that you read some of the other threads on this forum. I'm not sure what your character is, but my kids, and kids I've met from Rice have been intelligent, motivated, funny, kind, and all-around unpretentious types. I know of the unlimited opportunities at Rice, in so many areas - and can't imagine anyone turning them down for a much more expensive education at Duke, but it is your decision to make. You have two great choices on the table. :)</p>
<p>if it's social-then rice is the same as duke...except it has residential colleges instead of frats and sororities. sports scene- both have not so hot football teams (Duke is slightly worse), Duke is a powerhouse in basketball, Rice isn't, Rice is a powerhouse in baseball, and actually makes it to the finals rounds, unlike Duke in recent years for basketball. Houston-although it gets knocked by lots of people-is an infinitely better place than Durham-so much more to do. And for biology-Rice has the largest medical center in the world (Texas Med Center) right next to it for research. Med acceptance rates are 90% for Rice students-probably around the same as Duke. Can you honestly justify spending around 60,000-90,000 more over the 4 years, when, looking at your major, it looks like you want to go to med school? It's a rhetorical question that only you can answer.</p>
<p>My son just chose Rice over Duke -- not an easy decision -- but one he feels
very good about! The students he met during Owl Days left a deep impression.</p>
<p>Duke has some great social sciences depts, for sure -- but when you find an engaged undergrad community with close student/faculty ties -- how can you choose otherwise!</p>
<p>thanks for the help everybody. I'm not headed for Med School actually but am more interested in research at the moment but your point is still valid westsidewolf1989.</p>
<p>One son went to Rice (BioE). Daughter and son in law (also BioE) to Duke. The research opportunities for undergrads are more plentiful at Rice. I also would give Rice the edge for undergrad instruction, particularly in the sciences. The residential college system, IMHO, is a vastly superior environment.</p>
<p>I agree with Rice over Duke. I visited during Owl Days a week ago, and the atmosphere was amazing. Houston is a lot better than Durham, and Rice is actually located only about 4 miles away from the downtown area. At night, you can see the Texas Medical Center and some distant city buildings from elevated areas. It's pretty sweet because it gives you this inner city haven feel. The walls around Rice shelter you in this beautiful campus, but as soon as you leave and get past the "college town" area, you find yourself in a nice, urban setting.</p>
<p>What would you consider your character to be that fits Duke better than Rice? Social? Outgoing? Let me tell you, Rice has a pretty good social scene...my expectations were met, if not exceeded, when I visited. I personally love to socialize and go to parties, and the Rice residential colleges definitely hosted a great night for us prospies, even though it was the Monday before finals. Both schools have a "work hard-play hard" motto, and you'd find extremely outgoing people no matter where you go.</p>
<p>Dude, after going last week, I found it so easy to pick Rice over all of my other options. I'm majoring in Bioengineering on a pre-med track, and from what I've heard, Rice definitely prepares you well. Alumni who've gone on to medical school have come back saying that after experiencing the intellectual environment at Rice, they've found med school to be somewhat easier and even lackluster. I mean, I'm sure Duke would prep you in the same fashion, but Rice students do have access to the Texas Medical Center right across the street, something Duke cannot "provide". </p>
<p>Overall, a lot of things about Rice appealed to me, and I'm sure they'd appeal to you. The community spirit is very strong there; I went around asking students whether they liked the school, and all of them replied firmly with proud support for Rice University. Coming from a high school with a lot of pride among its students, I've been looking for colleges that are spirited and ready to defend their school names and titles. The students at Rice fit what I was looking for, in terms of representing Rice and their own residential colleges. However, this is not to imply that Rice has poor recognition; in fact, the citizens of Texas have extremely high respect for Rice University. It's true that outside of the local area, Rice's name falls somewhat short compared to that of Duke, but you wouldn't notice the difference at all during your 4 years in Houston, or even probably after you graduate.</p>
<p>Following the same idea of a sense of community, the faculty encourages cooperation among students, and though the academics are competitive, they are certainly not cutthroat. I've heard that in science classes, sometimes you are required to work together in order to find the solutions to problems. The Honor Code really helps foster that cohesiveness through responsibility and trust maintained by the administration.</p>
<p>Anyway, I think I've said enough haha. As you can tell, I really love Rice (no pun intended. I'm Asian....you don't know how much crap I've gotten for that ahaha) and I definitely recommend that you join our class of 2012! However, only choose Rice if you're confident you want to become an Owlie, because Rice students are honored and proud to be part of their community!</p>
<p>Nothing against Rice because it's a great school but Duke students have access to the world-famous Duke University Hospital which easily outstrips the Texas Medical Center. Duke is just as friendly, intimate, spirited and non-cutthroat as Rice. What's your point here? Duke has big-name athletics, more prestige, better acceptance rates to med school and amazing employment prospects in other fields should the OP switch majors as compared to Rice.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Nothing against Rice because it's a great school but Duke students have access to the world-famous Duke University Hospital which easily outstrips the Texas Medical Center.
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<p>Nothing against Duke because it's a great school but Texas Medical Center is the world's largest medical complex; it is indeed the largest medical district in the entire world. Haha, "easily outstrips the Texas Medical Center" -- what a joke. Sorry, Duke can't quite compete with that.</p>
<p>The center contains 45 medicine-related institutions, which includes 13 hospitals and two specialty institutions, two medical schools, four nursing schools, and schools of dentistry, public health, pharmacy, and other health-related careers. </p>
<p>And Rice students have incredibly easy access to ALL of that--it's just a walk across the street, literally.</p>
<p>Whatever your argument is for Duke, Rice is up to par as well, so your argument that Duke is so much better than Rice really isn't that strong. Rice's acceptance rates to med school are 90% while I hear Duke is 85%; Rice has lots of prestige in the South, and place very well with employers and grad schools.</p>
<p>It really comes to which place the OP likes better. </p>
<p>I would still choose Rice over Duke, but that's just me.</p>
<p>I'm quite confident that Rice has amazing employment prospects in many fields as well. Besides, the OP has a much better financial aid package from Rice. Why pay thousands of dollars more for a comparable education? But I don't think the OP can go wrong with either choice.</p>
<p>
[quote]
At the undergraduate level, Rice placed at 17th in the 2008 U.S. News & World Report rankings of doctoral granting institutions. Further, in the Princeton Review's 2007 rankings, Rice was ranked first for "Best Quality of Life" and third for “Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates” as well as among the top 20 schools where students “Never Stop Studying.” The same publication also placed it as first in the nation for “Lots of Race / Class Interaction.” In the 2008 edition of the Princeton Review, Rice was ranked as the #1 "Best Value" Private College.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Source: Rice</a> University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>Why pay thousands more when you have the opportunity to attend this equally fine university?</p>
<p>For a lot of people, the notion of "prestige" trumps thousands of dollars. The Duke name is recognizable worldwide and will open up many doors for the OP. I agree that the choice comes down to fit though and the OP believes that Duke fits his "character" more. So, the choice seems clear.</p>
<p>But for the OP, prestige does not automatically trump thousands of dollars. Why else would this thread exist?</p>
<p>Advice to the OP: Go with your gut feeling, but let your parents give their take on the situation as well, especially since they're going to be paying for most of it. If all else fails, make a pros/cons list and pick the one that comes out on top by a reasonable margin.</p>
<p>Just how many more "doors" will Duke open? Considering where you attended school only matters for entry level jobs, Rice can provide the same opportunities in its local area. Yes, if the OP wants to move far away from where he attended undergrad, a decision that not that many graduating students make, Duke may be a better choice. However, Houston is home to the second largest number of Fortune 500 companies, many of which recruit from Rice. What doors does Durham have that Houston doesn't?</p>
<p>Also, perhaps the OP wants to pursue medicine. We have already visited the statistics, and I think we can all agree that either university would prep you well for medical school. The Texas Medical Center is a huge factor however in terms of, like you said, "opening doors". </p>
<p>In the end, it's still up to the OP. We're just pointing out that Rice students are equally sociable, qualified, and outgoing (I'm assuming this is what the OP wanted when he stated that he felt more a fit at Duke since this is a common Duke stereotype).</p>
<p>
[quote]
For a lot of people, the notion of "prestige" trumps thousands of dollars.
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</p>
<p>I think it's which place the person likes better and feels more comfortable in. In another thread in this forum, people have turned down Ivy League schools such as Cornell, Columbia, and even Harvard for Rice. I don't think you can get more prestigious than that.</p>
<p>Not everyone is so prestige-seeking as you seem to be, I'm sorry. Prestige isn't EVERYTHING. </p>
<p>People actually choose to go to places they actually LIKE--wow, imagine that!</p>
<p>Let the OP speak for himself. </p>
<p>I used to be a prestige whore myself and thought what I really wanted was Duke, but then I came to Rice and felt its awesome atmosphere that I definitely clicked with. But to each his own.</p>
<p>I totally agree with hotasice. I was also a complete prestige-whore, but after the admissions game this year, I've found the university that truly fits me. I hope you find yours, OP. When you enter college, you'll realize that the name no longer matters. Everyone around you will be attending the same school, and after four years, you'll find that all the elite colleges send their hard-working graduates to great places.</p>
<p>A friend I met at Rice when I visited is turning down Harvard and Stanford for Rice. I don't necessarily think it's a bad decision, considering the financial benefits he gained (He didn't receive aid from either school).</p>
<p>thanks guys. i'm considering doing a PhD and probably not medicine so the Texas Medical Center will not be the most important factor although i know they do research there. does anyone know what colleges rice graduates go to for graduate studies?</p>
<p>Anywhere and everywhere... frankly though, if you're trying to keep up this brand name throwing, I refuse to perpetuate it. Lots of Rice grads go on to top grad schools, be it law, med, or business. </p>
<p>What's your point? You're having a difficult enough time trying to choose which UNDERGRAD school to go to, so why are you asking about grad schools?</p>
<p>One of the things I came away very impressed with during Owl Days was the huge emphasis on undergraduate research. Yes, I know, whenever "undergrad research" or even "research" is mentioned, people always think "oh, they're just talking about sciences" -- but Rice encourages research in alllll fields, from anthro to biochem to even engineering. </p>
<p>You say you're interested in majoring in biology but don't want to do medical research?</p>