<p>I've been accepted to both, and they are my 2 top choices right now. After all the scholarships and grants, Rice ends up costing about $3000-4000 more than UT Austin per year. My parents really want me to go to Rice because it is such a great academic school at probably the lowest cost compared to all the other top-tier schools. Plus I'll be majoring in Biochem, and Rice has an amazing science department. But the problem is that after having visited both schools last year, I was really attracted to UT, but I really didn't find Rice appealing at all. Maybe it's because I toured it after UT, but Rice felt very small and I just felt like I wouldn't enjoy spending 4 yrs of my life there. So bascially...my heart is telling me to go to UT Austin, but every other factor is in Rice's favor.</p>
<p>Maybe you should revisit Rice. My daughter is a Rice grad and her college experience was incredible in every way. We were actually a lot more impressed with Rice than we were with the Ivy which our son attended. However, if you really want a large school experience, major sports etc., UT would be a better fit. I would look at Rice again, though, because I feel you would be passing up an incredible opportunity. The medical complex offers research opportunities, too.</p>
<p>Were you accepted into the science honors program or Plan II at UT? If so, I’d say U.T. would offer you the same academic environment as Rice. Furthermore, if you live in TX you already know, the networking opportunities availed to UT grads (assuming they stay) are uncomparable.</p>
<p>Definitely Rice… greater reputation… better in academics… and one of the best national educational institutions…</p>
<p>^ It’s interesting how people say Rice is better than UT in “academics” when almost every academic dept. at UT is ranked higher. Not to mention UT has more highly ranked academic depts to begin with. I think what they intend to say is Rice perhaps provides a better undergraduate experience due to its smaller size and ability to be more selective. Rice is certainly an excellent university, but it’s just not honest to say it’s better “academically”, when academic measures show otherwise. The argument isnt even consistent unless you agree Rice is also “academically” stronger than other public research powerhouses like Berkeley and Michigan. That’s a different argument if so.</p>
<p>Academics goes beyond rankings.</p>
<p>Rice. Undergrad focus gives YOU a shot at whatever cool research is happening. You’ll have a more academically inclined peer group. Rice may be smaller, but you can’t know all the people in Rice anyway, so it doesn’t matter that there are more at UT.</p>
<p>UTexas’ drawing power is concentrated in Texas. Rice is a school with a national reputation. I would say Rice in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>go to owl days! i got accepted at both also. i’ve been to UT a BUNCH of times, and was pretty against the idea of going to rice, but now that i’ve gotten in to rice my parents wont pay for me to go to UT… which quite honestly, is just a waste of their money, but whatevs. i’ve been looking up stuff about rice, and am getting pretty pumped for it
idk, the catch for me with UT was the social scene, but i guess im okay with what rice has to offer too…</p>
<p>go to owl days! i got accepted at both also. i’ve been to UT a BUNCH of times, and was pretty against the idea of going to rice, but now that i’ve gotten in to rice my parents wont pay for me to go to UT… which quite honestly, is just a waste of their money, but whatevs. i’ve been looking up stuff about rice, and am getting pretty pumped for it
idk, the catch for me with UT was the social scene, but i guess im okay with what rice has to offer too…</p>
<p>Go with where you feel comfortable. Smaller schools are not for everyone.</p>
<p>UT</p>
<p>Agree, go where you feel more comfortable. I picked Rice over UT along time ago and to be honest, either would have been fine. Rice was beautiful and I learned a lot. UT would have been cheaper and I am sure I would have done the same. </p>
<p>This is your decision. Follow your heart.</p>
<p>Visiting again can’t hurt but your “first impression” probably isn’t going to change much. Rice isn’t for everybody nor is UT Austin for that matter. Since they have such a different feel, the decision won’t be that difficult to make. Go where you think you will be happiest. I’m sure that’s also what your parents would want as well. Good luck!</p>
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<p>Which academic measures? I suspect you are thinking of graduate department rankings. I would not completely ignore them if you have a clear idea of your likely major, but they are not necessarily the best indicators of undergraduate academic quality. Consider the old NRC-95 rankings of graduate departments. The top 10 institutions, by number of rated programs, included Wisconsin, TOSU, Texas, Washington, Illinois and Minnesota. Does that really mean that all these schools were better academically for undergraduates than Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or MIT (all ranked outside the top 25 by this measure)?</p>
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<p>I think one can make a consistent argument that the undergraduate learning environment at Rice has advantages over even the best state flagships. Compare average class sizes. Compare the caliber of undergraduate students. Compare student outcomes such as PhDs per capita. Compare resources as indicated by endowment per student. Compare FT faculty salaries. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size-4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/708190-avg-class-size-4.html</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/687793-selectivity-ranking-national-us-lacs-combined-usnews-method.html[/url](%5Burl=http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf08311/]nsf.gov”>Selectivity Ranking: National Us & LACs combined, USNEWS ~method - College Search & Selection - College Confidential Forums(nsf.gov</a> - NCSES Baccalaureate Origins of S&E Doctorate Recipients - US National Science Foundation (NSF))
[List</a> of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment]List”>List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia)
[College</a> Rankings - Top 500 Ranked Universities for Highest FT Faculty Salaries](<a href=“USA University College Directory - U.S. University Directory - State Universities and College Rankings”>Top 500 Ranked Colleges - Highest Full-Time Faculty Salaries)</p>
<p>I disagree about first impressions not changing. This forum is full of stories about how a re-visit completely showed a different side of a school. I know my own daughter became completely sold on Rice (it was already very high on her list) when she went for her audition trip. The OP is in-state. There is probably no reason why he shouldn’t go visit Rice again.</p>
<p>Mom, what I meant about OP’s “first impression” probably not changing much was that the OP said “Rice felt very small”. My S also thought it felt small, when we visited, and having a small student body of 3,500 undergrads doesn’t appeal to everyone.</p>
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I certainly would find this to be true and I’m surprised you would find it unlikely that there are many people who consider Rice to be academically stronger than public flagships. </p>
<p>You don’t have to agree with the statement that Rice is academically stronger, but you should acknowledge there are certainly a lot, a lot of people who would think it is.</p>
<p>In my career I have had many colleagues from both Rice and UT and both groups have had successful careers and seem to have loved their college experiences. I think it is worthwhile to take a day and revisit Rice, but you can get a great education and a happy life having gone to either. At the end of the day I think you should go where you think you will be happiest.</p>
<p>at just 4K per year more - i gotta go with Rice. If it was 8 or 10 K more than UT, but its not that much more and if mom and dad are on board and can afford it 16K is completely worth it.</p>
<p>You will get a great education and will find a bright and motivated peer group at either school. But since Rice and UT are such different schools in so many ways, I second the recommendation to revisit Rice as well as UT if possible to help make your final decision. </p>
<p>If you do end up majoring in biochem, one advantage that Rice may have over UT is the proximity to the Texas Medical Center, with many opportunities for student research experiences, internships, etc. If you visit Rice again, you may want to inquire about this.</p>