Hi guys! I’m a female interested in econ/business & was wondering which college is the better option and has the best opportunities for getting jobs/internships: Rice or Vanderbilt. Thank you guys in advance!
Rice:
PROS:
- residential college system instead of Greek life (not interested in Greek life at all)
- I visited and like the student body vibe (can fit in)
- Houston > Nashville imo
- smaller class size
CONS:
- $10k/year more expensive than Vandy
- more known for engineering/med
- not sure if there’s many job recruitment on campus for econ/business
Vanderbilt:
PROS:
- more prestigious/well known? (I personally don’t care for prestige, but it might be a factor for employers?)
- cheaper than Rice & I won’t need to take out loans
- not as enginnering/med-focused as Rice
CONS:
- how much Greek life dominates the social scene
- more racial segregation
- not sure if I fit in as well as I do at Rice
Thanks so much guys! I really, really appreciate it 
- Vanderbilt and Rice are equally prestigious schools. Don't worry about that.
- Vanderbilt does not have traditional Greek life. Only a few people are allowed to live in the houses; the rest have to keep living in the dorms. They also delay rush to spring semester.
- I have no idea what you're talking about by racial segregation. I didn't see anything like that on my two visits. Could you please explain?
My suggestion is to avoid loans, unless you REALLY want to go to Rice. You could also appeal financial aid at Rice.
Both are prestigious and high ranked and should offer equal opportunities. You should pick one where you fit better. It’s not for a week or two but you’ll be part of that community for 4-5 years. That is if loan isn’t a huge deal and work, outside scholarship or family can cover some or most of it.
I would pick Vanderbilt, Nashville is just a great city for living and because of the lesser price tag. $40K is a substantial loan, bigger than your first car loan. It will accrue interest all 4 years at Rice, if its not a low income loan, so you are borrowing much more than $40K, add up the interest !
Vanderbilt has been known to recruit less African Americans, American Jewish students and Asian Americans, but they are trying to correct that. There is some cliques at Vanderbilt but they are breaking down.
Vanderbilt is a little larger than Rice which is socially healthy and you will find your tribe there.
Four year houses at Rice have pros and cons. I think its good for freshman but sometimes it
gets to be too quirky and competitive with other houses, a bit too much , actually frat like in some ways, although co ed, and maybe studious , just not always the best thing.
(I lived at at an east coast college with 4 year houses, and I eventually got tired of the “Harry Potter” nature
of 4 year houses, and moved off campus for a life ! ) Not sure you can escape the housing at Rice,though in Houston.
Vanderbilt econ graduates often land in Washington DC or Atlanta for work.
Whether or not sorority members live in a house or remain on campus still does not change the fact that slightly over 50% of females join a sorority at Vanderbilt University.
Ask Rice to match your Vanderbilt financial award.
You can’t go wrong with either choice. If Vanderbilt is less expensive and you can avoid loans, that seems to be the logical choice, especially if you plan to go on to grad school for an MBA, etc.
Houston and Nashville are both great cities. I attended Vandy for law school and live in Houston now. My daughter is a Rice student. I love both schools.
Rice has more of an undergrad focus. Vandy has more graduate students and has affiliated medical, law, and divinity schools etc. Rice has a graduate business school and some PhD programs, but most of the students on campus are undergrads. Rice is smaller than Vanderbilt. Vandy is in the SEC and has a more rah rah sports culture than Rice does. Rice is in a minor conference and the Rice students rarely attend the sporting events.The campuses of both schools are located in very nice parts of town. Nashville has the country music business while Houston is more energy focused. Both have beautiful campuses. Both cities have great shops, restaurants, sports teams and cultural events.
Vanderbilt has a strong Greek presence, but there are plenty of people that do not participate. They don’t rush until after the winter break. Even if you think it is not for you, you can decide whether you want to rush after getting a feel for the Greek system there.
Vanderbilt is moving towards a residential commons system. Rice has the residential colleges system and ranks very high for race/class interaction. Vandy may be more preppy and traditional southern vibe. Rice has a happy nerd vibe. There are lots of STEM majors at Rice, but many students major in Econ or pair a business minor with another major. Both schools get high ratings every year for happiest students.
There are many threads on CC comparing the two. See this as an example. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2134562-rice-vs-vanderbilt-vs-tufts.html
@albertsax Thanks so much for your feedback! What I meant by racial segregation is that I’ve heard a lot of stories (from my friends at Vandy & online) that a lot of ethnic groups tend to group together in friend groups instead of mixing with other races. I don’t think it’s intentional; because there aren’t THAT many minorities at Vandy compared to other schools (in terms of race, money, class, etc.), they feel more comfortable with one another. The “segregation” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but just isn’t for me I think.
@Coloradomama Quote
“Four year houses at Rice have pros and cons. I think its good for freshman but sometimes it
gets to be too quirky and competitive with other houses, a bit too much , actually frat like in some ways, although co ed, and maybe studious , just not always the best thing.
I lived at at an east coast college with 4 year houses, and I eventually got tired of the “Harry Potter” nature
of 4 year houses, and moved off campus for a life ! )“
It sounds like your housing system was not a good set up. Rice’s residential colleges are completely different than what you encountered. There must be some who doesn’t like it but they are free to move in nice/cheap housing right off campus, housing on campus is always in very high demand as almost everyone loves living there.
Houston is a less “southern” and much more cosmopolitan city than Nashville (very large, very culturally diverse, ground zero of the global energy industry, etc.). This contrast is reflected to some extent in the differences between Rice and Vanderbilt. The latter is preppier and frattier, which is perhaps to be expected of a traditional “old money” school that is part of the SEC.
From what the OP has written above, Rice sounds like a better social fit. Moreover, the campus is beautiful (my daughter much preferred it to Vandy) and is located in a very nice area of Houston (low crime, pleasant tree-lined streets, the student-focused eateries of Rice Village located nearby, walking distance to Hermann Park and museums, etc.). The residential college system is truly inclusive, and even people who were to some extent outsiders in high school quickly make friends and find a “niche.”
The econ program at Rice has undergone a multi-year upgrade. It is an increasingly popular major, and it sets students up for post-graduation jobs in a variety of fields. Major investment banks, management consulting firms, and energy companies all recruit heavily at Rice, and the econ major provides an ideal entrée into such positions. My daughter, who is about to graduate from Rice, began as a humanities major, but she was so impressed by her intro econ courses that she ended up becoming an econ major. She was equipped to secure a solid internship after her junior year, and that led to an offer for a full-time job after graduation.
The moral of the story is that Rice offers an excellent quality of life (that is in no sense dominated by a STEM/pre-med vibe) and that its econ program opens doors to excellent career opportunities. However, Vanderbilt–as the larger school, and as an SEC school with big-time sports–has a higher national profile among the general public (though not among graduate schools and top-tier employers). If that element is important to you, then you should factor it into your equation. Otherwise, and assuming that the price differential is not prohibitive for your family, you have no need to second-guess yourself about following your heart and choosing Rice over Vandy. Good luck!
@Rversider It was MIT’s 4 year housing system. Its got its flaws in my opinion, to put freshman in with upper classmen. The reason most universities do not use 4 year housing systems is that freshman bond better to their class when grouped together. I realize that Rice is a little smaller than MIT and different though. MIT has sororities, fraternities and mostly co ed dorms that behave a little like Greek houses, although some are studious. The "personality " of 4 year houses can take over a student’s life in a very negative way. Its not always positive. MIT had to close down Senior Haus as the culture went out of control over time. Also alumni of these houses stay over involved in my opinion. Its not good for young students, in my opinion. Vanilla dorms work better. I have heard complaints about Caltech’s 4 year houses as well. It just develops a life of its own and not good!
I agree with what @MrSamford2014 has said above. My daughter chose Rice over a less expensive school because she felt it was a better fit. However, she did not have to take out loans to attend Rice. She did not want Greek life either. She has been very happy at Rice. Perhaps Rice will come close to Vanderbilt’s cost of attendance if you ask financial aid to take another look. Rice is usually a bit less expensive than its peer schools–unless you got merit aid at Vandy and none at Rice.
I’m afraid I must disagree with @Coloradomama on the merits of a residential college system that mixes freshmen with upperclassmen. While all-freshmen dorms might well encourage some degree of class solidarity, my daughter at Rice has actually had closer friendships with people in the classes directly above and below her than she has with those in her own year. Moreover, having ready access to the insights of upperclassmen was a great help to her in negotiating course selection and other aspects of university life during her freshmen and sophomore years.
Finally, Rice’s distinctive implementation of the residential college is deeply shaped by the O-Week experience, which does a wonderful job of immersing incoming freshmen into the ongoing life of their respective colleges while at the same time establishing a long-lasting esprit de corps among members of their particular O-Week groups.
Rice alumni describe it as Montessori experience vs regular kindergarten and found it more beneficial than grouping by the year and as suit-mates are from your own year, you still have freshman bonding. As residential colleges are on campus and have faculty magister and residents living there for supervision, it’s probably different than what you experienced at off campus Greek houses run by the alumni.