Rice University or UC Berkeley?? [WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE]??Help!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Strange comparison, i know.
I don't mean to sound presumptuous, but if it came down to it that I happened to be accepted to both schools, which do you think would be the best choice?? which would i be happier at? i'm a kinda optimistic person who likes to have fun and also be good at school.</p>

<p>Berkeley-
Pro:
--I love the feel of California and plus, once my parents are settled there for 1 year, i would get in-state tuition
--Great, well-known name, great departments
--Good sciences and math</p>

<p>Cons:
--when i visited, i didn't LOVE it.
--Northern California is still kinda cold.
--Budget problems in UC system
--hippies? hahaa idk</p>

<p>Rice U:
Pro:
--GORGEOUS campus and spanish architecture
-welcoming student body, kinda quirky, #1 happiest students & best quality of life!!
--warm weather (though i hear August is unbearably humid)
--Houston is a lively city
--good for engineering and math
--#17</p>

<p>Con:
--IDK how much financial aid i'll be getting--i hear Rice is good for FA, but who knows?
Family income ~120 K
--extreme heat</p>

<p>What do you think i should go for? i'll probably want to study civil/mechanical Engineering, or law or Econ</p>

2

<p>Without considering tuition, I would choose Rice in a second. Berkeley is obviously an amazing school, but you can’t ignore the budget issues. Rice is MUCH smaller so it kind of depends on what size you’re looking for as well. If you would be paying in-state tuition at Berkeley and don’t receive enough aid at Rice, then go with Berkeley.</p>

3

<p>Rice is in Texas, nuff said.</p>

4

<p>What sllamas1 said.</p>

5

<p>Go with Rice</p>

6

<p>It depends what do you want to study. I attend Berkeley so I’m biased towards it, but I think it’s safe to say every major in Berkeley is top-notch and well-respected so whatever you want to study, you’ll be studying under a strong program.</p>

<p>If you are not sure what you want to major or have any second thoughts about it, Berkeley won’t disappoint you since we have so many departments.
If you are pre-med, don’t come here though.</p>

<p>If you like to watch some football/basketball games, I have to mention the Rice Owls kinda suck lol.</p>

7

<p>Which major did you apply for at Berkeley? If mechanical engineering, be sure to apply for the full-ride [Drake</a> Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.me.berkeley.edu/StudentAffairs/ProspectiveStudents/Undergraduate/Drake.html]Drake”>http://www.me.berkeley.edu/StudentAffairs/ProspectiveStudents/Undergraduate/Drake.html). Note that changing majors to an engineering major at Berkeley requires applying to do so with a sufficiently high GPA.</p>

<p>You can try the financial aid estimators on each school’s web site, though you won’t know for sure if you are accepted and what the aid offers are until later.</p>

<p>You can do pre-law from any major, including engineering or economics.</p>

<p>Berkeley is highly regarded in all of the majors you list; you may want to check what Rice’s major-specific reputations are.</p>

8

<p>Many years ago, my husband’s sister (from New Jersey) went to Rice on a scholarship. She met a Texan student and married him, then got stuck living in Texas for many miserable years until they finally divorced. Her motto is “Don’t go to school in a state that you couldn’t stand to live in one day.” No offense but Houston is a godforsaken place in my opinion. Go bears.</p>

9

<p>For engineering, Berkeley is king, though Rice is somewhat good at it too. But certainly not on Berkeley’s league. </p>

<p>Rice has a nice campus. But it isn’t jaw dropping. The classrooms are just like an ordinary classrooms that you can see at many State U’s. And, I’d like to object that Rice’s students are friendly. That is not the experience my friends had at Rice. In fact, one left to transfer back to a college in Colorado because he felt Rice’s student body is general cold. </p>

<p>In terms of employment prospect for civil / mechanical engineering, Rice cannot compete with Berkeley. The big engineering firms visit Berkeley regularly to recruit talents. If you’re considering on working in a BB as an IBker, a Berkeley degree can provide you that as well. A Rice degree would be extremely hard to get you into BB. BBs don’t go to Rice to recruit talents, something that they do at Berkeley or other top schools. Many engineering grads at Berkeley also end up doing further studies at top universities such as MIT, Stanford and Berkeley. </p>

<p>I’d definitely go for Berkeley over Rice.</p>

10

<p>Berkeley for sure.</p>

11

<p>Rice because Berkeley is unbearably expensive. Rice because you would be a student at Rice and not just a number. Rice because cost of living in Houston as opposed to San Fran. is wonderful. Rice because Texas is a nice place to live, you just have to find the right parts. For example, Dallas blows, but Fort Worth is amazing.</p>

12

<p>“Don’t go to school in a state that you couldn’t stand to live in one day.”
I agree :)</p>

13

<p>In fairness to Rice, Dallas isn’t all that bad. I’ve been there twice in the past and it was okay. Of course, it was nothing like the Bay Area. </p>

<p>Bar location, it’s Berkeley, in a heartbeat. It’s world famous and has good ties with recruiters from the biggest and most progressive companies, may that be banking, finance or engineering firm, across America. For example, I know Goldman Sachs does not recruit at Rice, something that they do at Berkeley on a regular basis.</p>

14

<p>The choice is obvious–Berkeley, and here’s why:
It’s not that cold; it gets better in the Spring.
Their math and science programs are incredible. How many elements have been discovered at Rice? 0. How about at Berkeley? 16!
I know that Rice students are supposedly the happiest in the nation, but I’ve never met someone who went to Berkeley who didn’t love it.</p>

15

<p>By the way RML, Rice isn’t in Dallas, it’s in Houston.</p>

16

<p>I’m a Texan and know a couple people who go to Rice. They are brilliant. On the other hand my cousin goes to Cal. He’ll win a noble prize. I think Cal is the better option personally, but I don’t really have any real justification, it’s just a bias.</p>

17

<p>Go to Rice.</p>

18

<p>If this matters to you, its my sense that Berkeley has a better reputation internationally than it does in the US. For instance, when including all universities in the world, Times Higher Education ranks it 10th, QS ranks it 21st, and ARWU ranks it 2nd. By comparison, USNWR (including only US colleges) ranks Berkeley 21st. By comparison, Rice is ranked 72nd, 117th, 99th, and 17th, respectively.</p>

<p>I know of all the issues with ranking methodologies, but it’s an interesting comparison nonetheless, and one supported by my anecdotal conversations with international students.</p>

<p>You shouldn’t make a university decision on rankings–both Rice and Cal are great–but they’re worth considering (and especially the disparity between international and US prestige).</p>

19

<p>I would choose Berkeley probably because: </p>

<p>1) it’s more well known around the world</p>

<p>2) you’ll get an overall better education, and by this I mean Berkeley is very well-rounded in its academics, from engineering to science, to liberal arts and law, to math and don’t forget, one of the few universities right now to have its own program for biotech research</p>

<p>3) if you ever want to be part of a movement, Berkeley’s the place to be, probably what you mean by hippie. An open campus. everybody speaks, and it’s a powerful presence</p>

<p>4) One of the top-tier research universities in the world. If anything is to be discovered, it’ll come out of Berkeley. (rice is also one of the top, but frankly, not a whole lot have been published from them)</p>

<p>5) Nobel prizes, anyone?</p>

<p>Now, Berkeley is really cutthroat. It isn’t like Harvard where people come and GIVE you opportunities. Here at Berkeley, you’ve got to FIND your own internship, you’ve got to find your own job and other positions. You’re going to be 100x more independent than you are at a private institution.
I would say this is both good and bad.</p>

<p>Honestly, I’d say Berkeley overall prepares you for real-life better, in that it treats you like $H*T, but teaches you how to be independent. So if you do choose Berkeley, prepare for an a$$-whooping (I guess if you’re a science/engineering major), but the benefits are great.</p>

<p>EDIT: ALSO c’monnn the weather isn’t thaaattt bad (coming from a Norcal person). You’ll get used to its bipolar nature…ok fine, you won’t cuz even I haven’t. But if weather is your main concern, go to Hawaii.</p>

<p>AND I know there have been HUGE budget crises going on here, but that’s one of the reasons for being at Berkeley. Be part of something.
And if you’re middle class…here’s a little bit of news
<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/medina-berkeley/[/url]”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/medina-berkeley/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Just came out last week, but this will help drastically.</p>