Rice v. Penn State (Schreyers)

[Kohrok]

<p>So, I've been narrowing down my college selection, and I'm essentially down to these two. There are a lot of pros and cons to each, and I was wondering if any current or former students, their parents, or anyone else could inject some insight into my decision.</p>

<p>To begin with, I am not interested in partying - it's not my thing, and it doesn't play a role. For that matter, neither does FinAid - I've gotten offers and the three are relatively close in cost, close enough that it's a nonfactor.<br>
Finally, location doesn't matter either, which is always nice.</p>

<p>That being said, I'm currently interested in pursuing Computer Science, with a later deviation into Law later on.</p>

<p>The breakdown:</p>

<p>Rice:</p>

<p>Pros:
Great location in a city
Good size, not too big, nor too small
Strong endowment
Residential College system is great</p>

<p>Cons:
Texas University Gun law may pass, which would be bad
Residential College system leads to a lack of "Rice" spirit
Drinking is very big on campus (at least from my overnight, it seemed this way)
Lots of Asians (being Asian, this would seem like it's on the wrong list, but sometimes I feel like I don't fit in with kids that have really embraced their Asian heritage)
Students aren't really as engaged as I would expect in a T25 (I visited 2 300's and a 400 and was not impressed...)</p>

<p>Penn State Schreyer's Honors College</p>

<p>Pros:
Honors College at a giant university means great access to resources
Housing is separate, making it effectively separate from the main campus
Prestigious program with a powerful alumni network for post-collegiate work and experiences
School spirit is strong (almost a little out of control, to be honest, but it's not bad)</p>

<p>Cons:
The main campus is renowned for its parties, and it isn't actually a different school
Classes can be large, with professors less accessible
It doesn't have as much "Return" according to Businessweek's latest ROI calculator.
"Average" student is not as competitive as at Rice (Schreyer's students are, though)</p>

<p>I guess my real question is:
Should I go to Schreyer's, because the honors program will separate me enough from the "giant-university" feel to make it nice, while still including any and every activity and benefit I would want, or should I go to Rice, where things are smaller scale, but I'm in (arguably) a better location with more competitive individuals?</p>

<p>I really think that I can rise to the occasion, but I also don't want to end up going somewhere only to realize that my decision really won't be what's best for me in the end. I'm capable of being long-term focused, but at the same time I don't want to suffer for 4 years just to have a slight "edge" afterwards.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!
Feel free to PM me or reply.</p>

[classicalbk]

<p>Do you care about weather? Penn State gets cooooold up in those mountains, although the view is beautiful.</p>

[kp217]

<p>If cost isn’t a factor, Rice all the way. And don’t worry about partying at Rice - the administration is cracking down on the loose alcohol policy and even to begin with that’s only one aspect of the social scene - there are plenty of kids not interested in alcohol that you can find things to do with.</p>

[Kohrok]

<p>@ClassicalBk - Weather isn’t really a concern for me, but I agree with what you’re saying.</p>

<p>@Kp217 - The alcohol policy still seems to be “if we can’t see it, it’s not happening” which really worries me in terms of what could go wrong, especially with the Texas handgun policy that is being passed around the state legislature. I’m glad to know there are other things to do, but is most of the social scene limited to “in-house” events where each residential college hosts their own social scene?</p>

[chaosakita]

<p>lol you complain about Rice having too much partying but you want to go to Penn State? Sure, you won’t have to deal with the main campus all the time, but if anything, I’d say that even at Schreyers the partying will still be a big deal.</p>

<p>The Texas University gun law is a bad thing, but of all of the things to be concerned about, why that? You’re probably more in danger of being randomly mugged by some person walking around then being shot at in campus, especially Rice.</p>

<p>I doubt there’s anything at Penn State that you really couldn’t get at Rice. One thing you won’t get is the small size and intimacy you’d get at Rice.</p>

[ricegal]

<p>There are things not to like about Rice, but the things you listed aren’t any of them. There are lots of bright, engaged students there. I doubt the Asian presence is overwhelming - it’s in Texas after all. You will probably get more Texas culture than anything. I think the contrast between the two schools is in class size and professor accessibility, weather, and school spirit. Rice students are proud of Rice, but sports aren’t a big deal because the school is too small to have great sports teams. Baseball is an exception. Alcohol is at every school. At least at Rice, you have access to Houston which gives you more things to do off-campus. Also, the college system at Rice is one of the best things about it. You get to meet upper classmen right away, none of this “freshman only” dorm stuff. It’s also like a built-in frat system without all the dues and duties. Each college throws one party a year and students from the other colleges often attend. The inter college sports competitions are friendly and fun as well.</p>