Hey y’all!
I need help making a decision. I am a transfer student who applied to BU and Rice and was recently accepted to both. I’m coming from Bowdoin College, a small liberal arts school in Maine. While I loved the small school setting and easy access to professors, I wasn’t happy at all. I’m looking for a larger school located in a more urban setting. For me, it’s especially important that classes remain small and that I can still form interpersonal connections with other students and professors.
I applied as an English major and my plans post-graduation include either law school or graduate school. I want to attend a school that will challenge me academically like Bowdoin did.
When it comes to cost, BU is far more expensive. $17,000 out-of-pocket vs $2,500 for Rice.
What are your thoughts?
Boston University isn’t remotely competitive with Rice academically (#40 versus #17 in the latest rankings) but BU does have a much larger student population than Rice, which you indicate is an important consideration for you. Interpersonal connections would not be an issue at either institution.
Dude this is crazy, I am also deciding between BU and Rice to transfer too. I believe Rice is a far more prestigious school than BU. The caliber of students that attend Rice is definitely higher than BU (based on SAT percentiles). Since you mentioned that you plan on going to graduate school, I strongly believe that Rice is a better pathway and looks better on applications for top Grad Schools. Also, Rice is the best university in Texas, while BU has MIT and Harvard right across the river constantly shaming them. I know that BU has a bigger social scene and bigger classes than Rice, which leads to a broader network, but I believe that Rice’s residential college system helps the students feel happy and a sense of belonging. I was accepted first to BU and was already getting excited about the city, which will be hard to give up, but I definitely cannot turn down Rice over BU.
Go to Rice and save money for law/grad school. Law school is expensive. If you can come out of undergrad/law school/grad school without debt you should try to do so. Rice is a top rated school and checks off all of your boxes. Rice is located in a great part of Houston near the museums, parks, shopping, restaurants, etc. It is in the mid 70’s in Houston right now versus a snowstorm in Boston. You will have small classes and easy access to the professors at Rice. The English department is excellent. You will be placed into a residential college which will make it easy to assimilate as a transfer. You will certainly be academically challenged at Rice,
if they were the same price I would say go to the one you like even though Rice has the edge in rankings. BU grads do just fine. But since Rice is cheaper I don’t see how you can pass that up.
City-wise, I suspect BU students take more advantage of Boston than Rice students do of Houston, but Houston is a big city and it’s accessible.