Rice vs. Duke vs. Penn vs. WashU vs. NW vs. UChicago

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Hey, please help me decide which seems like the best fit for me. I know that I should visit these schools, but the truth is that I can't visit * all * of these schools. Anyways, please tell me which seems like the best fit for me and why. Also, if any of these schools seems completely wrong for me, please let me know as well. Here is what I'm looking for:</p>

<p>** Strong Pre-Medical Program: ** great advising programs that can show me places for internships, research, etc.; great science classes/teachers that can really prepare me well for the MCAT's</p>

<p>** Competitive, but Not * Too * Competitive: ** i would definitely like to have super bright people around me that can push me to my best, but i don't want people to be cutthroat; somewhat laid-back atmosphere where people help each other out; i don't want grade inflation necessarily, but i don't want a school where there is tons of grade * deflation *</p>

<p>** Nice Surrounding City: ** i know that i won't leave campus every single weekend and go out, but i want the possibility to go out to a great city... it doesn't have to be a * big * city, but i want to be surrounded with numerous opportunities to experience things like sports, great restaurants, and maybe even a museum or a broadway show every once in a while</p>

<p>** Pretty Good Social Life: ** i'll be honest... i'm not the biggest party man. however, i really like hanging out with friends, but i don't want to have to go to hardcore parties every weekend in order to have fun. i'd like to have social places where i can simply relax and chill with friends</p>

2

<p>Well I can’t say much about the other schools, though I’m assuming you posted this in other forums as well. At any rate, here is my take on those factors as they pertain to Rice:</p>

<p>Pre-Med: A LOT of people are pre-med at Rice, and it seems that it biology/chemistry classes and departments are really strong here (particularly bionanotech). Additionally, you have the benefit of the Texas Medical Center, which iirc is the largest in the US, and thus there’s lots of research opportunities.</p>

<p>Competition: At any top 20 school you will find a concentration of really smart people, and this is no different at Rice. I can assure you that students here are pretty brilliant, and you will be pushed to do your best. Having said that, Rice has an atmosphere of collaboration rather than competition. I’ve always been able to find people to study with, and classes are not cutthroat at all (at least none that i’ve taken).</p>

<p>Houston: Houston is a great city, and there’s some pretty cool stuff to do here. Having said that, people tend to really stay on campus, particularly since it’s pretty hard to get around the city without a car (lots of people have cars on campus, so you will most likely make friends with one of these people, so this is not as bad as it sounds), and since, well, there’s a lot going on on campus! Rice really encourages people to explore Houston, and like I said there’s a lot to do in town.</p>

<p>Social Life: This is one of the things I like best at Rice; there’s really something for everyone. Whether you are a heavy drinker/partier, nerd, teetotaler, or none of the above, you will meet interesting and smart people that you will have something in common with. So yeah, you can go to parties and see if you like that, and if not there’s definitely a very significant non-partying population that you can hang out with.</p>

<p>Sorry if that was rambling, but I hope that helps! You definitely have a lot of good options, and I hope you will seriously consider Rice! Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or concerns.</p>

3

<p>thanks. that was super helpful.</p>

4

<p>I’d just like to add one thing about doing things off campus. My daughter (a junior without a car) seems to do a lot of things off campus. For one thing, there seem to always be free tickets available for things downtown. (Last week, she went to see the Opera do “Dead Man Walking”). She’s seen a lot of dance performances and symphony performances, and been to restaurants downtown, too. And, you can do all of those things via the light rail. No need for a car. It’s also true that lots of students do have cars, which is helpful for getting to things the light rail doesn’t get you to.</p>

5

<p>Obviously, you list of colleges includes only pretty solid colleges … ^^ academically, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them!</p>

<p>One detail my son always looked at is the weather (he runs quite competitively) - therefore, Northwestern/Chicago & Penn were not on his hit-list … Duke & Rice actually were … </p>

<p>I don’t want to downtalk Duke, but I just don’t think you can compare Durham to Houston or any of the other cities that you’ve mentioned. </p>

<p>I am convinced that all the schools you listed are competitive - that’s why they’re on the top of all the lists in the first place!! Rest assured that you’ll be working enough at either one of these schools! Whether it’s ‘cutthroat’ or not, I believe, is to a large extent depending on you!
My son is at Georgia Tech, which, I believe, does not have the best reputation regarding ‘competition’ - but what I hear from him is quite different! It all depends what kind of friends you have and how willing you are to work in a team and also ‘give’. </p>

<p>Good luck in your decision - you are in a very lucky position if this is your true list of colleges! You must have quite good grades (Congratulations!) and seem to be financially pretty independent (lucky you!) - enjoy that you have a tough choice!</p>

6

<p>Hogwarts,</p>

<p>Did you drop Stanford?</p>

7

<p>CoolRunning,</p>

<p>No not at all. I just am trying to look at the more “realistic” schools closer. I’ll still definitely shoot for Stanford though!</p>

8

<p>Visit Rice. When you do, private message me your details and I’ll personally make sure you have a fantastic host. </p>

<p>All those schools are great. Some match your interests and needs more than others, but you should try to experience first hand. I implore you to take advantage of our overnight hosting program, and attempt to visit during the school year.</p>

<p>Clarification: This isn’t entirely clear–when I say I’ll make sure you have a fantastic host, what I mean is that I’m involved with matching prospectives to hosts, and I will talk with you beforehand and make sure you get someone who matches you as perfectly as can be attained, or host you myself if you’d like.</p>

9

<p>My suggestion is go to College of Wooster and get a degree there and it doesn’t have to be Pre-Med. A minor or a degree in Business would be helpful for doctors. Also, you should be able to get an outstanding scholarship there, which will save you money over the long run and then apply to one of these schools for medical school. Wooster has an exceptional program for Pre-Med and they all get accepted to medical school. They are highly sought after by the medical schools and you will not have to worry about being in a highly competitive environment. Usually Wooster’s medical students are better prepared and smarter than the Ivy league students for medical school because of the way Wooster teaches. You ought to read Loren Pope’s, who is a Harvard graduate, College that changes lives - 40 schools and you will see why. Good Luck!</p>

10

<p>If you really are “Hogwartshopeful”, Rice is basically Hogwarts. You’re sorted into a college, these colleges have distinct personalities, there is intercollege friendly competition, and there are owls everywhere.</p>

11

<p>oh man durham is the most boring city i’ve ever passed through</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>Yeah, but no magic, no castle, no snow.</p>

13

<p>Castle/Snow untrue. Magic debatable.</p>

14

<p>Lovett is more of a fortress than a castle</p>

15

<p>My good friend demonsword55 has got it spot on ;)</p>

16

<p>yeah that was very helpful. thanks!</p>