Rice vs Duke vs UPenn Pre-Med

I am deciding between rice, duke, and upenn with a major in neuroscience. I want to do pre-med. I have not got scholarships in any but rice is slightly cheaper. My secondary interests are in economics, which I want to explore in college, but pre med is still my main goal. I am from texas, so Rice will be in the state for me, but I am fine with going out of state. Which will provide me a balance of a college experience and still provide me good research and pre-med opportunities? Also, which is more challenging for pre-med and which is known to be more collaborative rather than competitive? Are the stereotypes of Rice being less social and not having as great a college experience due to lack of sports true?

Rice is about 40k cheaper over 4 years

U Penn pre-med will be quite competitive. Duke also. But, if you decide against pre-med, then Penn & Duke become very attractive.

Based on the very limited information posted, Rice is probably the best option dur to its lower COA.

But it takes guts to turn down Penn & Duke.

Can you afford each of them without loans?

Which would you choose if you weren’t doing pre-med? Note that most people who go in as pre-med end up dropping it.

Rice has all those hospitals within walking distance. Plenty of opps to do volunteering, maybe some Scribing, etc.

How badly do you want to become a doctor?

I can really only speak for Rice itself, but I think you’ll be given many opportunities related to pre-med therein. I think at one point, around 90% of med school applicants from Rice were accepted into med school, compared to around 45% nation wide. Honestly, though, I don’t think it’ll matter which school you pick out of those three options if you’re thinking just of getting into med school.

As someone mentioned, Rice has many hospitals basically in their backyard. The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world, and there are plenty of opportunities there for research, volunteering, shadowing, etc. Also, Rice offers emergency medical technician (EMT) courses and has a student emergency medical services (EMS) organization, in which you basically serve on an emergency response team for health-related campus incidents. I’m sure that would look good on your med school application.

I can’t really speak for how challenging Rice is compared to Duke/UPenn, but given the names of the schools, I think you’ll find all of the schools quite challenging. I think in general, most pre-med classes are meant to be challenging to prepare you for med school courses and “weed out” those who may not be heavily considering or are not as suited for medicine. I do think Rice has a pretty collaborative population, though, as the general student population is laid back and friendly, and perhaps a bit more passive than others at similarly ranked universities.

As for the social atmosphere, the renowned residential college system does a great job of enabling many students to meet one another to provide a foundation for a social life. I wouldn’t say Rice students are necessarily less social, but I do think there may not be as many extroverted students as, say, a typical state school. Additionally, you are correct that there is less school spirit in terms of sports, especially compared to Duke. I think the social atmosphere at Rice is more similar to a summer camp, if you wanted something a bit more concrete to which you can compare. Some people like that, but it’s definitely not for everyone. So do keep that in mind when you make your decision.

One final comment is in regards to your secondary interest of economics. Rice’s curriculum for each major has it such that you have to take courses (or receive AP credit) that are outside of your field of study. In your case, neuroscience is in the natural science category and economics is in the social sciences category. So you can take neuroscience classes and economics classes concurrently while satisfying required courses for both respective curriculums. As such, you can select either neuroscience or economics as your major based on the classes you took for each field, without having to to worry about falling behind in your coursework. On the other hand, if you don’t like the fact that you are forced to take multiple classes outside of your field of study, then this is a downside to consider as you make your final decision.

You really can’t go wrong. I don’t know much about Rice but I can speak to Duke and Penn.

If you want a more traditional college experience (sports etc.), you should pick Duke. If you want to live in a major city, Penn is a better option. Both schools have outstanding facilities. Both have excellent reputations.

If I had to pick, I’d take Duke for undergrad and Penn for medical school.

If I was not doing pre med I would choose duke, it is excellent in every major and gives a good school experience

Cannot speak for Penn, but my son had to decide between Duke and Rice. On his visits and speaking with students who went there he felt like the Rice student body was more unified overall (okay, with the exception of the sports fan base!) and he really liked the diversity. With very little graduate student programs at Rice, the focus is truly on the undergraduate experience. He ended up choosing Rice and he never looked back. He has loved his experience and made many lifelong friends. He was part of a shadowing program at the Texas Medical Center one semester, and although coursework was challenging he felt the students were very collaborative and supportive of each other. If you are really thinking pre-med for yourself, Rice would certainly be a great choice. But ultimately, you have to go with where you feel the best fit is for you – all three are great choices. It’s a great “problem” to have – good luck with your decision!

@ashnashah31 Rice is $40K cheeper but when you add travel expenses it’s probably $50k cheaper. It’s diverse, collaborative, undergrad focused and offers great pre-medical opportunities. It makes most sense for you.

From what I’ve noticed during my three visits and heard from others, it’s extremely social and inclusive. Only difference is socialization revolving around residential colleges and common interests not Greek life or raw raw athletics.

@ashnashah31 Agreed! The only other elite school that has a similar combination of academics, athletics, and great weather is Stanford (arguably the greatest university in the world at the moment).

@ashnashah31 Whichever school you chose will be lucky to have you. What did you decide?