Hey guys, I’m a junior and i was wondering if i could get input on these schools. I need to decide a top 3 from these because my dad said we can only go visit 3 of these schools. I want to have a top 3 that i can eliminate to a #1 that i can potentially ED to. I’m leaning on applying to Stanford EA but i feel like i have a better shot at these schools applying ED. I will be applying to all these schools regardless i just need find an ED school that i truly love and know where i will be happiest at. So which school will prepare me for Med School and the MCAT the most? Which school is easiest to get at least a 3.7 at? School with most grade inflation? Which one gives lots of research opportunities? Which one will help me get into a top 25 medical school? I’m undecided on my major but i like HUM BIO at Stanford but i’m not 100% sure yet on the other schools, maybe Biology. At which school will be able to have the true college experience with the rigors of pre med? At which school can i party, go to sporting events, and attend other social and school functions in my free time? I don’t want to join a frat but i still wanna be able to party once a week. Will i be able to have free time on weekends at these schools? Which school is the most collaborative because i HATE competition between students. My plan in college is to “work hard, play hard” as you can tell lol. Thanks to all those that give me input because i will have to decide my top 3 by the end of April so i can make those college visits and decide my favorite school. i will be posting this on other forums
I forgot to go back and check my grammar…shoot…
I’m going to pull up a chair an watch this one…
On review this is a doozy of an answer, but you asked for it 
So to start off, I’d really recommend searching past posts on the subject of premed program comparisons. I’ve been answering questions on the Rice threads for a couple years now and this question gets asked a couple times a year. Fair warning: people usually ask the same question on every college’s page (not sure if you did or not) and from the few times I’ve looked at the other college pages, the answer tends to be skewed in favor of the college whose community is responding.
Now I can’t really speak to competitiveness in terms of med school because I’m not premed. Rice is a good premed program and is near a big med center, but that’s really all I know as a CS student. I think there is grade inflation and I think there are a lot of research opportunities, but you should treat that as speculation. Hopefully someone else who knows can pitch in and help out. As for the things I CAN answer:
I don’t know what you mean by the “true college experience,” so if you want more info after this goliath response then just reply with a clarification! But you’ll certainly get to experience “the rigors of premed”
Partying at Rice is a lot different than at the other schools. We don’t have frats, so large public parties are organized by residential colleges. Alcohol is served to non-minors, and additional drinking usually goes on in more private spaces surrounding the larger party (usually there’s a floor at the college that has a tendency for partying that kind of throws a secondary party or something). Casual drinking and partying happens with friends from your college or sometimes other colleges, but that’s more individual to the person/floor.
Sporting events aren’t very popular. The athletic department is doing a push right now to make them popular, and there’s definitely a crowd that goes to games so you won’t be going alone, but the atmosphere is probably not like the one at some of the other schools. Honestly I don’t follow sports so I don’t know what the other schools are like either.
TONS of school functions. Rice has almost no off-campus life, but a vibrant on-campus life. Tons of events both on the university level and the residential college level. All the partying to speak of and all the fun social university events are happening on campus, which I personally really like.
Yeah I don’t think that should be a problem. Like if you work hard and have good time management then letting loose Friday/Saturday nights shouldn’t be a problem. Thursday night drinking is more of a big-time partiers activity though, and honestly I consider anyone who’s getting drunk more than once a week to be a bit of a heavyweight as someone who rarely drinks.
I saw another post talking about Rice’s reputation as a party school, and I think that’s extremely misguided. Rice has IMO a really healthy party atmosphere that stresses safety and caregiving. If you aren’t someone who’s into drinking and partying then you’re in the majority and you’ll find no lack of stuff to do, but partiers aren’t suffering from boredom. I think because Rice is open about alcohol and embraces it in a fun way, people think it’s more Van Wilder than other places, but I think it’s actually one of the least, especially due to the lack of a greek system.
That’s not to say we don’t have fun stuff like streaking events or big parties, but those things are cool traditions that are community oriented. It’s the kind of realistic college experience that you would expect from a lot of nice, fun, smart people.
I think Rice is super collaborative. I’ll go out on a limb and say it’s the most collaborative of the bunch. It’s rare for students to work on projects/assignments/problem sets alone, and the honor code is largely based on trust. I’ve never once even gotten the sense that people feel they’re competing against their fellow students.
Ok I’m done for now. Hope this helps and feel free to reply with more questions! These are just my opinions and observations, of course, but I don’t think I’ve said anything too controversial among Rice students. 
@jfking01 thanks for the reply!!!
Rice dad, here. My freshman daughter’s final two choices last year were WashU (where she won a very competitive half-tuition scholarship) and Rice (where she only had financial aid). She initially opted for WashU, but then changed her mind and decided on Rice . . . for reasons that I do not entirely understand. Here’s my take on things:
Rice: My daughter is a history/polisci/econ sort of major, but she knows lots of pre-meds. Rice students work hard, but I get the impression that they strive more to fulfill their own potentials than simply to “do better” than their fellows. Overall, the school has reputation for being friendly and collaborative, as jfking01 (above) correctly notes. The presence of the massive Texas Medical Center right across the street from campus is a boon to those seeking internships in the medical field. As far as social life, the residential college system at Rice offers a way of living that combines the camaraderie and built-in partying network of a frat with the non-exclusionary vibe of a frat-free campus. It seems to provide opportunities for students to party as much or as little as they want to.
Duke: I graduated from Tobacco U back in the day. I hated the place for its anti-intellectualism and “pre-Wall-Street bro culture” (to use contemporary lingo). Social life was very frat-centric. There were reports that pre-meds would sabotage other students’ labs in O-Chem in order to gain a competitive advantage. Whether this was true or not, I can’t say . . . but–given the general atmosphere–it was easy to believe. Of course, many people loved Duke then, and many still do, so my experience might have been an anomaly.
Vanderbilt: This school, which seems to emphasize standardized test scores in admissions decisions more than some comparable schools (hence its rise in the all-important US News sweepstakes), attracts students from around the country but immerses them in a classic Southern-preppy-elite environment. From what I’ve read, campus social life revolves around Greek organizations, and there seems to be a strong divide between those who belong and those who don’t. My daughter visited but wasn’t really attracted. I would say that Vandy is much closer in spirit to Duke than to either Rice or WashU.
WashU: Known for its rigorous pre-med program, WashU is in many ways very, very similar to Rice. (See comparison threads for an enumeration of those similarities.) Like Rice, it has a reputation for collaboration, though the challenge of the pre-med curriculum probably makes competitiveness more common there than in other programs. WashU has frats, but they are much less central to social life than at Duke and Vandy. Like Rice, WashU is consistently near the top of various undergraduate quality-of-life rankings.
All four schools would provide you with an excellent education and solid preparation for the MCATs. Their geographic and urban environments differ, so you need to factor that into your equation as well. For what it’s worth, I think my daughter would have been happy at either WashU or Rice. I do not think she would have liked Vanderbilt, and she didn’t even bother to apply to Duke, despite the slight advantage that her legacy status might have provided. That should tell you something . . .
@MrSamford2014 i just talked to my parents about frats and they said they will never ever let me join and they will never change their mind about me attending one. So even though i won’t attend a frat will i still be able to party every now and then and have a good social life outside of frat stuff? i am also starting to shift away from the idea of being a frat
Colleges are going to vary considerably in how central frats are to social life in general and to party life in particular. You should search CC for threads on the matter, as well as perusing the various college review websites that feature actual student feedback.
In terms of the frat-centeredness of campus life, I would rank the schools you’ve asked about in the following order: Vanderbilt (social life revolves around frats) > Duke > WashU (frats present, but more peripheral) > Rice (no frats).
Rice would thus seem to offer you a kind of sweet spot: The residential colleges replace frats (pleasing your parents), while at the same time offering plenty of organized activities–including parties–to keep social life interesting (pleasing you).
@MrSamford2014 Thanks for the responses!!!
I have to disagree with the comments about Vandy and frats. Yes, it’s a big part of the life, but there’s also Nashville right at your doorstep, so it’s not like that’s the only option. Besides, the majority of guys aren’t even in frats haha
@collegebobollege can i talk to you through private messaging? i have a few specific questions about Vandy since you go there 
@marchmadness99 How much fraternities matter depends on the type of person you want to hang out with and what you want your social life to be, so just a heads up w/ the advice you get
Just in general the majority of the guys aren’t greek, but most of the greek life personality guys go greek. This might sound obvious but if you think about a state school like u of a or fsu you’ll find a lot of greek life personalities outside of greek life
The majority of girls are greek too, so think about that
@MrSamford2014 I was thinking about majoring on economics and doing pre med in college just in case (hopefully it doesn’t happen) I don’t get into med school I have a back up plan. I also feel bio is too common for premeds to major in. So would it be a good idea to major in economics and do pre med or just major in bio and do pre med
Like 94% of our students get into med school or something ridiculous. As long as you’re not getting blasted five days a week and completely neglect the academic part of your life, you’ll get into med school. If you commit to your studies, you’ll go to a prestigious med school. I only know three pre-med seniors who are going through the app process at the moment but one is going to Harvard, one to Johns Hopkins, and the other to Baylor. I also know a senior who is studying clinical medicine at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship next year. So yeah, don’t worry about not getting into med school, major in what interests you and stay away from cocaine and you’ll be gucci.
By the way the reason I only know three pre-med seniors is cause I’m a freshman majoring in social sciences so it’s not really my clique so to speak.
haha thanks dude!!! Plus can i get some admission tips please lol
@marchmadness99 What kind of admissions tips are you looking for? Not sure whether you were joking or not haha
Lol I love/hate these questions, prepare yourself for a rant. So admission at a school like Rice isn’t quite as much of a crapshoot as a lot of us make it out to be. From my experience applying and being very successful in the elite admissions game the following schools are truly “crapshoots”: Harvard (if you’re not well-connected or a legacy), Yale (same as Harvard), Princeton, and Stanford (if you’re not a D1 caliber athlete or truly extraordinary). So, what that means is that the other 20 or so “elite” schools in the country have standards that make it relatively predictable whether or not a certain kid will get in. What I mean by this, however, is not that someone with X GPA and X SAT and X extracurriculars will get in, but I host prospective students for lunch a couple times a month and my accuracy with guessing who will get in and who won’t is like 90%. Once you understand the culture around a school you can tell what kind of students Rice is looking for, and the same applies from what I’ve heard from friends at Columbia, Penn, Pomona, Chicago, Duke and Cornell. Essentially, at any school besides HYPS and to an extent MIT, the best way to make yourself competitive is to have test scores that will boost our numbers. By this I don’t mean that test scores are a prerequisite to getting in but rather you’ll be given the benefit of the doubt if you’re going to help us out in those arbitrary and destructive US News rankings that come out every year. Your GPA doesn’t matter, what does is your academic record as a whole. What that means is that a 4.0 at a “mediocre” with a light workload is not anymore impressive than a 3.5 taking 12 AP classes. What the admissions people want to see is that you’ll be able to handle Rice, because it’s a hard school and students who come here have big aspirations as far as career and grad school goes and getting a meh GPA here just to say you went to Rice isn’t necessarily the best case scenario for everyone. Also, this leads into the next part of the evaluation. They don’t want students who will be intensely struggling for four years and not be able to experience all this amazing place has to offer because they are constantly in solitary at the library or in their rooms. This is the part where you “earn” your admission so to speak. Once you have a test score that’s not going to “hurt” us and have demonstrated the intellectual rigor to keep up with what are objectively some of the brightest 18-23 year olds in the world you need to show that you’ll add to our campus. Now, that DOES NOT mean you need to win a nobel prize (idk why this is the go to I’m not sure anyone has ever applied to an American undergraduate school with a nobel prize on their resume) or a national championship in (fill in random ass activity like fencing, debate, soccer). What it does mean is that you need to be interesting. Everyone who applies to Rice “really wants to go here” and “want to change the world by being a doc in DWB or a pro-bono lawyer” or whatever other BS you can come up with. What’s important to admissions officers is that you’re not going to come here and be exactly one of those kids who stays in and studies the pre-med requirements and takes six classes a semester for the sake of having something to do. That you’ll work hard and have a passion for what you’re studying is assumed when you apply here, what they want to see after that is demonstrated passion either in your subject area through something cool you did, service to your community in a way that truly builds something besides your resume, or interest and quirkiness in something that will serve no advantage to you when you’re applying to med school or Goldman. So, what this means is that Rice is looking for students who are
a) going to not die when they’re here because of the workload
b) make us look good (test scores, demonstrated leadership etc…)
c) add to campus life through unique interests and passion
d) are intellectually curious and like learning for reasons other than the number of zeros on your paycheck ten years down the line
e) students who want to be here and belong here. We’re lucky in that there are several very very good schools in the country and as uniquely suited many students are to Rice, on the same token, many aren’t suited to our unique culture and would be happier and perform better at Duke, Berkeley, Chicago, a LAC etc…
Basically, don’t take on a bunch of extracurriculars now that it’s spring of your junior year. Appear interesting in your essays and ask yourself if you were to drop your essay in the middle of times square would the average person want to sit down for coffee with you and talk about who you are and what motivates you to learn and do what you do. Oh and if you can at all manage it, get an exceptionally high test score, it sucks but that’s just the game we have to play.
Last note, if you get in, don’t get blackout drunk or overdose on cocaine (both true stories) and get taken to the medical center across the street on the dime of Rice so that you don’t end up dying, they will revoke your admission and you will become the example of how to trip and break your neck after crossing the finish line, which is a terribly unfortunate situation. Good luck!
Can @jfking01 tell me a little about the CS major please? How many people major in CS in an average year?