I have been accepted to each school and am at a loss of which to choose. I have interests in Materials Science and Engineering with an emphasis in nanotechnology as well as entrepreneurship. I really value Rice’s residential college system and their small student body, but Northwestern has a stronger alumni association. Its also really close to Chicago which is really nice in comparison to Houston. Financial aid is not an issue. Equivalent aid is being offered. Thoughts? I know there are older threads on this topic, but they are exactly that, old. The universities have changed a lot in 10 years haha.Thanks!
Check out the rankings and job income stats for both schools. I think Rice does better in engineering. But personally, I’d go for the environment that is more appealing. It’s going to be your home for the next 4 years, hopefully, and these may be friends you make for life. Go to Owl days and check out the vibe. Where do you feel you want to spend your life for a while?
I’d say Northwestern
Rice is surrounded by Texas…
NU is on the lakeshore. And BTW NU invented Mat Sci and the Engineering First Program is excellent. You may not be able to visit but you can Google Earth it and walk around NU and probably Rice. Seriously you have 2great choices and either can be good for you. Full disclosure: I have 2 kids attend McCormick and one cooped at a Mat Sci company. Good luck!
I have scheduled to visit each campus in the next coming weeks. The one thing I can’t get over is the community aspect of Rice. From all there blogs, youtube videos, and what not, the atmosphere feels - well- happy! NU may be the same way, but there is a limited amount of resources in comparison. How is the community at NU in comparison to Rice?
- Both are excellent universities and deserve their "elite" status.
- Houston is a fine city
- Rice's engineering strength is in medical/biochemistry applications
- Northwestern has one of the finest ChE and Materials engineering departments in the USA.
@cptofthehouse Actually, NU has stronger engineering overall. For material science and engineering, Northwestern has been consistently ranked in the top-3.
Nano Engineer - Here’s the NU Engineering Res College “recruiting vid” of some happy NU kids: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hGKG5YVVCA