<p>can anyone compare these three schools based on </p>
<li>academic prestige</li>
<li>grad placement for business and science</li>
<li>strength of business and physical science programs</li>
<li>social scene</li>
<li>fraternity life
…and anything else you can think of…
(insight from student at these universities would be great!)</li>
</ol>
<p>i have searched for this allready so if you tell me to stop being lazy and use the search box i will come out of your computer and tackle you…no seriously though i would like some more info…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>academic prestige
about the same for all 3. in texas, rice is the king of prestige of though.</p></li>
<li><p>grad placement for business and science</p></li>
</ol>
<p>similar for all 3. what really matters is how well you do, not the school though.</p>
<ol>
<li>strength of business and physical science programs</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>All match up pretty well for academic prestige because all are around the same rankings. They are top tier</p></li>
<li><p>I think they are all similar for grad placement because all have good facilities and lots of money to have good soft factors. And all are part of big city places so that is definitely a plus for branching out and doing other stuff. Grades are most important though, so as long as you do well in school, you will get into most grad placements you want, no matter the school you went to.</p></li>
<li><p>All should be around the same, not 100% sure though</p></li>
<li><p>Rice has an amazing social life from all i've heard. I remember reading that it was ranked like #1 from Princeton Review for social life</p></li>
<li><p>Rice has no frats or sororities. UVA and NW do have greek life, so i guess that'd answer it. But i doubt in either of these schools its a necessity to join the greek system because they are from major cities and there are plenty to do then just drink and party</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I had the worst experience ever at Northwestern. It was freezing cold the entire time I was there, and I get the feeling that it's like that all the time, what with the winds coming in off the lake. That's all coming from a Minnesotan too. And the kids at Northwestern couldn't even compare to those at Rice. I don't think I met one really interesting male the entire time I was at Northwestern. Everyone at Rice was so excited about being at there, and they wanted me to be excited about it too. Even the less social ones really wanted to tell me about how awesome they think Rice is. They were all really smart, but they were never all in your face about it. The Northwesterns definitely left less of an impression on me. And unless you want to wear long underwear everyday like my Northwestern tour guide, go to Rice.</p>
<p>If these are your actual choices, then your life is good. Northwestern & Virginia are wonderful, but the sweltering heat & humidity found at Rice combined with mosquitos the size of a golfball make Rice unbeatable! Although Minnesota summer mosquitos are also awesome.</p>
<ol>
<li>Worldwide: Northwestern/UVA, then Rice
US: probably a wash though more people have heard of Northwestern/UVA mostly because of their size, highly ranked professional schools, and affiliation with major athletics conferences.</li>
<li>Grad placement of business:
Northwestern/UVA probably attract more top finance/management firms to recruit because of their size, locations (Chicago and proximity to DC/Northeast), and alumni presence. They also have wider array of business related courses. UVA has an undergrad biz program while NU has undergrad certiicates with Kellogg and industrial engineering & management sciences department on top of the highly ranked econ department. If you want to do accounting, UVA is the only school that has the major.</li>
</ol>
<p>Houston is the 4th largest city in the USA, with many, many local and international companies headquartering there. Grad business placement from Rice is good!</p>
<p>Sam Lee obviously has a Northwestern bias...</p>
<p>All of these schools are great. It's just down to your personal preference and the overall vibe that you get if you're able to visit each school (highly encouraged). Just because Rice doesn't have an undergrad business school doesn't mean there aren't people who don't go off to business school. In fact, the best schools like Harvard, Dartmouth, Amherst, and Williams have no undergrad business schools whatsoever but have amazing placement into the country's best business schools, so don't let undergrad business school (or lack thereof) deter you. Rice has one of the highest placement rates into grad schools.</p>
<p>A Rice degree carries huge weight in Houston, the 4th biggest city in the country and home to the highest number of Fortune 500 companies (no longer NYC, sorry), so you will definitely find opportunities for business in Houston.</p>
<p>According to Fortune</a> 500 Companies, Houston is third in the number of Fortune 500 headquarters, not first. Also, none of them appears to be finance/management consulting firms. They are mostly oil, energy, and construction companies. If those are what you want, then Rice/Houston are great place to be. </p>
<p>I never mentioned anything about business school placement. In fact, business school placement is mostly based on your work experience, recommendation letters from superiors, career goal, and GMAT score; where you went for undergrad doesn't matter all that much.</p>
<p>I have no bias. I have seen websites showing recruiting events for various top finance/managment consulting firms and I found that UVA/Northwestern were more well-represented. I am not saying the difference is huge and I also don't think this should be the deciding factor; I was just trying to answer OP's question.</p>
<p>Anyways, OP, I would first be concerned with getting into these schools first before determining which one is the best to go to. Rice competes equally, if not better, than Northwestern and UVA. It is especially prestigious for the natural sciences and while it may not offer undergrad business program, it also has great placement into business school (admittedly, there will be fewer Rice grads looking to go to business school in comparison to pre-professional Northwestern and its Kellogg school and UVA with its undergrad business school). </p>
<p>It's really down to personal fit and preference. I myself chose Rice over Northwestern because I loved the atmosphere here and the people were extremely friendly and approachable. A lot of my Rice classmates also were cross-admits to Northwestern and found compelling reasons to attend Rice over Northwestern; there are certainly NU students who chose NU over Rice for their own reasons as well. I wouldn't pick one over the other just because I would have a "better" shot at grad school, as both are excellent choices. You might change your mind about your major over the course of four years; I would encourage you to choose wisely on where you could see yourself live for the next four years.</p>
<p>Rice and Northwestern are the most similar in terms of academic caliber and rigor (though obvious differences in location/weather, Greek life, etc); I don't know much about UVA, though.</p>
<p>P.S. I said Sam Lee has a Northwestern bias because he's a NU alum and the NU name in this thread caught his eye (otherwise he wouldn't have come onto the Rice forum, right? haha).</p>
<p>you all kinda confirmed my thoughts that these three schools are all really great. im a bit concerned rice will be a bit too small (i want a small school but 3000 is tiny to me, 6 to 8000 seems better) </p>
<p>i think i just got to visit these school and decide for myself</p>
<p>3000 plus adding new students each year, plus over 2000 grad students, plus -each year a new group of 800 or so students arrive and are integrated into the culture (as another 800 leave), and you are only there for 8 semesters (7, if you study abroad for a semester as many do) and the city is at your doorstep. It's not like highschool at all. (For one thing, many high school students already know their classmates from elementary and middle school.) And it's not like you are plunked down in a rural pasture with 1800 students and no way to get away. But yes, you should definitely visit Owl weekend if you are accepted.</p>
<p>Wow, these are the same 3 schools I am deliberating about.
From what I've seen/researched:
UVA- best weather. fun parties and many fratty white kids. very prestigious worldwide. I think they have a top-ranked enviro program if that's the kind of science you're interested in.
Northwestern- most academically rigorous (although it depends on your major... math, science, and econ/business seem really competitive at NW) and very very very cold
Rice- Great social life, diverse, happy kids, and accessible professors. hot as hell.</p>
<p>in reply to the post above me:
3000 is not that small when you consider that NW's 6000 is split between north and south campus kids (which apparently never associate). If you want a big public school atmosphere though, you'll find it at UVA.</p>
<p>All three have excellent reputations and good grad placement. (but grad school admission will depend more on your college GPA and GREs than which school you pick.)</p>
<p>I don't know about you, but they are all so awesome that my decision will have to be based on the weather :]</p>
<p>The high in Houston today was 63. The high in Charlottesville today was 31. The high in Evanston was -1.</p>
<p>Sure, it's blazing hot in August and September in Houston, but October thru April, it's pretty nice. Walking across campus is pleasant most of the school year at Rice. </p>
<p>The "best" weather is a matter of opinion and what you prefer.</p>