<p>There is another freshman (now rising sophomore) who chose Rice/Baylor with $$$ over Harvard and Stanford. I definitely don’t think he regrets it!</p>
<p>I don’t think that it’s that rare at all for Rice students to turn down the Ivies - I chose Rice over Princeton (negligible scholarships at both). True, there were some moments when I would feel frustrated with a class or something on campus and think “maybe I should have gone to Princeton.” But I’m almost positive that I would have had some moments of “Maybe I should have gone to Rice” if I had gone to Princeton. I’m sure I would have had a great experience at some of the other colleges I got accepted to, but after four years at Rice - I’m pretty confident that I made the right choice.
Regardless of what school you choose, you’ll probably have a couple of periods where you wonder if you made the right decision. The important thing is making sure that whichever school you choose keeps you happy enough that those moments are rare.</p>
<p>Eh yeah, the more I think about it, the more this decision makes sense. Sigh- I thought Rice would be a bit more diffused in terms of intensity as compared to ivies/UCB. Guess not ;)</p>
<p>“diffused in terms of intensity as compared to ivies/UCB” what do you mean by that?</p>
<p>As in that I welcome academic challenge and rigor, but I don’t want to be in a place where everyone is ultra-competitive and out to beat each other.</p>
<p>needmoresleep, Rice/Baylor accepts only 14 kids per year. You are obviously amazing to get that opportunity. On the other hand, you would be one of like ~1250 freshman at Princeton. Rice/Baylor is a great program, and its not like Rice is a bad school. I know May 1st has passed, but i truly hope you chose Rice/Baylor.</p>
<p>I’m sure you can get the same top quality education at Rice but i’m afraid it does not have the prestige that Princeton has. That is why I think prestige is very important because the truth is, may employers do look up to the school’s prestige. </p>
<p>To the OP, if money is not a problem, go for Princeton. You’ll have much, much more access to top employers than you’ll go and graduate from Rice, even when they have the same quality of education.</p>
<p>RML-</p>
<p>If you want to be a doctor, the prestige of an undergrad school does not matter. needmoresleep has/had guaranteed admission to a top 10 medical school (Baylor) along with a lot of money at Rice, which is a prestigious institution to the people who matter. This means that if he/she decided to choose Rice over Princeton; he/she will not have to worry about studying for the MCATs and can have an amazing time and then enroll at Baylor College of Medicine after earning his/her bachelor’s. Then, after Baylor, he/she can most likely get into a premier residency program. All of this with very little debt.</p>
<p>Now at Princeton, I’m assuming needmoresleep will amass a large debt, will have to compete vigorously with her classmates, study very hard for the MCATs, fill out intense med school applications, which all amounts to a lot of stress. </p>
<p>Seriously, although I understand it would be very hard to turn down Princeton, this is a no-brainer. </p>
<p>No offense, RML, but your perception of “prestige” is very misguided. Just because people in New England have not heard of Rice does not mean it is not a prestigious university. It would be very foolish, in my opinion, to turn down >$150,000 savings and a guaranteed spot at one of the nation’s best med school for the prestige of a Princeton degree. </p>
<p>Now, don’t get me wrong, Princeton is a premier institution and will probably open more opportunities than going to a normal university would. But needmoresleep has already given a plethora opportunities at Rice to get her past grad school, so why would he/she have to go to Princeton?</p>
<p>Bottom Line: Although graduating from an Ivy might make a difference in your first job, it won’t really matter over your lifetime. Rice is almost just as prestigious as the Ivies are with grad schools and employers, so there is no loss with going to Rice, especially if one is entering medicine.</p>
<p>I’m with slik on this one, I chose Rice/Baylor for all those reasons. 8 years from now I don’t think not attending Princeton is going to make any significant difference.</p>
<p>Congrats-- you had a very, very difficult choice but you made the right choice 
Rice is going to be amazing next year! I hope I get to meet you next year!</p>
<p>if you plan to attend Medical school, then Princeton is nothing comparing to Rice/Baylor !</p>
<p>That is the decision D made, granted Trustee Distinguished and Century Scholar program was offered. She just hates the prestige connotations and even worse, pretentiousness- she wouldn’t even apply to Harvard because of the attitude of the representatives that attended her school on college night.</p>
<p>then she’d love Rice as we are not prestige whores</p>
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<p>Honestly, you care waaaay too much about prestige. If you’re comparing fourth tier podunk state school to Princeton, you have a point, but employers and graduate schools realize that top notch students come from all over the top 50 (and beyond) undergraduate institutions. Once you get to an interview, it’s you that matters; not your resume or transcript. Some employer, ceterus paribus, is not going to reject a Rice student to a Princeton one, just because of the school name. Honestly, if you’re such a prestige whore, Rice may not be the best fit for you.</p>
<p>For the OP: Both schools are great, but if Rice is giving you significantly more money, it’s a no-brainer. Marginal cost far outweighs marginal benefit.</p>
<p>Will someone enlighten me what this Rice-Baylor program is?</p>
<p>[Rice</a> University | Prospective Students](<a href=“Office of Admission | Rice University”>Office of Admission | Rice University)
Guaranteed med school at Baylor after Rice Ugrad</p>
<p>^ Thanks. Looks really cool. I’ll do that over Princeton then.</p>
<p>Does anyone know any “official” details about this? My s will matriculate as a R/B scholar.</p>
<p>wen: My son is R/B now at BCM. At the end of his sophomore year he acquired a Homestead (aka condo). A couple of Rice students moved in with him, which has helped with the mortgage. With a Texas Homestead, Driver’s license and voter registration, one is a citizen of The Republic. Without a Homestead it is much more difficult to establish residency as a student.</p>
<p>Thanks. What does it mean by “Homestead”?</p>