<p>I know that my friends got tired of trying to help me decide between these two schools, so I decided to ask all of you for opinions! </p>
<p>I am a senior coming from a Midwest boarding school that focuses on math and science, and am looking to major in physics in college. I want to have a well-rounded education and college experience.</p>
<p>It would be great to hear about the physics department of each school, difficulty in finding research opportunities, class rigor, quality of professors, etc. </p>
<p>As far as financial aid goes, I received full tuition from UChicago (merit based) and near full tuition from Rice (mix of merit and need based, also including work study). The cost of each will end up being around the same amount per year, so money doesn't really affect my decision.</p>
<p>I would say that my major concern about UChicago is its academic intensity, which excites me and intimidates me at the same time. However, a minor concern of mine is the lack of social life of UChicago students. I know that at Rice it is mostly 'work hard, play hard', which I feel like I would enjoy better. As for Rice academics, I am mostly concerned about the quality of the physics program compared to UChicago's. </p>
<p>Any input would be wonderful :)</p>
<p>i’ve been looking at both of these schools myself, and they say uchicago is where the fun goes to die.
that being said, i don’t know too much about the physics program of either school, but i think they both have very different atmospheres so you should take that into account.</p>
<p>I think academically that the two schools are probably very similar. However the overall student body and atmosphere are likely very different. </p>
<p>You will have to investigate further about the different programs by looking up different professors to check out their research interests, look at the classes available, etc. </p>
<p>I don’t think the fun dies at UChicago, I think it just may be much more sober than the fun at Rice. The fun will reflect the difference in the student bodies.</p>
<p>Chicago, Rice, Vandy, Emory, Cornell, JHU etc are all peer schools. Going to Rice over Chicago should not impact the quality of education that you will receive. Personally, coming from a very rigorous school myself (cornell), I think that it is important to attend a school that is challenging. Having said that, rice’s intimate setting and school spirit are well known. Go where you feel most at home.</p>
<p>Chicago has a hell of a physics department, and a great reputation for their grad school program as well. Rice has a particularly good emphasis in space physics and astronomy and physics is a strong department at Rice. I would say Chicago has the slightly stronger physics department than Rice, but there are a multitude of opportunities at both schools. Chicago and Rice are very different places, so I would ultimately make your decision based upon non-physics related details.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your input!
I decided on UChicago a couple of days ago though :)</p>
<p>grats, cant go wrong with either choice</p>