<p>My daughter was accepted to Rice and UT Austin's Plan II and plans to major in English, then go on to medical school. Any recommendations on which school would be better?</p>
<p>if she wants to do medical school, i think ut austin's plan ii would be better, because:</p>
<p>1) if you're a doctor it doesn't matter which undergrad you went to.
2) UT-Austin would be much easier than Rice and therefore your daughter would have better grades (if she doesn't party too much...)
3)Plan II is an honors degree in which students get extra facilities such as Honors Dorms, etc. And the degree is pretty impressive.
4)UT is hecka cheaper than Rice, so you can save your money for medical school.</p>
<p>So IMO I think your daughter should pick UT-Austin's Plan II if she wants to major in English and eventually become a doctor. However, its your decision, and you might want to consult the guidance counselor, etc. and not take my word for it.</p>
<p>Rice is a much better school than UT. Go Rice for sure if the money is not a matter.</p>
<p>They are just totally different in terms of experience and atmosphere. I suggest your daughter attend Owl Weekend, and also call plan II and see if she can shadow a student for a day and possibly stay overnight in a dorm with the student. (That may or may not be possible.)
In terms of "UT-Austin would be much easier than Rice" - I don't know that will be the case with the Plan II classes. Rice has a VERY good track record of kids getting into med school, and they don't "withhold" recommendations from students to keep them from applying to med school(like some schools do to artificially improve the med school acceptance rate). So Rice g.p.a's are not keeping kids out of med school. In addition, all the internships and research opps from the med center across the street from Rice are very helpful for those going into the sciences, medicine and social sciences.</p>
<p>Rice- unless she wants big time sports, frat scene etc., it's a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Houston has the largest medical center in the world. Heard this from an info session with an admission counselor.</p>
<p>
No, it's not. Do we really have to rehash this again? Nearly every academic program at UT is ranked higher than Rice. What you mean to say is Rice is a smaller, more selective university, which may contribute to a better undergraduate experience. To say Rice is a better university than UT is completely false, when all the academic rankings say the opposite (and even in the USNWR undergrad rankings, their peer assessment scores are EXACTLY the same - 4.1) Your argument would have some merit if you said Rice is a better <em>undergraduate college</em> than UT, but it's not by any means a better university.</p>
<p>Rice is certainly an EXCELLENT school. However, there seems to be this huge misconception on here that it's vastly superior to UT.</p>
<p>Exactly. Rice is a better undergraduate college, and we don't need to specify that because this is a thread for someone choosing an undergraduate college.</p>
<p>The rankings have more to do with the size, and history, and sheer production of scholarly works and number of professors at colleges, than they do with the actual undergraduate experience. Rankings, smankings. What's important is what the undergrad experiences. Rice is a more personal, flexible, and nurturing experience. UT is larger and if you flunk out, well, who cares? 49980 other students out there to take your place. I'm a UT alum, and know many, many people who have attended UT, and I think that, for most kids, Rice would be a more enriching experience.</p>
<p>I thought that we had all agreed that college rankings are a total joke and completely useless. Do we really need to rehash this again? Why do people still look at these ranking? I like Reed's stance to the U.S. New rankings. They refuse to participate because they know they are pointless.</p>
<p>I know you want our opinions, but I want to emphasize that they ARE opinions and that your daughter is the best judge of what is right for her. </p>
<p>She might want to ask herself what factors are most important to her and then compare the two on those factors. Visiting each school, as anxiousmom suggested, and looking for specific evidence of those factors will give her a better basis for choosing. If the feel of the community is a big factor, then this will be especially important. As an example, my son was admitted to two of UT's honors programs. He spent time at each. He also spent a day & night at Rice. He came away with a different sense of each. This was the most important input he got.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>