Rice w/ scholarship vs. UT BHP

At Rice, I’m thinking I would double major in economics and math or economics and computer science. At UT Austin, I’m thinking I would do Business Honors, Finance, and possibly Computer Science. Ultimately, I would really love to work at a top tier consulting company (McKinsey, Bain etc.). I might be interested in Investment Banking as well but I know it is really unlikely to get into Ib from UT or Rice.

I was pretty set on going to UT BHP until Rice gave me a 98k scholarship. I’m really confused right now and I was wondering if some knowledgeable people could help me list pros and cons for both programs. I really want to know if either school is clearly better in getting on the path that I want to. I know people from UT BHP do end up in consulting but I honestly don’t know anything about Rice.

As for the social aspect of college, after talking to friends at both schools, I’m pretty sure I would fit in to both schools pretty well.

Have you visited both? Will you go to Owl Days next week- since you say you don’t know that much about Rice?

Are finances an issue? If so, even though 98k is a very nice scholarship it still doesn’t put much of a dent in the total ~230k price at Rice.

Not necessarily about your major but, some things to think about.

Definitely visit both schools, as the vibe is completely different. Having said that, my primary advice is to do the Steve Miller–take the money and run. All water will find its level.

I would call 98K a pretty significant dent in 230K. The remainder isn’t a small amount but that doesn’t make the 98K insignificant.

Definitely visit if at all possible . You’ve got 2 great options.

Go to Owl Days if possible. My son’s dream school was Rice. He was accepted (regular decision, although he begged to apply ED) and we attended Owl Days. I had no idea how we would afford his dream school because we didn’t get much financial aid (and no scholarship), but I supported his dream. My son had a great time and loved everything about Rice and Owl Days - and realized that it wasn’t where he wanted to spend the next 4 years of his life. He felt the kids were too much like his GT program from high school, everyone was smart and it’s not like real life, and they have to close the dining halls on Saturday to encourage the kids to leave campus (which seemed a little unusual to my son). It was the best possible outcome and attending Owl Days was instrumental in helping my son make the right decision for him. Good luck.

I would think UT would give you more options for the future because of its size, reputation, and alumni. But if you do well on the academic side of things either can lead you where you want to go. To me though, especially for the money, UT and Austin would be a better “experience” than Rice and Houston.