<p>I personally think Rice is one of the best schools in the nation. I live in Wisconsin, and no one seems to talk about it here... It seems to get no recognition in the north... I am not sure about the south though. Is Rice as good as it is ranked(17th U.S. News)? Or is it overrated? Either way, I won't change my opinion on the school, but it is interesting that no one seems to give it much credit. I do know that is is ranked 1st for student happiness and 2nd for quality of life and best run school. What about rice makes it so good? What about it isn't so good?</p>
<p>I think you are 100% correct and Rice is a well kept secret.
While my son was looking at colleges we visited Yale, Harvard, MIT etc., and there is no college as unique at Rice. He currently attends Johns Hopkins but when he visited his sister last fall he started talking about transferring there. When we dropped our daughter off last fall we felt that she had found the perfect college. They immediately sucked her in and embraced her and she loved it from the start. I tell her all the time how lucky she is to be attending Rice and I think she knows it!! So I am not sure why the rest of the world does not know what we already know!! Good Luck - with your passion you deserve to be admitted!</p>
<p>Thank you! I’m glad your children are able to attend such spectacular colleges! I am also looking at Hopkins. Could you inform me on the major differences in terms or academics, social life, etc.?</p>
<p>I think it is too early to say much about the academics at Rice having only one semester’s experience. It seems to be fairly tough and has such a great reputation. The social life though, is very active. A lot of parties and fun activities- the residential college system is awesome. Alumni are very active and available to the students. The students are super nice and look out for each other. Rice seems very liberal, if that is important!
Johns Hopkins is extremely difficult, but my son’s major is harder than my daughters. I think the difficult classes will pay off, though! The social scene is not as hot as Rice, but if you get involved in things you will have plenty to do. JHU also has wonderful alumni like Mayor Bloomberg funding all kinds of research and financial aid.
Both schools are on the cutting edge of great discoveries so you would be so lucky to get into either one.Both are very diverse. Hopkins being more academic to me and Rice more social. Just an early observation on both schools!
Also we loved both cities, but Houston has the nice warm weather most of the year!
I know you will get in the right school for you!!</p>
<p>How would you compare the campus and dorms between them? I am going for Premed with a major in biology.</p>
<p>Both campuses are beautiful, though Rice has the ivy walls and cool trees. It’s like an arboretum. JHU has the brick buildings that has a special appeal.
Both schools have nice dorms, though nothing can hold up to residential college system at Rice. It fosters immediate acceptance into your own special group of friends. JHU has frats though and Rice does not- so if Greek life is important to you than don’t choose Rice. Medical school acceptance rate at both schools is around 90%- though you dont get any preferential treatment at JHU getting into their med school.
My daughters major is ecology and environmental Biology- so far fun classes and not too hard. My sons major is Engineering with Aerospace concentration- very hard. But JHU is on the list of the top 10 schools that do not give out A’s, so we knew it was going to be hard. I think you will succeed at either school, it just depends what you are looking for: social or academic, nice weather year round or seasons, greek life or residential college-lots of choices. Maybe financial aid may play a role in your decision, if so wait and see how that plays out! This is just my opinion and again, good luck.</p>
<p>When you consider that that 17th place ranking puts it ahead of UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Georgetown, Tufts & both Boston College & Boston University, Rice really looks like an undervalued stock.</p>
<p>Would you say Rice would be easier to get a higher GPA? Both are Top 20 schools so academics are superb at both. I want to have a true college experience…and social sounds better at Rice. I think it will come down to the visits if I get into both. How does the smaller schools body size feel like at a Rice? Does it seem too small at times? And how does the outdoor pool at Rice work? Is it open to everyone during the day or reserved to the swim team?</p>
<p>@franko what do you mean?</p>
<p>I am not sure about the GPA, I think that depends on your major. I do have to say name recognition is higher when I mention the colleges my kids go to. Everyone has heard of JHU, only other parents that have kids in the same academic standing as my kids, have heard of Rice. I think the social life is better at Rice, but you can get the true college experience at both schools. Visting will help, staying overnight on campus would be better. My daughter did not want a smaller school, yet she has not said a word that Rice might be too small. There are graduate students on campus so that helps. I am not sure about the pool, she comes home for spring break tomorrow 
and I will ask her what she knows about it.</p>
<p>Ok well thanks for the information! That is an early spring break!</p>
<p>4-5 more weeks…</p>
<p>Do they release decisions early?</p>
<p>Someone said last week in March. I am just being hopeful.</p>
<p>@FutureDocSuave- I asked my daughter about the pool open hours and she said the pool is open frequently for open swim. She takes a scuba diving class and I just found out that the pool is outside! I learned something new!!
@jprtaco- my daughter got her decision email last year on March 23rd.</p>
<p>@hopkinsricemom thank you! And I’m glad the decisions are earlier than April 1st. I know WashU’s decision is around March 8th.</p>
<p>@ricehopkinsmom if you were a senior and were accepted to both Johns Hopkins and Rice, which one would you choose?</p>
<p>I would not want to make that decision. I read my daughter your post and before I finished it she said"Rice". But I have to think if I asked my son the same question his answer would probably be “Hopkins”. I think they are too very different great academic schools. If you are more conservative and on the straight and narrow- Hopkins would be best, but if you are artsy and at all different- Rice would be the one for you!! That is just my observation.</p>
<p>I think I’d pick Rice. It’s more likely that I’ll get into Hopkins, though.</p>
<p>Why is Hopkins more likely?</p>