I am currently a freshman varsity tennis player at the University of Rochester studying Electrical Engineering, and will go to MBA program (maybe Europe or MIT). I have no financial aid.
My friend (online college) and I have a dispute. We have a mutual best friend who is a sophomore at Rice who is on a full-ride, studying Biomedical Engineering and is working on his MCATs.
My online college friend says that it’s obvious that Rice is a better university. I clearly disagree.
Which university do you think is better? Provide some valid points if you reply!
One of the factors favoring Rice is Houston vs. Rochester. Houston has been and will continue to be one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. In contrast, upstate New York has had decades of economic stagnation, and that will not change. If URochester were located in a growing Sunbelt city, it would have a much better reputation.
The University of Rochester keeps sports in proper balance with academics. They have Eastman, and tunnels. Rochester’s “city in the country environment” is great for those who want to get into a natural area fairly quickly. Their four-season climate is well defined. The city is part of an upstate New York nanotechnology corridor that could expand their economy.
Rice has high SAT scores and seems to be a desirable destination for many CC posters.
Your friend is right. Rice is better in a number of ways. It has a stronger student body; Rice is far more selective than U of R. Rice has about a 15% acceptance rate, and U of R is around 36%. U of R does have Eastman, but Rice’s music school is up and coming. A majority of graduates of Rice are accepted into excellent graduate schools, med schools and business schools; at U of R, that is limited to a handful of students each year. I would also say that Houston has a lot more to offer than Rochester, especially in winter.
“Better” for whom? “Better” for what? This is a silly argument. If you mean ‘which has more prestige/bigger brand name recognition’ at a national level for the proverbial ‘man in the street,’ then Rice is the answer. But why would that matter? You find your best fit based cost, location, culture, the program(s) that match your academic interests/goals, etc… Rochester may be a superior school for a particular individual with specific goals and needs. Or not.
Quite honestly, both are excellent schools with a great reputation.
I’m not sure why the need is there to try to put them on some sort of ladder with one above the other. Personal preference will swing that decision.
Given one job and two grads (one from either school), I suspect the person with the better “other stuff” on the resume or the one better in the interview will get the job, and it won’t depend at all on which of the two schools is listed.
There is a definite possibility that U Rochester grads will “win” in the northeast and Rice grads will “win” in the south due to name recognition or a better chance of alumni connections, so if one were debating between choosing one school over the other, contemplating where one wants to work afterward might come into play, but that’s it.
IMO Rice would be ahead in most people’s mind (based on admissions stats, college rankings etc.) but they are both excellent schools. What is important is that you are happy and successful at your school and your friend is happy and successful at his/her school. In my book, that is cause for celebration rather than argument.
Rice has a very nice residential college system. My nephew had mostly looked at east coast colleges, but discovered that because of direct flights, Houston was easier to get to than many of his other choices. He had a fabulous time there and was able to start doing research in a lab starting during freshman orientation. He worked on a project that garnered interviews on NPR and ended up getting into the college that had rejected him for undergrad as a grad student.
I personally feel that Rice has the edge over URochester (5 stars to 4.5), but both are definitely great schools. I personally would pick Rice because I wouldn’t stand upstate NY, lol!!
U of Rochester, because my kid is applying there and she has good taste:-)
Seriously, though I think Rice has a bigger reputation nationally, but who cares? First of all, it is in the state of Texas, which I can’t comment on. (Sorry if I have offended any Texas lovers.) But really, Rochester’s open curriculum is great. It’s course offerings get top marks in ____ Recommendations. The students seem to love it, the quality of teaching is excellent. It’s a great school. All just my opinion of course.
@Lindagaf Great choice! I’m a little biased considering my middle son is a current senior adding one more year due to being accepted into their Take 5 program. URoc has been a terrific school - full of opportunities he’s taken advantage of.
Rice does not have a larger reputation where we live. Most “average folks” (here) do not even recognize it as a college and can even snicker at the name. It depends upon the area one is in and how familiar they are with schools far away without major football teams. On the flipside, when we travel, many think URoc is RIT. They know there’s a decent university in Rochester, but don’t know the specifics, so lump them together. This is why I say location could matter in someone’s choice. Get an educated (about colleges) hiring manager and it won’t matter a bit. Get one who doesn’t know as much or who is biased due to knowing alumni/grads (of either) and it could.
While I used to have the same reaction you had to Rice and Texas, I have to say that time and time again I have heard people explain that Houston and Rice itself is a bit of a nicer place and that the lumping in with its state is a bit unfair. I am a big fan of both schools, though I applied to URoc (turned it down) but not Rice. The open curriculum really is an amazing feature.