UChicago vs. UPenn vs. Duke vs. Rice (help)

As you can probably tell from the title I am very torn. I was admitted to these four schools and I know I am very lucky, but I do not know how to chose. Except for UPenn, I have not visited any of them.

Alright: Pros and Cons

UChicago:
Pros:
I was admitted through EA, and as such have been a member of the community for a lot longer and have spent a lot more time researching the school. I have a ton of friends going there next year and I love the more intellectual vibe on campus. I am not really a partier at all, so I appreciate that is not a big part of campus life. Basically it seems like a place I would fit in at.
They also have good international relations which I am interested in possibly double majoring in, as well as great MUN.
Chicago seems like a wonderful city to spend time in.
I love the idea of the residential houses which build community.

Cons:
I am interested in engineering, and because they do not have an engineering school per se, I would major in molecular engineering. Now this seems like a very interesting field, and I am definitely interested in it, but also it is not very traditional and does not have many of the perks of more established schools like alumni networks / job placement stuff. It also does not have an engineers without borders club, which is something I would be interested in.
The stereotypes I have heard about the stress culture on campus scare me. “Where fun goes to die” may be tongue in cheek but is also pretty intimidating to me. I tend to get stressed easily, and I am afraid at this school it would be overwhelming.
Tying in with the last point I have heard there is bad grade deflation which makes it hard to get into good grad schools, which is something I may be interested in.
The core is huge. This means it would be hard for me to double major or study abroad.
This is not as big a deal but the cold seems pretty miserable. I honestly love the sun and miss it in winter haha.
Distance: it requires a flight from my house, so I probably would not be able to go home very often.
Also apparently campus is not very safe.

*note about UChicago, if even one of these cons did not exist (Like if they had an engineering department, or if I had not heard that students are always overwhelmingly stressed) I would definitely commit without hesitation. I really just love most things about the school and the people I met (Scav seems so fun!). I am just struggling about what to prioritize. What if I end up not liking Molecular Engineering? There won’t be any other engineering disciplines to try, and I would have to major in some other field or transfer.

UPenn:

Pros:
Very good engineering school with a lot of options and study abroad.
Also very good international relations, and a possibility to maybe double major with something in Warton if I am lucky.
Very good job placement and salaries and such because of the big pre-professional vibe.
This is less than an hour from home, which is definitely a plus as I will get to see my family as well as my high school friends (the vast majority of which are staying close to home) a lot more often.

Cons:
This is frustrating, as, on paper, UPenn is perfect. But from the moment I stepped on campus I did not like the vibe. I have been told that the kids are very cut throat, superficial, and partiers. I know that doesn’t apply to the whole school, but I have seen it demonstrated. I am in some admitted student group chats, and the kids have made a google forms thing to match up students for hookups during NSO Week. This honestly shocked me and made me uncomfortable. All the people who were talking reminded me of the kids I disliked who went to my high school. I want an environment with a lot of intellectual discussions and welcoming people who are willing to try new things and have adventures, I don’t know but the people I met all intimidated me. I am perhaps overreacting, and I definitely loved my interviewer, but I do not know if I would be happy there.

Duke:

Pros:
Honestly location and weather is a big one, it is not too far from home and I would love to be in the south.
I know school spirit is huge because of sports.
I have heard that people are a lot more laid back and less stressed and there is good student life.
They also have good engineering and international relations.
They have this cool program called FOCUS where you live in certain housing with people in your cluster and you study some relevant topic, regardless of your major. I am interested in the topic called “Ethics, Leadership and Global Citizenship”.
The people I have talked to seem very nice and welcoming

Cons:
Honestly a big one here is the sports / partying / greek life vibe. I do not think I would join greek life, but apparently over half the campus is involved in greek life or something similar unique to Duke called SLGs . That is not appealing to me. People always say “you won’t feel left out if you don’t rush” but I don’t see how I would fit in as well if I was not interested in greek life or partying. I also do not really care about sports haha, which is another issue.

Rice:

Pros:
The people are super nice!
They have good engineering and a beautiful campus.
Apparently there is very good student life and I like the residential house system.
Everyone there seems to love their school, and they just seem happy. Haha I do not know that is just what I have read.
There is no greek life.
It is also a smaller school, which is honestly appealing to me.
It is in the museum district in Houston which is nice apparently.
The weather is good as long as I would not be there in the middle of summer.

Cons:
Not as good international relations. It is also hard to study abroad as an engineer apparently.
It is so far from home! I guess the distance does not matter that much once you are not within driving distance, it is still a plane ride, but I do not know how I feel about being in Houston.

It is hard because most of these campuses I have not visited, and no overnights makes it harder to gauge what student life is really like, I feel like I am making this decision blind, even though I have spent a long time doing research. Any insights, about one school in particular, or as a whole, would be extremely helpful. Thank you so much!

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First, congratulations. Obviously you have worked hard to get admitted to these schools.

Our child is choosing between a couple of these schools and we also haven’t been able to visit. We’re struggling to understand the “vibe” and fit too. To be honest, I hadn’t thought that UChicago kids were working that much harder and were that more stressed than Penn students.

I am also surprised about such a negative stereotype of the Penn students. Wharton students are supposedly cut-throat types, but I’d be surprised if all the Penn students were like that.

I hope some posters with knowledge of the cultures at these schools respond to this post.

Good luck

Rice seems perfect for you. The lack of traditional engineering at Chicago seems like a valid concern, and of the others I would think that Rice is socially the closest to Chicago.
You are not the 1st person I have heard who was bothered by the vibe at Penn. and Duke’s sports scene doesn’t appear to be your thing.

Congratulations!!!

This decision would be easier if you had only one intended major. Is your intention to start off your freshman fall with intro engineering class and intro IR classes all at once? I’m getting a headache just thinking about it, but you might be able to make it work.

Now, I think we can cross off U of C (no engineering) and Rice (weaker IR). Does that sound reasonable? Then it would be down to Penn and Duke.

I think that you really need to decide if Engineering is something that you want to pursue or not. Just be aware that double majoring in Engineering and the Social Sciences /Humanities can be difficult to impossible. Especially in 4 year.

Couple notes about UChicago. Lots of people double major. When looking at the Core and Study Abroad, many students complete their whole Civ sequence while on Study Abroad. Also, since they are on the quarter system, you only spend 1/3 of the year away instead of 1/2. UChicago has excellent grad school placement. Grad school admissions tend to higher weight major class grades and letter of recommendation. Grad school admissions are also done by the department instead of some centralized process. At the elite level they all know each other. That is why a good LOR can go a long way. Lastly, is it academic? Yes. Is it overwhelming? Only if you cruised through high school on your natural talents and do not have good study skills. They don’t admit people to fail.