<p>Hi,guys!I have been admitted by Rice and UCLA. It is really hard for me to decide which one I should go.My admitted major is business economics in UCLA,and econmics in Rice.Fees and tuitions are not problem,but I am not sure about going to Houston. Rice is smaller and a private university.Which one do you think I should go?I really need help!</p>
<p>If money isn’t an issue, I’d go for Rice.</p>
<p>Thanks very much for your advice,but why would you go for Rice?</p>
<p>Speaking from the perspective of someone who has lived abroad for a considerable amount of time, UCLA is a LOT more well-known than Rice outside the U.S. Most foreign nationals don’t even know what Rice is, let alone the fact that it’s a good school. However, mentioning the name UCLA to them causes a lot of raised eyebrows.</p>
<p>It’s a personal preference. I personally value learning for the sake of learning (maybe this isn’t the case for you?), and I think Rice offers that setting over UCLA. I attend LA, and if it weren’t for the financial aid I received, I wouldn’t pay for it. I think if you’re paying for an education, a smaller setting would be ideal. </p>
<p>However, it really comes down to what you value. Considering your major/s, it looks like you might be using your education as a means for employment or a career in the future(after all you chose biz econ, instead of econ, at ucla, and presumably would have opted for business if rice offered it). With that said, maybe asking yourself where you desire to work could help you decide? The career resources/network for each school will be strongest in the area in which the school is located. So if you’re iffy on Houston, maybe this should make it easier for you to decide?</p>
<p>I would choose Rice, for it’s smaller actually. I don’t really love big school</p>
<p>Thanks again,you guys.I am not sure about my future major,but at this moment,I would really like to study econ. It has been a problem for me because I have never been to Texas and barely know about Houston.It is said that Houston is the top 5 city in the nation,but some friend told me it was pretty desolate. I do not know if these two cities would offer me the same opportunity for internships or something.</p>
<p>On the other hand,as you said ,Rice has a smaller popula
tion. I guess the academic environment would be better,right? Since there would be less people in one class.</p>
<p>I want to continue to study for Graduate School in the future,which school do you think would allow me to go to a good grad school?</p>
<p>By the way, I found out that Ucla ranked no.14 in Econ major,but Rice is like about no. 38 or 39.I am not sure if it is right.</p>
<p>Could you tell me some differences between big and small school,please?^^</p>
<p>well, I believe it is the graduate school that matters most for your future career, and having your undergraduate in Rice can make you into great business school if you study well.</p>
<p>Also Houston (actually Texas) is an area in rise, so plenty of opportunities there</p>
<p>Well, I heard in big schools some popular courses (like econ ) classes tend to stay large for a larger period of time than in other majors.</p>
<p>I don’t know whether this is true for UCLA</p>
<p>Anonymity will be a part of life at UCLA. That’s not terrible for many people, but UCLA is to higher education what a large city is for a home town. You will have the attention of faculty and fellow students to the extent that you request and seek it.</p>
<p>At Rice, there are 3,000 undergraduate students instead of 30,000. Most live on campus and all are affiliated with a residential college, which breaks the university experience down to a very closeknit, intimate living and learning setting. Right now, PrincetonReview rates the quality of campus life at Rice as #1 in the U.S.</p>
<p>I am so glad cuz it seems you know Houston pretty well. You know the location of Rice had been a problem for me.I mean I was not sure it would be a good place for me if I major in Econ or business afterwards. I totally agree with you that graduate school matters most for future career,and your suggestions are very insightful. Thank you. Do you mind telling me more ideas about Houston or Rice?</p>
<p>Wow!Rice rates #1 for the quality of campus life?I didn’t know that before.So if you were me, you would choose Rice,right?</p>
<p>Rice and UCLA are vastly different. You will feel like a number at UCLA where class sizes will be huge (sometimes 500+). Rice will be a much more intimate learning experience, where you will have much smaller class sizes and actually get to know your professors. The housing system is fantastic at Rice. You really should visit if at all possible.</p>
<p>not all classes will be >500. You make it sound as though all the classes will be large. There are jest a few lecture halls holding close to 500. They reserve these for some of the introductory courses. </p>
<p>There are large introductory courses at a lot of moderately large to large colleges and universities in the country; I consider moderately large to large as being ~ 6,000 undergrads or >.</p>
<p>Certainly, Rice is a smaller university, with 3,000, and UCLA is large with around 26K undergrads.</p>
<p>Annawin:</p>
<p>When you ask a question like this on this forum, you should expect a robotic, trained answer. There are trained automatons on this forum who spew forth the usual rhetoric, “so-and-so is a better university; go with the best”; “so-and-so is too big, etc.” </p>
<p>My questions to you would be the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Where do you want to be employed?</p></li>
<li><p>What experiences are you looking forward to while you’re at college?</p></li>
<li><p>Where are you from originally?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>If answer to the first is, CA, then by all means consider UCLA over Rice. If you’re talking internationally, I agree with the other person who said UCLA has a greater international rep. UCLA’s international and CA rep preceeds it other-states’ rep, although I would think UCLA does well in NY/NYC too, but that state/city is crawling with Ivy people. </p>
<p>If the big city is not for you and if you want a smaller suburban setting, then Rice. I don’t think a lot of people on this board have much social lives, so they think ‘school first, and foremost,’ which is fine. At UCLA, and I’m sure at Rice, you’ll meet some pretty well-rounded people with a lot of interests besides academia.</p>
<p>Do a cost-benefit analysis of each school, to whatever you value little to most:</p>
<p>-Social Life
-Where do I want to be in 5-10 years?</p>
<p>-What do I want to study, and what do I want to study if Plan A falls through?</p>
<p>-What about grad school? </p>
<p>UCLA, btw, produces a lot of MDs and JDs, inc proportionally its grad classes, and I’m sure MBAs, sales/marketing, CPAs, etc. UCLA leads CA in attys by a lot, per CA Bar. There are some firms in places like Century City that are medium-sized to large firms that have > 30% of its staff with baccalaureates from UCLA. So you’d have a lot of comraderie, and you could go to fb/bb games, etc.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you’re future.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not necessarily. UCLA is one of the stars of American higher education. As stated above, its name recognition is high internationally, especially in Asia. My impression is that institutional prestige is a tangible career asset in Asia; if you had career goals that might take you there, UCLA would be a great choice.</p>
<p>(As a side note, I’ll try to be more cognizant of what I write before posting… I’m fairly new at posting here at Confidential and am not very good at editing. ;))</p>
<p>UCLA has a good rep in Europe as well as Asia as you noted.</p>
<p>A lot of Euros have an image of UCLA as the quintessential CA university, and that attracts a lot of them there.</p>
<p>They see the sun, the surf, movie stars/starlet-types, etc – actually UCLA is around seven miles from the Pacific and 11 or 12 winding, curvy miles from Sunset to the water – it’s better to take Wilshire to San Vincente, etc, via a shorter route. UCSB and UCSD are actually on bluffs overlooking the ocean. </p>
<p>And during those special warm days, not a cloud in the sky, you’ll see the coeds turning Bruin Walk into a catwalk, as I have stupidly and proudly noted before, with their warm-weather fashion.</p>
<p>So UCLA is about ancillary things besides academia, and that attracts a lot of internationals. With UCLA and Cal admitting more out-of-state and internationals, you’ll see more non-Californians getting their CA fix.</p>
<p>Regardless, Euros and Asians, who had to find a side door to UCLA will continue to enter therein through Santa Monica College, or wherever else facilitates that move to UCLA.</p>
<p>But make no mistake, UCLA has a great academic rep also, and it is not an easy institution to maneuver through – yes, a lot of this is being big and bureaucratic. There’s a lot of competition there: 700+ students applied to med school from the school in 09, which means the competition in pre-med there is enormous. UCLA leads the state of CA in bar-certified attys per the state bar assn, by far.</p>
<p>So there’s the image of fun and sun on one side and the academics on the other side, contrasting, but melded together for a wonderful place. The quality of life at UCLA is pretty good too. </p>
<p>Sorry if I sound like an advertisement. ;)</p>
<p>Thank you,drax12. To answer your questions,I am not sure where to work in the future.But I prefer to live in California or the east coast. If I studied in Rice,would it be less easy when I am looking for jobs in California or the east coast? You know, I also plan to apply for a graduate school in the future,which school would allow me to be accepted by a better grad school if I got good grades? I am an international student, and I was in US last year as an exchange student.I was impressed by the environment there,with a lot of activities, tons of new friends, studying atomsphere.But one thing I don’t like is that the place live is very small.There are no public transportation,no big shopping malls and so on.I grow up in a very big city,so I hope I can live in a place as convinient as my hometown.In addition, I want good quality of education, of course.UCLA ranks higher than Rice in econ,do you think it is a big matter for my decision?</p>
<p>As someone who was apprehensive of going to Texas, I have been amazed by what Houston has to offer. After New York City, Houston has the largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies (although most are oil/gas/banking related) in the country. Houston has TONS of great shopping, restaurants, and entertainment options… and most things are CHEAP. Rice is in a very beautiful part of Houston. Houston is a thriving, cosmopolitan city (less affected by the economic crisis than the most other American cities).</p>
<p>The decision is up to you… do your research on both schools and make the decision for yourself. Determine where you will be happiest. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies and they help me a lot! ^_^</p>
<p>This can be the most difficult time for me to make my decision. A big decision. </p>
<p>I do some research and find that Rice is a resiential college.It divide students into different colleges.But are these colleges only for the residential function? I am kind of confused about that. Students can also live in dorms in UCLA or other universities.Are those the same as residential college?</p>