Hello all,
I have recently narrowed down my options to Rice and Penn. Both universities were reaches for me so I’m having a hard time discerning which one I should go to! If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, or anything at all I’d be grateful if you’d reply! 
Here are some random things that will most likely factor into my decision:
Overall, I am interested in the quality of the ROTC programs and Economics departments as well as the overall “college” experience/feel.
Cost is not a major concern as of now because I have been selected to receive two 4-year ROTC scholarships with the Army and the Marines (both universities offer AROTC and NROTC).
For ROTC, Penn and Rice have NROTC units on campus (I might end up going Marines but I’m the son of an Army guy), which means I won’t have to travel off campus every other day.
For Economics, I’ve been accepted to the College of Arts and Sciences at Penn (Econ major) and would want to double-major with Wharton (behavioral economics concentration). Rice has been developing their Economics program through RISE and I’ve heard that they have been hiring Wharton professors to remodel their department after Wharton’s (accepted as Econ major).
For overall experience, I’ve heard that Penn is known as the social Ivy and that they have numerous community outreach programs within their College Houses, while Rice has the renown residential college house system which allows for developing close relationships to professors.
Thank you!
Wow - Rice and Penn - congrats - you can’t go wrong either way! Have you considered which city you would enjoy more over the next four years as far as weather, opportunity, proximity to your home, diversity, etc.?
Can’t go wrong. I’ve heard good things about Penn’s social life and it’s also a bigger school - I think around 10,000 undergrads vs. the 3,000 at Rice. There’s also Philadelphia vs. Houston. Penn is going to be colder during the winter, obviously. And although both schools have great economics, Penn is really excellent in that area - especially with the double major in Wharton.
Rice is known for being one of the best colleges in the country in terms of student life. But Penn gives you the option to double major at Wharton. Tough call but really you can’t go wrong with either choice–both are excellent academically.
@smgc1210 Thank you! And yes, I have considered the location of both colleges and they both have equal benefits for me personally location-wise so I’ve been looking more into student involvement than location
@juillet Thank you for your input :)! Having lived in the north before, I think I may be looking forward to the high possibility of snow at Penn, but the residential college at Rice and year-round spring are definitely tempting.
@insanedreamer It’s a hard choice for sure, thank you for commenting!
I think Penn has a bit of an advantage in the rep department, but not enough for you to use that in your analysis. Rice is awesome too.
I think you should look at the following:
- Philly vs. Houston (cheesesteaks vs. barbecue, culture, how each school is integrated into the city, etc.)
- Weather
- Dorms and food
- Campus social scene
- Academic fit (look at available classes)
If you can, visit both. One will probably feel more interesting, more like you, more like home. That feeling of “home” is the biggest factor of all.
Happy decision-making!
(FWIW, if it were me, I’d go to Rice, because the education will be just as good, and the student body can have a big impact on success during/after college.)
Congrats on the options! You cant go wrong with either, but if Business/economics is your plan I’d choose Penn.