<p>I applied as a transfer student to Rice for BME, and I was accepted.</p>
<p>Quick info about me:
-current UT freshman in BME
-waitlisted at Rice last year (did not get off the waitlist)</p>
<p>A year ago, I would've leaned towards Rice. However, after being at UT for a year, I'm not sure if it's worth it to pay the extra tuition for a Rice degree in BME. I feel like the BME department here is very strong, and the students are just as smart. BME at UT only takes the top 1%.</p>
<p>My mother and uncle are really pushing me to go to Rice though. They cite the higher ranking (Rice is 6th in BME, whereas UT is 14th I think), higher quality of education, and the higher level of prestige (UT is highly though of in Texas, but Rice is respected nationally).</p>
<p>My future plans are to apply to medical school. Everyone I have ever talked to about this matter has told me that your grad/professional school is the one that matters, and where you go for undergrad has little to no bearing on where you get accepted into grad/prof school.</p>
<p>I know that Rice also has the Texas Medical Center and such, but there are hospitals in Austin at which I can volunteer and shadow.</p>
<p>Just wanted some advice/thoughts on if a Rice degree is REALLY that much more valuable in terms of future prospects (nationwide) and better BME education.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your help! I really really appreciate it!</p>
<p>What is your source for taking only the top 1%? I have a friend who is in that program and was not in the top 10% of her graduating class. It is a great program and very selective but they do not limit to the top 1%. </p>
<p>I don’t think it is worth the cost to change to Rice. You are in a great program. Take full advantage of it and save the money!</p>
<p>If you are doing well at UT, you should be able to get into a texas med school. Since the primary goal is to maximize your GPA for med school, if you are not close to keeping a 4.0 gpa, Rice will get harder.</p>
<p>I am not sure where UT students get into outside of Texas med schools but I hear of Rice grads getting into several top med schools each year.</p>
<p>If prestige is an important consideration, UT is more highly regarded than Rice, when the whole the university (including graduate school) is considered. </p>
<p>I hate to reinforce the appearance of in-group bias for UT but I would also strongly recommend that you not transfer. While Rice does offer some benefits over UT (e.g. smaller class sizes, arguably more prestige, satisfying your family), I believe that in your situation the costs would outweigh the benefits. Moreover, if you are going to be taking out loans to pay for either undergrad or medical school, then I would say the decision is a no-brainer. Budget factors aside, the process of transferring can be taxing enough. You’ll have to adapt to a new campus and academic system, and will have to rebuild your social network (people aren’t as open to making new friends sophomore year as they were freshman year). More importantly, there’s a decent chance some of your credits won’t transfer and you will be forced to re-take them. Being that you are in a major that takes many 5 years to complete, you can’t really afford to have those types of setbacks. This is especially true considering that you intend to go into medicine, where your undergrad degree becomes essentially irrelevant.</p>
<p>As others have correctly told you, medical schools pay little to no attention to the name of your undergrad. It’s all about how well you do there and what you accomplish. To be sure, attending a more “prestigious” university might benefit you through the improved opportunities it offers. However, UT is such a great school to begin with that I don’t see Rice offering much more in this department. </p>
<p>And to answer Texaspg’s comments, we send kids to med school at the ivies every year. Last year, for example, I personally knew a student that went to Hopkins for an MD/Ph.D and a girl that went to Harvard. Every year UT’s health professions office posts a list of medical schools our students will be attending. The only one that I can find posted online is [url=<a href=“http://web4.cns.utexas.edu/hpo/File/files/Statistics2007.pdf]here[/url”>http://web4.cns.utexas.edu/hpo/File/files/Statistics2007.pdf]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Honestly it really depends on your circumstances. UT is a respected institution of learning and so is Rice. Entrance into med school requires a high gpa, if you have that right now why risk it going to Rice? if you are unhappy at UT then transfer, but if you are settled at UT and doing well I don’t see any reason to transfer. Rice is more expensive and being the cream at the crop will have it’s perks at UT in comparison to rice where you will probably be seen as average, no offense.</p>