Hello! I am lucky enough to choose between many wonderful options, and my search has mostly narrowed to these two. I am looking into majoring in economics with a possible math minor, maybe going into undergrad business/MBB consulting or going into research and getting a master’s degree. I realize how different these goals are! Due to external scholarships, both are quite reasonable in price for me, even being out of state to UVA.
UVA:
Pros:
Echols program is true academic freedom, no course requirements.
McIntire has amazing placement and does not seem extraordinarily difficult to enter.
Better study abroad and language options (important for me).
Closer to home while still being far, family marginally prefer it for this reason.
Would be possible to graduate in 3 years.
Larger course selection.
Cons:
Prevalence of Greek Life.
Party-oriented social scene (pretty negative for me).
Larger class sizes, lack of connection to professors.
Relatively worse STEM reputation.
Feels less academic to me; I want difficult and engaging classes.
Rice:
Pros:
Cultural fit, I love the residential college system; the students and professors feel like “my people.”
A clear path to grad school, amazing placement there.
Academic culture, amazing prevalence of undergrad research, difficult but collaborative.
A larger city has its benefits, plenty of museums and cultural opportunities.
Cons:
Smaller size means relatively worse employment outcomes out of school; I don’t want to be based in Texas long-term, nor do I want to go pre-med/petroleum/pure engineering.
4000 undergrads is bordering on too small.
Seemingly somewhat cliquey.
If these assumptions are wrong, please tell me; I feel like there are valid pros and cons both ways. Thank you for your time!
I wouldn’t assume this. On a per capita basis, Rice grads do as well in alumni achievements as Ivies and other equivalents (outside of HYPSM). So do the smaller WASP and other top LACs. MIT undergrad and Dartmouth undergrad are about the same size as Rice. Princeton undergrad is only a little bigger. Would you turn down MIT, Dartmouth, or Princeton because they are too small and cliquey?
However, Echols Scholars and McIntire from UVa may do just as well. But admission to McIntire isn’t guaranteed.
And the residential college system at Rice is special.
Because of that, I would choose Rice if costs aren’t a difference-maker. You’re also not tied to the state your undergrad college is in for the rest of your life. Rice alums are spread across the US.
Echols is great, S18 was very tempted by the flexibility and potential to either graduate in 3 years, or do a masters in his fourth year. But you need to investigate carefully if you are contemplating McIntire as our understanding was that Echols, including the freedom from GEs, does not carry over if you switch to a major outside the College of Arts and Sciences. Also UVA is not overly generous with AP credit so you might have to overload somewhat with courses in order to graduate in 3 years.
The ease of switching majors at Rice given your many interests should be a significant point to Rice.
How outgoing are you given that you don’t love parties? Even if you don’t fall in love with your O week group, having instant homies and activities the first week of college is huge, and provides a good base from which to make connections. I think that can be infinitely more difficult in a large state school. How cohesive is the Echols crowd and does it present an instant social network?
I can’t say I’ve ever heard that Rice is somewhat cliquey, but surely it can’t be as cliquey as the Greek scene?
If you focus your internship and recruiting efforts outside of TX, you can go outside of TX. My impression is that many Rice grads stick around because the heat and humidity grow on them, it’s an easy city to navigate, they’ll have friends around, and their $ go pretty far.
You are choosing between such vastly different academic environments they are hardly comparable. Yes, you can get a good education and have great success at both places, but the day to day, not the same. You cannot be anonymous in a Rice class, even the largest. I do believe you can connect with professors in either, if that is your choice. I think you will have to bring it on day one at Rice, which doesn’t mean everything is a grind, but there will be fewer places to coast.
You will be closer to home but will it take much less time to get there? Lots more flights to IAH and HOU than connections to CHO or the added drive to DC.
You said that you feel like you fit better at Rice and they are your people. I say challenge yourself and go with your people, they let you in for a reason.