<p>How do they compare...in all aspects (campus, weather, academics, extracurriculars, social environment, etc.) ?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>I've looked into this alot, since HOPEFULLY I will have to make this choice.</p>
<p>Rice:
Houston is hot and HUMID
liberal but not extreme like Berkeley
nerdy
Better research opportunities
slightly more competitive academics</p>
<p>Vandy:
more conservative/southern
centered around greek system
more well rounded
better looking student body by far
also has competitive academics, good research opportunities
Probably a slightly more recognized name
Nicer campus</p>
<p>of course, these are my perceptions of each that I have gathered as an outsider and are probably completely stereotypical.</p>
<p>thanks for the response!</p>
<p>yeah, I visited both campuses too. Both good schools, I would decide based on which is a better social fit.</p>
<p>Polar opposites socially, possibly more so than Vandy-Emory.</p>
<p>I'm curious as to what other people think as well, but just something else to add, Rice's tuition is $10,000 cheaper, though for some it's much farther away.</p>
<p>Also, Rice has a residential college system and is more in a bigger (I've heard worse) city.</p>
<p>My profile:
BSE, Rice University '08
MS/PhD, Vanderbilt University (exp '10, '13)</p>
<p>I think I can give a fresh perspective on this question...</p>
<p>Pros of Rice:
From my experience, Rice kids are definitely smarter and are more of go-getters than Vandy kids. Not to knock Vandy kids; they're great and are ranked top-20 in the nation for a good reason. Academics are harder at Rice than at Vandy; they give you more homework and expect a lot more out of you there than they do here. I think that if I did my undergrad here at Vandy, I would have come out with a better looking profile applying to grad schools; instead, I was that high school 'genius' who ended up feeling very very mediocre among the real geniuses.</p>
<p>No frats/sororities? That's what the college system is for. I think this made life at Rice awesome because you were part of this diverse group of people the moment you walked through the doors. It really felt like a family, and there's always a group for everyone. Even if the population is very very small (~3000 undergrads), nobody really ever feels left out.</p>
<p>People who have replied above are right in that Rice kids can be more liberal; Houston is definitely a more progressive city than Nashville. I thought both cities have their pros; being the fourth largest city in the states, it sort of never sleeps; there's always a place open if you want to make that midnight run before pulling the allnighters.</p>
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<p>Pros of Vandy:
Vandy is in Nashville, which is definitely a smaller city and cheaper to live in than Houston. While I definitely do not see as many places open at 3am, there is enough going on around town that you never really feel like you're in the back country somewhere.</p>
<p>Being a guy, I can tell you that girls at Vanderbilt are very attractive as a whole and a lot have the personality to go along with that. At Rice, I had to settle for what we considered "Rice-hot". I won't elaborate.</p>
<p>People are noticeably more conservative and 'Southern' around here. I think the student body can be a lot less diverse and it can seem at times like the frat/sorority scene dominates campus life, but what do I know... I think that you will build strong friendships wherever you end up, but the social scene seems a lot more alive here at Vandy; at Rice, a lot of kids will tell you that they're too busy to chill out some. Party scenes at both schools are relatively comparable either ways...</p>
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<p>Overall, I think that's a great dilemma to have. I'd like to say that you should visit both schools while school's in session before you make a decision. Good luck :)</p>
<p>thanks for the comments everyone. martel, you were very helpful, especially because you had perspectives from both rice and vandy. i do plan to visit both campuses before i make a decision.</p>
<p>The academics are enough on par as it is that you are going to get a great education no matter where you go. Vanderbilt is a extremely challenging academic environment and the teachers challenge you just as much as those at Rice. With academics being so close you must look at things other than that in your decision process. I think it is abundantly clear that Vanderbilt has a superior female student population, a superior social scene and one of the best locations for music in the entire country. That being said Houston is still an amazing city, but Nashville provides more flavor in my opinion.</p>
<p>Just agreeing that Martel's comments are well said (my DS is a Rice '08 BSME. He lived on south campus). He is a Mech E. you are Bio Eng., correct?</p>
<p>If you wanna do something with any of the sciences, particularly material science, Rice all the way. But if you wanna be a lawyer, stock broker, ect. Rice has nothing on Vanderbilt</p>
<p>Which school has a better Biomedical Engineering program?</p>