<p>thanks for the link! By strong social life, I mean some partying, but it shouldn’t dominate everything. I guess I would also be interested in active city life, club activities, etc…</p>
<p>hawkette: I had totally forgotten about this thread…Probably would be a good idea to bump it up right about now while decision-making is paramount…</p>
<p>Just one question: Did you post the criteria in the order of importance or randomly? (In other words, by placing Vandy at #1 did that mean that the 1st criteria was strongest there?)</p>
<p>I would goto Rice. I’m not sure why people would rank social life. If I like frat parties, Vandy will be on the top, however if I like to work on robotics projects, Carnegie Mellon might be at the top. Social life depends on the individual’s needs and interests. Many people, including myself were rather turned off by the large greek scene at Vandy, i saw it as a big negative rather than a positive.</p>
<p>rodney,
Not entirely sure I understand your question, but my rankings at least were based on a combination of the things in that list of 10. I do think that the welcoming (or not) nature of the environment will set the tone for so much of undergraduate life, but things like music scene, athletic scene, Greek life are certainly more influenced by individual preferences. But there are differences between campuses on all of these ten factors and I strongly recommend that students inspect, understand, and compare the prospective undergraduate environments. Those ten factors were:</p>
<p>*Welcoming nature and friendliness of the students
*Musical scene (both locally and for bands that come through)
*Athletic scene for entertainment purposes, ie, sports teams
*Greek life (good or bad)
*Strength of party scene
*Size, diversity and cohesiveness of the student body and how this impacts social life
*Weather and its impact on social activities
*Proximity to urban life/arts
*Student activities including community service, club activities, intramural sports, etc.
*Alcohol and drug scene</p>
<p>The only factor that I might now add to this would be student safety/safety of neighborhood. </p>
<p>As noted later in the thread, my “ranking” was hardly scientific, so please don’t misinterpret it. I was originally just trying to generate discussion so that we could all learn more about the nature and quality and importance of non-academic life at America’s premier colleges. However, since originally creating and posting in this thread, and after reading, thinking, talking with others, and reading, thinking and talking with others some more, I’m actually more comfortable than ever with my “ranking.” </p>
<p>Different people will undoubtedly have their own take, but in answer to your question about Vanderbilt, I think its social life would rank highly by almost anyone’s standards. Probably the major exception would be a student who either hated Greek life (it is still an important aspect of undergraduate life, but as midmo regularly posts, there is plenty of non-Greek social life as well) or cared little about the athletic scene (I personally value athletic life and consider it a major differentiator with a college like Wash U. Rice is a bit of a cross between these two with a terrific baseball team, but not much else, at least not right now). </p>
<p>Finally re the non-academic life of these three colleges, it is more a case of good-better-best rather than a student not being able to have a good experience. I think you will find the student happiness factor to be high on all three campuses and not the large numbers of stressed out students that you often encounter and hear about at their northeastern competitors.</p>
<p>A overwhelming greek scene breeds separation in the student body as well. The so called “good” fraternities and sororities at Vanderbilt are 95% white, you can’t tell me students of color don’t rush those frats, especially since Vandy attracts those applicants. When I visited Vandy a few years ago, I was overwhelmed with just how races segregate at the lunch table, of course this happens everywhere, but it was not nearly as bad elsewhere, my theory is that the greek life at vandy contributes to this lack of mingling.</p>
<p>If you can visit, go visit. This will help a lot in the decision-making. If all things are equal, Rice is the most cost effective. Vandy has the new Freshman residential college program, but Rice has had the Residential college system forever, and it is a great social system, fostering a great community network. If weather makes a difference at all, Vandy and Rice’s weather are similar. If size/intimacy matters, definitely pick Rice. Not meaning to leave Wash U in the dust-- it is a great school. The environment is just different from Rice and Vandy. If the frat scene is for you, go to Vandy. If not, go to Rice.</p>
<p>Of the three, the only one that offers one of the majors on your list is WashU. It has both an international affairs major and an international business major not offered at Rice or Vandy. </p>
<p>See [International</a> Area Studies](<a href=“http://artsci.wustl.edu/~ias/]International”>http://artsci.wustl.edu/~ias/) for international affairs and [BSBA</a> Student Services](<a href=“Olin Business School at Washington University in Saint Louis”>Olin Business School at Washington University in Saint Louis) for international business. </p>
<p>Visit, visit, visit. It’s really easy to travel to and from WashU, since there’s a metroline stop on campus that goes to the St.L/Lambert airport. Fast and cheap. JMO, but I think someone from the NE would experience less cultural and climate shock at WU than at Rice (or Vandy). Just the difference between the Midwestern vibe — particularly on a campus that has a lot of students from the NE — at WU and the Southern (Vandy) or Southern/Texan (Rice) vibe. WU gets all four seasons, including enough snow on the hilly part of the campus to allow for the sliding-on-cafeteria trays experience. </p>
<p>Sports exist at Washu, but as with the Ivy colleges, they don’t dominate the whole social experience. (Although I think the Div. 3 men’s basketball team recently defeated Amherst to win the NCAA title. Go Bears!) There is a Greek scene at WU, but not as strong as at Vandy. However, if you want to avoid Greeks entirely, then you’d have to choose Rice. If you want Greek and a big Div. 1 sports social scene, then go to Vandy. </p>
<p>I agree that the residential college system at Rice is attractive, if that level of intimacy — being housed with the same group of people all four years is something that appeals to you. (I am “pro” this concept but it may not be for everyone.) It’s true that arranging housing for current WU students can be a hassle, due to overenrollment two years ago, but I believe the administration has been making an effort to avoid that crunch in the last two admission cycles. The differences in housing are among the questions you should focus on when you visit. </p>
<p>Even without an all-inclusive residential college system, though, WU provides an excellent freshman experience in the dorms, with many fun bonding activities such as outdoor BBQs, parties, Halloween, intra-dorm mud-wrestling contests, etc. There are several spirit-building campus wide events such as WILD (walk in, lie down), a massive concert in the quad (they put out inflatable chairs and couches for students to share) and the Dance Marathon, which raises more than $100,000 for charity, and a schoolwide carnival (frats put it on) with games and such also for charity. </p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with any of those three choices, but I am biased toward WashU.</p>
<p>
Rice certainly has all three of these majors. It doesn’t have an undergrad Business school (only grad school) but the Baker Institute of Public Policy is phenomenal, and Rice has majors in Econ, poli sci etc. I believe the international relations is part of the poli sci major. There is also a minor (I believe) in policy studies (Envt’l policy, healthcare policy and mgt, gov’t policy and mgt, int’l affairs, law and justice, busness policy and mgt, urban and social change, etc). It might be considered a major, but I think it has to be combined with another major. It, like managerial studies, is not a major on its own. My personal favorite major at Rice is “Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations”. Not sure how marketable that major is… but it always makes me smile.</p>
<p>*** Forgot to mention-- there is a frequent misnomer about Rice and Houston. They may be located in Texas, but they are not what you would think of when you think “Texas”. Houston is a vibrant metropolitan city, and being on the Rice campus feels like being at any of the NE schools. Northeasterners do <em>not</em> feel out of place.</p>
<p>jazzymom- The residential college system at Rice does NOT mean you are housed with the same people for four years. First of all, each year a class of seniors leaves and a new class of freshmen enters. One year (at least) many kids HAVE to live off-campus. Many juniors and seniors move off anyway. Besides that, the residential colleges are quite large and it is unlikely that you will even KNOW everyone in your college at any given point in time. The residential college system is basically your core affiliation within Rice.</p>
<p>one last bump!</p>