<p>So I'm currently undecided which one of the schools is better. They are both great institutions, but which place is a better fit for someone with aspirations of hoping to make it in the medical field??
Will attending Rice give me a higher chance of getting into medical school vs. WashU (if say I had a great college gpa alongside a good MCAT score)?</p>
<p>I don't really know much about Rice, but I have visited WashU and done considerable research about the school and I can tell you its pre-med is very strong as well! I'm interested in BME and possibly going to Med School, but it's not a sure thing. But, if you work hard at either institution I am sure you will have many opportunities come graduation.</p>
<p>After talking to my current residents who have attended both Rice and Washu, I think the acceptance rate to medical school is higher at Rice. Wash U has a killer grading curve for courses taken by a lot of premed students. Rice is also cheaper overall, which should factor in todays gloomy economic climate. Both are great schools.</p>
<p>WashU has a very strong med school, which I believe is stronger than Rice's. Both are excellent though. I think you should look more for fit though, since you're going to be there for more than just studying.</p>
<p>To begin with, Rice does not have a med school. The only way to choose between the two is to visit both and see which one is a better fit for you. Having had experience at both schools, it is all about fit. The students are very similair at both and both are great schools. Don't depend on other peoples opinions - what may be good for them, may not be good for you.</p>
<p>Rice does not currently have its own med school but they are discussing a merger with Baylor College of Medicine. As for research opportunities, I know that my friend (at WashU) started research at the med school in his freshman year. But at Rice, you are right across the street from a HUGE hospital with apparently more openings than people to fill them, so there is also a ton of opportunity for research there as well.</p>
<p>Rice is across the street from the Texas Medical Center - it's about 12 or 13 hospitals and two med schools. It's the largest medical complex in the world.</p>
<p>Yes, Rice is accross the street from the medical complex, but has no affiliation with it. There is a joint Rice/Baylor medical program, that has been in place for years, that you can apply for. I have not heard about any "potential" merger. It is very competetive, but if accepted it provides for admission to the Baylor medical school. To the best of my knowledge, the Baylor medical school has only a very loose affiliation with Baylor University and is more or less an independent entity. Yes, there are openings at many of the hospitals for regular hospital employment, but no more than anywhere else in the area of research.</p>
<p>This is not to imply that either school is better than the other since they have many similarities. Once again, my advice is the same - visit both and see which one is a better fit for you.</p>
<p>The merger talks are quite serious: Rice</a>, Baylor Medicine closer to merger deal | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle</p>
<p>Baylor College of Medicine has not been affiliated with Baylor University since 1969, according to the article.</p>
<p>MilwDad - Thanks for the update - certainly sounds like it could work for both institutions. With the difference in endownments, it will be interesting to see if they pull it off. That being said, in regard to the OP, I don't believe that it makes any difference. Either school will help them as far as med school goes - in my opinion it is more about the 4 year undergrad experience. Nobody can tell the OP what the best fit, that can only be the OP after they experience both environments.</p>
<p>My Dtr is a soph. at WashU (studio art/art history). I live 1 mile from Rice and am on clinical faculty at BCM. Both are great schools. Dtr. wanted to get away from home, otherwise Rice would have been on her list. </p>
<p>Baylor U and Baylor Coll of Med broke affiliation in 1969 and aren't affiliated at all.</p>
<p>There is no formal Baylor/Rice affiliation (yet), but many docs in the med center collaborate closely with Rice profs and many have joint appts. at both institutions.</p>
<p>My advice-if you try to go to a school where it is "easier" so you may not need to work as hard to get into med school, then you won't like the workload in med school, residency, fellowship or clinical practice. If you think you can win in the Super Bowl, you have to compete against the good teams.</p>
<p>Go where you like it the best (best fit) and you are more likely to do well and get into med school at either place. Both are well thought of in med school circles.
Acceptance rate to med schools are notoriously difficult to compare as some school make it very diff. to apply with a weak application and some do not. Therefore the denominators on the acceptance rates are different.</p>
<p>You can't go wrong going to either one. WashU and Rice have so many cross applicants. It's just like Harvard and Yale. So, it'll depend on your preference. St. Louis vs Houston...and the climate. But WashU is more well known for med school. It's like comparing MIT to Stanford in term of engineering, they are the same...but MIT is just more associated to that area.</p>
<p>It is very simple. Just think of the situation as apples. So now you are comparing apples vs apples as opposed to apples vs oranges. The only question is do you like red, yellow or green apples. Nobody else can tell you; the only way to know is to take a bite of each. Take a bite, or in this case spend an overnight at each school and it should give you an idea as to your potential fit. If you really want to find out the good and bad about a school - a late night session on a dorm floor tends to bring it all out. It is all about being happy in the right environment for four years of your life. If you do well at either of these schools, the door will open for any future you desire.</p>
<p>Last few posts are the advice you should listen to, especially Aardvark's. Med school admission stats are available here: AAMC:</a> FACTS: Information on Medical School Applicants, Matriculants, and Graduates</p>
<p>They do not have admission percentages by school, but have them for several other factors. They do have raw numbers by undergraduate school. The bottom line is that it is hard to get in no matter where you go or what you study. So, go where you want and study what you want. Would you buy a car you do not enjoy driving just because you think it MIGHT be a better car to have IF you move somewhere else four years from now? It makes no sense.</p>
<p>Evaluate all aspects. If you are that focused on med school, then spend time with the professional advisement office at each school. You will get a good feel for it.</p>
<p>As for me, I believe you will find the student bodies of the two schools similar in talent. Wash U will be tilted more toward Northeast students and has a larger Jewish population, whereas Rice will lean more to southwestern students. But both draw nationally and are diverse. They are both academically strong and respected. Weather and campuses are quite different.</p>