<p>I have been to Rice a couple times in the 80’s - very nice and classy - and have spent quite a bit of time in Houston and Texas in general (used to live in South Louisiana)… Houston weather and the lack of a ‘college town’ atmosphere would be about the only things I would think twice about. But, I would gladly trade weather and college town feel for a chance to live in Texas :).</p>
<p>Except for BBQ, which isn’t Houston’s strongpoint, I don’t have any great desire to live in Texas. But I could easily imagine spending a few years there. I like living in new places though and I think college is a good time to get to know a new part of the country. Pittsburgh has five colleges in town, so there’s lots of college age stuff to do. </p>
<p>If you can swing it, I’d visit both, one can always put off visits till one sees if one got in, though my youngest at least, thought it was much easier to write essays if you had a better sense of what the school was like.</p>
<p>I totally agree, if you can visit, do it. I’ll bet they have a completely different feeling, and people get a strong feeling one way or another. Funny, after all the colleges we visited (and believe me, there were plenty), CMU was the only one that actually interested and excited my older son. Unfortunately, after my younger son visited…he pulled his application, because he didn’t like it. It will also help the application to have visited CMU, but I don’t know about Rice.</p>
<p>Both CMU and Rice are well-respected elite universities from what I’ve seen. </p>
<p>CMU does get a major boost in terms of perceived status at my STEM-oriented public magnet high school when I attended in the early-mid '90s because of its topflight STEM programs whereas Rice’s STEM programs while highly respected for their strengths…wasn’t regarded on the same level for such programs. </p>
<p>On the other hand, my GC and most HS classmates would wonder what someone was smoking if he/she turned down admission to Rice to attend CMU as a Humanities/Social Science major as in those academic areas…Rice would be regarded as the superior school with far greater strengths in those areas. </p>
<p>In terms of social/campus life, it seems those who went off to CMU wanted to delve deeply into their STEM fields and reveled in the huge techie/geek culture which prevailed…a culture which was widely appreciated and even admired by many at my HS, </p>
<p>Those who went off to Rice tended to be those seeking a more balanced academic and social experience whether it’s STEM & humanities/social sciences/arts in some sort of balance or the option to have a typical college partying experience or not. While there is a techie/geek culture, it’s nowhere near as prevalent…and doesn’t compare with its dominance as recounted by several friends/colleagues who are CMU alums with relatives/friends who attended Rice. </p>
<p>Regarding the partying bit…didn’t seem to be much more than what many more intellectually-oriented LACs/universities seem to have from what I’ve heard from Rice alum friends and colleagues. Some drinking, music, dancing…but nothing like what I heard about from older colleagues, co-workers, relatives, and friends’ experience at universities which epitomized the party school stereotype.</p>
<p>What I quoted from above was from the CMU 2011-12 course catalog for the College of Science: [Mellon</a> College of Science](<a href=“http://coursecatalog.web.cmu.edu/melloncollegeofscience/]Mellon”>Mellon College of Science < Carnegie Mellon University). Perhaps they forgo the core science requirements in certain cases–my advice to the OP was to look carefully. We crossed CMU off the list early not only because of what appeared to be an onerous science requirement but because of a real weakness in the area of music my DD wished to study. Music majors often have heavy performance (and therefore rehearsal) schedules, and it can be tough to fit in the requirements for unrelated double majors even at schools that don’t have heavy core requirements.</p>
<p>Went to a CMU presentation Mon. and have visited campus with my ds - in case you are interested in finaid, they will only commit to meet the full need of ED applicants. All in COA $59770 for coming yr.</p>
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<p>As a note, though, it can be done. One of my good friends at CMU was able to finish a dual degree program in engineering and music. It took a lot of work, but he always said it was a good decision.</p>
<p>The music degree at Rice is a B Music and at CMU it is a BFA or BS.</p>
<p>Maybe neither? </p>
<p>At both CMU and RICE, music and math are in different schools. If they don’t have separate admissions (I think they do), each of the music schools will require a level of competence and commitment that would make a double major very close to impossible - IF a student happened to get into both schools.</p>
<p>I can think of plenty of fine places where one could much more easily manage to double math and music makors.</p>
<p>This is probably what you’re looking for at CMU: [BXA</a> Intercollege Degree Programs - BSA Program](<a href=“BSA Program - BXA Intercollege Degree Programs - Carnegie Mellon University”>BSA Program - BXA Intercollege Degree Programs - Carnegie Mellon University)</p>
<p>It is an interdisciplinary program between the CFA and another school. She could do music and math there, would have an advisor in both departments. Probably not easy to get into (I think you have to be accepted into both schools), and no doubt challenging, but it’s not unusual and it is structured so you can finish in four years.</p>
<p>Oh, they have it. Question is whether anyone actually does it. (It’s like the vaunted 3-2 program in engineering that no one ever does.)</p>
<p>I think the program’s relatively new since I don’t remember ever hearing about it when I was an undergrad, but from what I’ve seen on the CMU subforum it is an option that’s exercised by a number of people.</p>
<p>I have no idea of what Rice was like when your mom went to college, but it’s in a very nice area of Houston with a lovely shopping/restaurant area to the west of campus…west of the stadium. I love the Eggs Benedict at Black Walnut Cafe there…yummy! </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t care much for Rice’s architecture, but it’s not ugly or anything. I do like that all glass coffee place near the center of campus. </p>
<p>Of course, to the southeast of the school is “hospital world” on Main Street. Don’t know the exact count, but there’s about 10 different hospitals in a row addressing just about every health issue out there. When staying in a hotel, your fellow guests will likely be family members of hospital patients…especially at MD-Anderson Cancer Center. I spent a week there with a friend who’s fighting cancer.</p>
<p>“Oh, they have it. Question is whether anyone actually does it. (It’s like the vaunted 3-2 program in engineering that no one ever does.)”</p>
<p>My son personally knows a number of people in the program. I’m sure you could find the numbers on the CMU website. It is not the normal thing, most people just double major, but it is not that uncommon.</p>
<p>High suicide rate at Rice? That’s one I haven’t heard.</p>
<p>Son is at Rice and he is a happy, happy boy. Turned down more prestigious schools up north, where student life seemed like a grind and also super competitive. The Rice kids are hard workers, but seem more laid back that the CMU kids.</p>
<p>I didn’t know there were more prestigious schools than Rice. I thought Rice is right up there.</p>
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<p>Actually, I know several people who successfully completed 3-2 programs in engineering from LACs. One of them was my uncle who attended a midwest LAC for 3 years for Physics, two years at Columbia SEAS for CivE, 1 year for the MS CivE, and then proceeded to have a 50+ year long career as a professional engineer. </p>
<p>Several others I know attended my LAC for 3 years…and then went off to WUSTL, Caltech, Case Western, and Columbia SEAS for their final 2 years’ BSE courses.</p>
<p>Interesting that you met them - at my #1 LAC, I never met a single one. Lots of first years said they’d do it, but they never did.</p>
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<p>I’m wondering if that may be just campus cultural differences between Williams versus Oberlin or in the case of my uncle…Beloit. </p>
<p>Don’t know if it is true…but from what I’ve heard, most Williams grads tend to go off to i-banking, finance, or other fortune 500 preppy type starting career paths. No one I knew who went off to Williams…even those from my graduating HS year…were types to aspire to study or make a career out of engineering/STEM.</p>
<p>S is Williams '11. Least preppy person I know. Has read the Aeneid in Latin four times and reads Ancient Greek. No preppy career, for sure. Loved Williams. He meant to go abroad, but he couldn’t get out of Williamstown just because he loved being there (and gf a year behind may have had something to do with it.) I can’t imagine he would have been able to tear himself away to do a 3 + 2 program, but the idea of him as an engineer is scary or silly, I’m not sure which.</p>