<p>NU undergrad is better (#11) than Rice (#17)... even without rankings, NU is just a more prestigious place.
The med school may not be as great as Baylor, but the combo of the ugrad is good. Also, HPME is a yr shorter than R/B. The program requirements at HPME are more lax than R/B (3.3 sci GPA, 3.0 major) i think. In general, Northwestern just has a lot more prestige than Rice.</p>