<p>I'm not here to criticize Rice's academics which I perceive to be absolutely wondrous. The thing is... I'm really sold on the fact that Rice has a great student body. Its enrollment is absolutely perfect for me as a person. However, my one question about coming to Rice if I'm accepted is why come to Rice for academic reasons. I plan on going on a pre-med track and will probably major in BME. But my parents constantly ask me whether I'm going to college to have fun or to learn. And that's the one problem that I guess I find myself asking. What aspects of Rice's science program makes it better than schools like Wash U, Northwestern, and other great schools? Please keep in mind that I really, REALLY don't intend to insult Rice because I love the campus.</p>
<p>Rice has one of the highest medical school placement rates in the country (over 90%). That should be reason enough from an academic perspective to convince people</p>
<p>We do not have a BME major, we have Bioengineering.</p>
<p>The problem with that statistic is that it can be very biased through the course of weedout classes as well as other special circumstances that prevent the lesser applicants from applying… my current college placement coordinator claims that that number cannot be trusted because it’s too easily manipulated.</p>
<p>it cannot be trusted on it’s own. This combined with the Rice/Baylor program, the good rank that Rice has, the research quality, the NSF grants etc. all add up to make a convincing argument, atleast in my mind.</p>
<p>You will always be able to find a reason why place A is not as good as place B. What does you placement coordinator recommend then?</p>
<p>
Rice has lots and lots of research opportunities and lots of access to profs and the biggest collection of medical centers right across the street… but, I think these are all good schools, and I don’t think you can or should try to rank them. Better is meaningless in this context!</p>
<p>These are all peer schools, and all have quality BME programs. In Rice’s favor, I would agree with the others that getting research here is incredibly easy if you email a few PI’s showing a decent amount of interest. We also have a new Biosciences research facility in the TMC, and it’s absolutely beautiful.</p>
<p>One thing I can say that Rice will have as an advantage over Northwestern or WashU is the closeness of the BioE community here. The hardest majors here often tend to be very small, close-knit groups (since every class only has about 40-50 BioEs, ~25 Architecture students, ~30 Music majors, etc.) and the BioE group is a good example of that. If you’re comparing WashU, NW, and Rice academically, you might as well start to consider location, social life, financial aid, and other such circumstances…</p>
<p>Our undergrad BIOE program is ranked 9th in the country (the grad program is 7th). It would be higher if we had a med school (unfortunately the three across the street don’t count, even through plenty of people do research or take classes at Baylor or in the med center).</p>
<p>We have a new building for bioe research and it is baller, as stated above. Check the Rice Virtual Tour for pictures.</p>
<p>My bioe class (2012) is about 60 people, I think (we had like 10 or 15 drop during sophomore year). Despite this, it’s still very close - we work very collaboratively, throw parties each semester, etc. Group design projects help to foster these relationships.</p>
<p>If you’re pre-med, you might be interested in our global health technologies minor as well.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you want more info. I’m seriously very glad I didn’t go anywhere else for my major.</p>
<p>Also, re: one of your statements - “my parents constantly ask me whether I’m going to college to have fun or to learn” - I would argue very, very seriously that it’s much harder to learn in an environment where you’re not happy :)</p>
<p>I find the language used around different majors to be amusing. When someone changes their major in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, they are not “dropping,” they are “changing majors.” It just goes to show you the false sense of superiority that some engineering students have.</p>
<p>if you leave a major because it is too hard, then it is considered ‘dropping’, atleast to me. The same goes the other way.</p>
<p>Moving from engineering to humanities on your own volition because you feel like, is ‘changing majors’.</p>
<p>Why is the assumption that they left because it was too hard, though? Most of the sophomore “drops” I see are because they realize they’re interested in a different type of engineering, or that engineering just isn’t for them. I think there are very few people at Rice who are in a major because they think it’s “easier” than another.</p>
<p>I do know many who drop the weed-out classes because they are hard and they aren’t doing as well. This is obviously not the only case, as I know many who left because they didn’t like it as well. </p>
<p>In addition, many engineering majors are larger (in terms of credits). When I was working on my ChemE and Theatre major, the ChemE was three times the size and much more difficult. I don’t think this is in any way a testament of “better” or "worse. Just that some majors and harder than others.</p>
<p>As someone who dropped an Engineering major, I can attest that it had nothing to do with difficulty. In my case, Rice made me realize that things that I excelled in in High School were not always the things that I truly enjoyed. AP Bio, Calc, College Chem, Engineering Scholarships, etc did not mean that I was meant to be a Bioengineer. I got to Rice and realized that I hated science. It’s not that I was bad at it–my Math/Sci courses were probably my easiest this semester. I just truly enjoyed the courses I took in the Huma/Social Sci disciplines (see: John Ambler Poli 212) and was thoroughly nonplussed by my hard sciences. The lack of interest I had in these courses made it almost impossible to pay attention/study/etc. In contrast, I enjoyed going to my other courses. This is not to say that being an Engineer at Rice is easy–it’s not. That’s just a terrible generalization.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the replies. You guys have honestly helped me out a lot! and I have told my parents that being happy is essential for a good education… but they’re Asian, what can I say…</p>
<p>Pau,</p>
<p>I advise you, when you get in to attend Owl Days and bring your parents to the academic presentations. Rice tends to put together a MUCH better “admitted students recruiting day/days” than comparable schools. I know it swayed my Mother…</p>
<p>IF I get in, I definitely will, thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I’ve found that it’s often the term used by the people who decide to switch out of the more credit-intensive engineering majors themselves. Didn’t mean it as an insulting term at all!</p>
<p>Though I guess I agree with Antarius’s assessment. Switching from CHBE to CAAM because you’ve narrowed your research interests? Changing majors. Switching from BIOE to BIOC because you decided to pass-fail 252 after finding out you have a C at midterm and need to get into med school? Dropping. And that’s what happens with most BIOEs who switch, which is why I phrased it that way.</p>
<p>Cannot comment on Wash U or NW. I do have personal experience with two other top-ranked BioE programs–Duke and GaTech. Both are superb, as evidenced by their rankings. My experience with Rice is that the quality of undergraduate instruction is at least equal to those; and the learning environment, accessibility of top faculty, and research opportunities for undergraduates give Rice an edge.</p>
<p>This topic seems to come up quite often (especially around April) so I kinda want to revive this thread and put in my two cents. From personal experience, I definitely kept the quality of science programs and the premed experience in mind when applying to colleges and was able to choose between a number of schools with a reputation in these areas such as Duke, WUSTL, JHU, ivies etc with a few scholarships too. I visited a number of campuses and especially loved Rice and WUSTL. However, I have to say that in many ways Rice comes out ahead. </p>
<p>So from a practical, premed, Asian student standpoint, let me give some personal advice. Keep in mind this is simply my own point of view. Schools like WUSTL come in about 80% premed, JHU is known for grade deflation, Duke has maybe more than twice the number of premeds as Rice and virtually no opportunities immediately off campus, med schools care only very little about which school you hail from, in other words, the ivy name means nothing. On the other hand, having such a small close-knit community at Rice means less cut throat competition, less med school applicants in general, better intellectual atmosphere, smaller classes=easier to get personal attention from professors=better recommendations for med school. There are shadowing and volunteering opportunities at hospitals right across the street and it is remarkably easy to find research experience especially with the newly built BRC. It’s also cheaper than other schools and with med schools at around $70000 annually you need the extra money. It’s one of the few top schools that offer merit money so if you get one of those, bonus to you. </p>
<p>The 90% med school acceptance is no joke either. All schools have weed out intro classes but the reason that rate is often misrepresented at certain other schools is because if you have below a certain GPA or MCAT the committee will simply not recommend you and refuse to write a letter. At Rice, if you decide to apply you will be supported no matter your stats. People are smart, friendly, down to earth, and the quality of education, especially in the sciences and engineering, is excellent. Rice is not known for grade inflation or deflation so you won’t see med schools reevaluating your GPA based on that but at the same time if you work hard it’s really not that difficult to do well (as in >=3.5) even for an engineering major. It’s easy to double major if you have more than one interest and the distribution requirements means you will get the broad, liberal arts style education med schools likr. Rice also takes massive AP credits which clears you to take many upper level classes and if you want, can allow you to graduate in three years. Rice may not be as well known in certain places, especially on the east coast where I’m from and among the less educated masses, but you can tell your parents that grad schools and recruiters are very aware of which are the good schools and that ranking matters very little among the top 20 schools (unless you’re HYP but that’s because you have an extensive, powerful alumni network xP). It’s more so how well you do at the school and how well you make use of the resources given that matters, esp for grad schools. Rice is also expanding quickly with the new servery, BRC, rec center, physics building, dorms, etc etc that you will be reaping the benefits of. These are among the reasons I chose Rice among other top tier schools, several of which superficially ranked higher.</p>
<p>However, in the end, you will be surprised how much it matters that you feel you click with the school when you visit. Good luck on your choice.</p>
<p>As someone who has attended Rice and Duke and who has taken intro science classes at both schools as an undergrad, I can tell you there is no difference in difficulty between the courses in science/engineering between Rice and higher ranked schools. Rice is just as rigorous as places like Duke, WashU, Northwestern, and the Ivies, and in some cases, more vigorous. It has always had a reputation of being a very tough school. You’ll be working very hard whether you attend Rice, WashU, or Northwestern; your parents seem to think that Rice is a party school, but in my opinion, Rice students study more than those at Duke. Plus, Rice has tons of undergrad research opportunities in comparison to the other top schools. However, I would disagree that classes are smaller at Rice; for the most part, my intro classes at Duke were about the same size as those at Rice, even though Rice has half the number of undergrads. Professors are top-notch at either school, but I do feel that Rice professors care a little bit more for undergrads than Duke professors. Just my two cents from someone who has attended both peer schools.</p>