William and Mary or Rice?

College Search & Selection
1

Hello Ladies and Gents,
I’ve narrowed down the choices between these two schools. I am incredibly grateful to have the options between two awesome places, but I am having a really hard time deciding between them. My plan is to major in biology (Rice: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; W&M: Biology with option of second major: Environmental Science or minor: Marine Science). I want to go to graduate school and get a degree in either marine biology or conservation biology/zoology.

Here are some things I love about both places…
W&M: It’s quite old, and I absolutely love history. I loved walking around Colonial Williamsburg (though my parents said that that would get lackluster after a while.) However, I still love the charm of the campus and the fact that it isn’t located in a huge city. I am an outdoorsy person and I do love the location of the school. The other plus is the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, where I’m hoping to become involved. Lastly, I think I fit the mold of a twamp and knowing that most of the students are somewhat like that is a huge draw.

Rice: Location is great; I love warm weather. However, Houston is huge and I am from a much smaller city in the Northwest. (Of course, I wouldn’t mind going though.) Rice is known for its strong science department and I also love the residential college system! I’ve heard the students there are also quite serious, smart, and goofy. Big plus. I believe Rice has a better reputation than W&M and I think that is pulling me towards Rice. However, when I step back, I remember that I am looking for fit, not prestige.

And there is the issue! I feel that both schools would be great for me. I would very much appreciate any thoughts or input. Help me out here! :slight_smile:

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Are the costs similar?

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@siliconvalleymom Yes, that too!

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First I want to say that you can’t go wrong, but it sounds like you are leaning towards William & Mary.

Everything you say about W&M that you like is about how YOU feel about the experience there: the charm of the campus, the surrounding town (some people never get tired of history - I don’t) for both its size and your outdoorsy nature, an academic offering there, and fitting in with the sudents (I had to look up what a TWAMP was, lol). Some things you say about Rice are based on what you like Rice (the residential college system, primarily) but other things are based upon what others have said or what you have heard - chief among them that Rice has a better reputation.You also really love Williamsburg but you concede that you “wouldn’t mind” Rice.

Any reputational differences between William & Mary and Rice are quite small. W&M has a reputation of being an excellent university, both research-wise and for its education. Their Wikipedia page says that 60% of W&M students go onto graduate school within 5 years of graduation. They’re a top public research institution, with active professors. If you are interested in marine science and ecology for graduate school, it’s tough to beat the coastal location and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. You will get an excellent education there, and you can go to a top graduate school from W&M if you want.

Not that these aren’t true of Rice - Rice is excellent as well, also a top research university, with great prospects - but I’m emphasizing W&M because you really seem to want to go there and are only put off by the difference in reputation - that’s negligible.

You might eventually get tired of colonial Williamsburg, but by the time you do, it might be time to move on anyway.

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@juillet Thank you for the input! I think I may visit both schools during the admitted students days. Does anyone think a second visit to both would help and be worth it?

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While I may have advocated for Rice before reading your thread, it seems like you are a better “fit” for WM. It seems like your heart lies there and both are excellent so you can’t go wrong.

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I saw that you commented on my thread and I deinatly know how you feel. The decision is an extremely tough one but I’m glad that you have the opportunity to choose. You are correct that as far as national prestige goes, Rice has more of it, but you are also completely correct about choosing fit over prestige. W&M’s acedemics are probably very similar to Rice’s and it would probably prepare your for graduate school as well as rice would. I do not feel that Rice would fit you poorly, though. The biggest issue is see at Rice for you would be the urban setting considering your love of the outdoors. I actually come from a very rural area myself and I love adventuring in the woods or taking a boat onto the nearest bayou and exploring, so I understand that the urban lifestyle may be unappealing. Have you visited Rice, though? It is pretty green considering that it is in the middle of Houston.

Defiantly visit both. You should go where you will be happier. Look at the school’s atmosphere and how much trust the faculty at each school puts into the students own ability to learn.

Also look at cost. If everything else is equal in your mind, pick the cheaper one. If money is not an issue and everything else is still equal, flip a coin, if you don’t like the one the coin tells you to pick, flip again.

my personal opinion of each school, totally subjective and do take with a grain of salt

-Rice will probably have students who are overall more “intelligent”. It is very difficult to define intelligence, so I refer strictly to the ability to preform in a classroom. This does not mean that W&M won’t have intelligent students, though, because it defiantly will.

-W&M will be more of a college town experience, if that is what you want.

-Rice is more ‘fun’ when it comes to partying among other traditional fun activities.

-Rice will raise more eyebrows in the west and south, W&M will raise more in the VA area, and either will at least get acedemic circles to look at you.

-Rice will put you into a better position for more internships in science, but W&M certainly won’t do you any harm in that regard.

If I seem bias towards Rice, I am. I am a fan of W&M, though. I actually applied there as a semi-safety and I carrfully selected it because I thought that I would like it there if I did not get into my other top choices. My goals are different than yours, though, so pick what fits YOU, not anyone else.

PLEASE visit both. Rice is amazing and W&M is defiantly a unique place. Are you going to owl days?

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@TXCAVA Thank you for the input! I would try and help you out, but I know absolutely nothing about WashU.

I have visited both schools briefly during the summer but feel that I need to be there when the students themselves are actually there. So, yes I will be going to owl days. Are you going as well?

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@Belizeme‌ yep, I will :). I think visiting both schools will help you make your final decision. I doubt you could make a wrong decision either way, so pick where you fit. And it’s fine, I have already researched WashU a lot, I was mostly looking for current student input.

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@TXCAVA Can’t wait to see ya there!

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I agree with multiple posters that you need to visit both schools.

A couple points on Rice, to at least keep in mind. First, you can’t live on campus your Junior year. They don’t have the housing, so you get “kicked off” that year. May not be a big deal, but a total turn-off for our son, who wanted a 4-year residential college experience.

Second, and this is a bit anecdotal, but Rice is VERY competitive in Biology, with tons of Pre-med majors in Biology that will be gunning for grades. If you don’t want that kind of heat, W&M may be a better idea, but hardly an easy path either. I heard the word “cut-throat” bandied about several times when touring Rice.

I grew up new Williamsburg, and have a soft spot for W&M. In terms of weather, both schools will be scorching hot in the summer, so do an internship elsewhere, ok?

Good luck!

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Just a quick update.

I had a blast at admitted students day at W&M. Everyone was so welcoming and incredibly friendly! I absolutely love the campus as well as Williamsburg. I originally was hesitant about the Greek scene, but discovered that most members are not like my typical stereotype of pretentious greeks. I’ll give more updates later after I visit Rice in a few days, but right now I am definitely leaning towards W&M.