Maybe cause Texas is one of the largest state in the country?</p>
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And WUSTL doesn’t have a large alumni network? They don’t have a proactive network even though they have one of the best business schools? I don’t think you should be speaking for WUSTL if you have never experienced them.</p>
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Of course there are people going to do ibanking, I’m not denying that. But what are the opportunities that will land you in the company you want to work for, the type of jobs, the location of jobs. Rice is great at staying local in texas, but what if the OP doesn’t want to stay local. There are many different jobs besides ibanking: hedge fund for example. Your argument pinpointed only Houston, but not everyone wants to stay in the same place for internship.</p>
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Again, you are assuming that everyone wants to stay local for internships. Remind you that these schools are private schools, thus people come from all over the country. What happens if they want to do an internship near their home in say the New England? WUSTL has a pretty good connection there. They can spend a summer semester in DC. Oh and if you have ever experienced St. Louis, you would have realized that St. Louis houses a federal reserve bank and many of the top banks also have branches here. P.S. What’s wrong with Chicago? You do realize that Chicago has its own stock exchange so an internship in chicago is pretty amazing. Plus one is not stuck in the same place year round.
Wait, you simple contradicted yourself there. You say that I shouldn’t speak for Rice if I don’t have personal experience but you try to say that WUSTL isn’t a target school for banks when you don’t have experience? WUSTL has international studies specifically for business, not econ, business. WUSTL is not just the target of Chicago banks (idk where you got that from: credible source) but if you look at WUSTL’s employment report: <a href=“http://www.olin.wustl.edu/docs/WCC/EmploymentBSBA.pdf[/url]”>http://www.olin.wustl.edu/docs/WCC/EmploymentBSBA.pdf</a>, WUSTL puts people into many of the major banks: JP Morgan, AIG, Citi, Goldman Sacks, Merril Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Scotland, etc. So to say that WUSTL is not the target of major banks is completely false and to say Rice is more of a target school is also false as you can tell that many of the major banks recruit at WUSTL. Yes, Rice does receive recruitment from top banks, but it’s is not a more target to WUSTL. Plus, does Rice have any recent employment records, the only one that I can find is the 2007 and that is very outdated due to recession.</p>
<p>This is actually entirely assuming OP wants to go into finance, more specifically ibanking, so I am going to tailor my response according to that premise.</p>
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Yep, I mean, duh. This is how/why I landed finance internships my freshman and sophomore year, because there is such a large number of boutique banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, asset management firms, etc (fyi, “boutique” in the sense that it’s not a big bank, not boutique in the sense of a beauty salon) in Houston, Dallas, and Austin. More so than in STL. That’s not to say it’s impossible if you go to WashU, but Rice name helps in Texas and you need to exploit every advantage and leverage you have, given this terrible economy. </p>
<p>You might notice how I constantly emphasize alumni networking and being proactive, regardless of the school you attend. </p>
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<p>Did I explicitly say this? No, I didn’t. Don’t put words in my mouth. </p>
<p>I’m repeating myself, but YOU need to be proactive and reach out to alumni - it doesn’t matter if you’re at Rice, WashU, Northwestern, Emory, Duke etc. Especially if firms you want to work for are not actively recruiting on campus. </p>
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<p>I would say both WashU and Rice suffer from regional prestige; Rice does have very famous alumni that are not “contained” in Houston, as well as not so famous ones but ones that work for companies you want to work for – and I’d presume goes the same for WashU… generally speaking, WashU’s strongest “power” is in the Midwest where it’s located, just as Rice is in Houston and Texas, and Emory in Atlanta/Southeast – but of course there are alumni all over the country. </p>
<p>Again, you will need to be proactive in seeking them out. I will always come back to this advice.</p>
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<li>I never said everyone wants to stay local for internships.</li>
<li>Since I am a student and have actually lived through this experience - let me tell you that students typically get internships (their first ones) either in their hometown or the town where the college is at, maybe for convenient (commute) or financial reasons. </li>
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<p>It’s easier since companies in your area already know your school and there are relationships built already.</p>
<p>Why do you think Rice students can’t spend a summer semester in DC either? I know a lot of Rice kids who spent their summers in think tanks and embassies in DC, and I myself interned in DC my freshman year summer (go figure, an internship NOT in Houston?). One kid is interning in the White House by taking the semester off this spring. Rice has programs to place kids in DC, but other times, again, it’s a matter of personal hustle and connections.</p>
<p>Nothing is wrong with Chicago, must you always misconstrue my words? Chicago is typically more known for sales and trading, while NYC is the finance capital, so to speak. Surely you know that? Houston is the energy hub. I’m not exactly sure what STL is known for, other than the home of Anheuser Busch (spelling?) and having pretty bad criminal records (somewhat beside the point, as WashU is in a safe area, but believe it or not, people care about these things).</p>
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<p>I’m not sure how recent that is, since the report says “over the years” when listing those companies. This is strictly anecdotal, but I’ve heard WashU is not that much of a target in terms of finance, but more so for consulting. That is, you do see some WashU representation in banks, but not all banks come to recruit. That being said, I’m sure there are alumni in finance and consulting who will be more than happy to reach out to an eager undergrad – again, a lot of this has to do with being proactive on your own. </p>
<p>I would say Rice has the slight advantage over WashU for recruitment – all the major banks have offices in Houston to execute energy M&A. You are mostly competing with UT-Austin finance majors, but there are strong Rice alumni presence at ALL major banks who understand the caliber of Rice students in spite of lacking a finance degree. It’s “easier,” relatively speaking, to break into Wall Street from Rice and Houston – you’re not competing with all the Northeast colleges, including Ivies and other top schools (Duke, Georgetown, UVA), when you’re applying to work for a bank’s NYC location (let’s face it, NYC is sexy and Houston is not as hot).</p>
<p>Let me take pains to reiterate that it is not impossible to break into Wall Street from WashU, but you will need to hustle a lot more. Being at Rice you will also need to hustle as well. Investment banking, by nature, is extremely competitive. Consulting interviews are a different animal than investment banking, and on the whole, I’d say harder because it’s more holistic and emphasize critical thinking and analysis rather than technical questions of finance.</p>
<p>Caveat: Houston is purely for energy. Chicago I’d say is transportation (airlines, etc). Los Angeles/San Francisco is technology, media, and entertainment. NYC pretty much does the rest.</p>
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<p>Again, this is assuming OP wants to go into finance, specifically IB, which in turn, may not even be the case. I cannot speak for other industries like marketing or supply chain management, but just know that high GPA + relevant work experience + networking is the critical formula for success in landing your desired internship.</p>
<p>On a lighter note, Rice and WashU are very similar and both are great schools; I probably would’ve ended up at WashU had Rice not accepted me.</p>
<p>My biggest recommendation is for you to visit both schools and talk to current students, if it’s financially feasible.</p>
<p>Also, keep an open mind to other majors and careers – the vast majority of kids end up changing their majors and career paths a couple times during their four years. And that’s perfectly okay.</p>
<p>Texas is the state with the LARGEST number of fortune 500 headquarters in the USA, and Houston is second only to NYC as being the city with the most. Many Rice kids start out interning/working in Houston, then transfer within companies to go other places. DS (a May 11’ grad) has already started working parttime for an engineering company in Houston, and will go to fulltime upon graduation. The company has headquarters in UK, and offices all over the world and the USA, allowing employees to move around…</p>
<p>Once again, thank you all very much for your help.
For future careers, as i have said before, the main major I am concerned is Electrical Engineering and I really love those Co.s such as AMD, Intel, Apple, etc. So I am curious about my chance to get internship and job there. In addition, I do not want to be an engineer all my lifetime so I think studying in buzi/econ is a good supplement. I also welcome i-banking and consulting jobs if I can access them. lol.</p>
<p>Getting a job with Intel, Apple etc. as well as i-banking is not an easy task. Neither Rice nor WUSTL will enhance or limit your opportunity in this regard (relative to each other).</p>
<p>The more important decision is finding the place you like and want to be. Being happy will help enhance your college experience and will help you in doing well, by which you can get a job of your choosing.</p>
<p>cyhtjdg: you will find Houston a easier city to adjust to as there are substantial Asian, Chinese in particular, communities there. Both schools are very strong academically but from a social stand point in your case, Houston might be a better fit. You will also find better EE intern opportunities at Rice and Houston.</p>
<p>Antarius:
Thank you for your reply. Actually I love Cali. lol. and i am also admitted by UCLA and waitlisted by Pomona College(Maybe 'cause i, as an international applicant, applied for some FA of 30K). But I do think that UCLA, as a public school with numerous people, is too large to get enough attention from professors. So although LA is a wonderful city, i do not think UCLA can offer me more chances than Rice or WUSTL. What’s your opinion?</p>
<p>So what if I can only have a minor in buzi at Rice but a double major in Olin at WUSTL?
What’s the difference? and what about Houston vs St. Louis in job market in both EE and buzi area?</p>
<p>Based on conversations I have had with recruiters, VC’s and some executives, an undergraduate business degree is not the holy grail. </p>
<p>In an MBA, you learn marketing, sales, requests for funding etc. but you need to have a knowledge of what you are going to sell. Otherwise you end up with a large disconnect between the core business and the executive team.</p>
<p>Do not base your decision on an undergraduate minor/major in business.</p>
<p>Get a BS in any engineering. A BA is not worth very much. </p>
<p>Also, EE is a challenging major. Double majoring in EE and Econ can be tough. See how it goes. Doing a major in EE with a minor in Business is not a bad idea either. Business minors are good accessory degrees.</p>
<p>Yes, you will be able to do anything you want and then make a decision based on your schedule and interests.</p>
<p>The GPA curve is very dependent on major and professor. We do not have rampant grade inflation, but grading on a curve is common (especially in engineering majors). If you work hard, do your HW etc. you will be able to get a good GPA</p>
<p>Antarius,
since Rice does not have too many students, I can have a better personal care/attention? I mean, if the advisor can really help a lot? in selecting major/courses and future career?</p>
<p>The smaller size means that you will be able to find good help easily. Professors know you on a first name basis. I play sports with one professor every couple of weeks and go out to get a beer with another one. </p>
<p>Doors are always open, which is one thing I like about Rice. If you need help, have questions or want to do research, stop by a professors office and talk to them.</p>
<p>Houston is an interesting city. it is huge and in many ways is not contiguous. There are pockets of the city that are very different from each other. This makes it interesting both in terms of places to go and food to eat. (Houston has the most restaurants per mile I believe). One of the downsides is that you need a car to fully experience Houston. You can get around using the light rail, but its range is limited.</p>
<p>Weather is awful for a few months of the year. August, September are humid and blazing hot. October, November are cooler and pleasant. Usually Dec-Feb is cold with the lows being in the 30’s. Which is pleasant and enjoyable to anyone from the Northeast/Midwest. March through April is nice (high of 80’s, low of upper 60’s). The summer is hot and humid, but you should try to live somewhere else and work if possible :P</p>
<p>Opportunities - Texas has the most Fortune 500 companies in the country if I am not mistaken. If not, it is close. Houston has tons of companies and opportunities.</p>