Amherst, Rice or Columbia

[Anonymous]

This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

Columbia is a solid ivy. There's rarely any weak department at Columbia. That's all that a student needs to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

By what metric is Columbia not a top 5 Ivy? Do tell. Because with an acceptance rate of 3.7 percent, Columbia admitted a lower share of applicants than every Ivy other than Harvard, even Princeton and Yale.

[Anonymous]

Amherst, Rice, and Columbia are a strange combo. A Columbia student is likely to have more and better options than Rice. It's rarely a Columbia vs Rice. It's more like Columbia vs UPenn vs Brown vs Princeton vs Harvard vs Yale....

[Anonymous]

On a Rice vs UT cross-admit battle, Rice may lose on outcomes. There's a study out that says when it comes to elite universities below ivy, e.g., Rice, Vandy, Emory , USC, Amherst, Pomona..., state unis have better outcomes than these elite universities bc of the $90,000 they charge.

[Anonymous]

Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All three are outstanding schools. You might want to compare the weather in each location. Some people love Houston's warmth. Personally, I feel close to collapse in that sort of humidity and find it unbearable. It's a small thing but something to consider.

You are not living there during the summer as an undergrad...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amherst, Rice, and Columbia are a strange combo. A Columbia student is likely to have more and better options than Rice. It's rarely a Columbia vs Rice. It's more like Columbia vs UPenn vs Brown vs Princeton vs Harvard vs Yale....

I don't think you are very up-to-date with what Rice is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

By what metric is Columbia not a top 5 Ivy? Do tell. Because with an acceptance rate of 3.7 percent, Columbia admitted a lower share of applicants than every Ivy other than Harvard, even Princeton and Yale.

+1. This. Rice isn’t in the same category as Columbia for most people unless you’re a Texan kid who wants to stay close to home. Amherst is more selective than Rice and a completely different vibe than Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

By what metric is Columbia not a top 5 Ivy? Do tell. Because with an acceptance rate of 3.7 percent, Columbia admitted a lower share of applicants than every Ivy other than Harvard, even Princeton and Yale.

+1. This. Rice isn’t in the same category as Columbia for most people unless you’re a Texan kid who wants to stay close to home. Amherst is more selective than Rice and a completely different vibe than Columbia.

Rice is at the same if not higher level for STEM and policy majors for employers and recruiters. Is it not what matters? And if you go by feel, far more Rice alumni will say "they love Rice" than Columbia. Perceptions have changed. Esp. after the pandemic when most recruiting has gone online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

By what metric is Columbia not a top 5 Ivy? Do tell. Because with an acceptance rate of 3.7 percent, Columbia admitted a lower share of applicants than every Ivy other than Harvard, even Princeton and Yale.

+1. This. Rice isn’t in the same category as Columbia for most people unless you’re a Texan kid who wants to stay close to home. Amherst is more selective than Rice and a completely different vibe than Columbia.

Rice is at the same if not higher level for STEM and policy majors for employers and recruiters. Is it not what matters? And if you go by feel, far more Rice alumni will say "they love Rice" than alumni for Columbia. Perceptions have changed. Esp. after the pandemic when most recruiting has gone online.

Same poster: One major I would suggest Columbia is econ and if they want to work in Wall Street/finance. Better outcomes in this case at Columbia than Rice. For STEM, Rice is a win win in today's world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

Yes, right now would be a good time to visit Columbia to fully appreciate its welcoming down-home atmosphere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

Yes, right now would be a good time to visit Columbia to fully appreciate its welcoming down-home atmosphere.

Or Rice. They caught the bug like everyone else. It all began at Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

Yes, right now would be a good time to visit Columbia to fully appreciate its welcoming down-home atmosphere.

Or Rice. They caught the bug like everyone else. It all began at Columbia.

I live close to Rice. The 'bug' as you refer to is nowhere as close to dimension in Rice as at Columbia.
Kids are busy prepping for finals and moving out. Not one tent or demonstration in site.