Rice vs. Cornell

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this thread is mostly dead, but I'm here because my son has the same decision. It seems odd to me that all the replies for Cornell > Rice are snarky and short and don't give any reasoning. Care to elaborate?

We had the same dilemma and ultimately chose Rice. But this was for engineering. Cornell is easily the best Ivy for engineering but it didn’t seem like a great place to spend four years. Large weed out classes. Hyper competitive students stuck in their own silos. Lots of pressure. Bleak winters. A large student body where it’s easy to get lost.

Rice is more highly ranked than Cornell. And it also seems much more human. Smaller classes. Collaborative atmosphere. A residential college system that fosters connection with other students. Kids seemed super smart but down to earth. People seemed happy. It’s not a hard partying school. It’s not a snooty school. It’s bright kids doing their thing.

Our biggest concern is that the Gulf is presently 95 degrees so there’s likely to be some strong hurricanes in August/September

[Anonymous]

DD goes to Cornell (Engineeering) and has a close friend at Rice. She says Rice seems to have more traditions that her friend really enjoys...but also admits that she is less likely to embrace those types of activities. Both are really enjoying college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice is not prestigious outside of Texas. I highly recommend Cornell because public policy is a field where the institution you go to matters.

No dog in this fight but this is simply wrong

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice is not prestigious outside of Texas. I highly recommend Cornell because public policy is a field where the institution you go to matters.

I don't especially know public policy and have zero affection for Texas, but educated people all over the US know that Rice is a serious school for smart students.

OP's child has two great choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice is not prestigious outside of Texas. I highly recommend Cornell because public policy is a field where the institution you go to matters.

I don't especially know public policy and have zero affection for Texas, but educated people all over the US know that Rice is a serious school for smart students.

OP's child has two great choices.

DP. Agreed. I'm from this area and new Rice was prestigious back in the 80s even!

Congrats to OP and the PP who bumped on great choices. Would love to know what you decide(d).

[Anonymous]

Knew not new! Terrible typist here.

[Anonymous]

DC struggled with this choice/decision a couple of years ago and chose Rice. DC was always enamored with Cornell, but after visiting both schools, talking with current students, talking with alumni, talking with current professors, etc - the clear choice was Rice. DC not big into rankings, so Cornell at the bottom of the Ivy and behind Rice did not play into the decision. So far a wonderful experience and DC feels like they may have dodged a bullet with Cornell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful school, but even the Cornell boosters on this site are a bit cringe-worthy with their blind, defensive and immediate advocacy. Almost as if they get an alert when Cornell is mentioned on this site lol. As my DC said after a visit, too many weird and ultra competitive kids like “Andy from the Office”, who seemed a bit off. Rice full of “happy well-adjusted and brilliant kids” - different strokes for different folks..

[Anonymous]

Rice is definitely filled with grinders. It isn't some academic and social nirvana. The climate and environment are completely different. I'd think after visiting kids would have a clear preference between warm & urban and cold & not urban.

[Anonymous]

Really need to visit both schools. Those who dislike Rice seem to focus on the weather, the medical hospital feel & appearance of the campus. Those who dislike Cornell also focus on weather & location as negatives to them.

Obvious differences are big school versus smaller school, weather, & location.

[Anonymous]

Not really to the point but some may be interested. My parents went to Rice in the early 60s and spoke often about their experiences there. Really bright classmates. Progressive, left-wing student body even back then (my mother’s roommate went to Central America after graduation with a group of social democrats, a student group went to hear Fidel Castro speak when he was in town, etc). At that time, Rice was tuition free for TX residents and accepted only top HS students. Was considered more prestigious than HPYS for TX residents (my Dad got into those schools - he’s pretty brilliant - but went to Rice bc “that’s where the smart people went).

Also, Houston is a pretty progressive city too. Yes, it’s TX but there is a real urban/rural divide in politics there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC struggled with this choice/decision a couple of years ago and chose Rice. DC was always enamored with Cornell, but after visiting both schools, talking with current students, talking with alumni, talking with current professors, etc - the clear choice was Rice. DC not big into rankings, so Cornell at the bottom of the Ivy and behind Rice did not play into the decision. So far a wonderful experience and DC feels like they may have dodged a bullet with Cornell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful school, but even the Cornell boosters on this site are a bit cringe-worthy with their blind, defensive and immediate advocacy. Almost as if they get an alert when Cornell is mentioned on this site lol. As my DC said after a visit, too many weird and ultra competitive kids like “Andy from the Office”, who seemed a bit off. Rice full of “happy well-adjusted and brilliant kids” - different strokes for different folks..

Dodged a bullet? Talk about being overly dramatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC struggled with this choice/decision a couple of years ago and chose Rice. DC was always enamored with Cornell, but after visiting both schools, talking with current students, talking with alumni, talking with current professors, etc - the clear choice was Rice. DC not big into rankings, so Cornell at the bottom of the Ivy and behind Rice did not play into the decision. So far a wonderful experience and DC feels like they may have dodged a bullet with Cornell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful school, but even the Cornell boosters on this site are a bit cringe-worthy with their blind, defensive and immediate advocacy. Almost as if they get an alert when Cornell is mentioned on this site lol. As my DC said after a visit, too many weird and ultra competitive kids like “Andy from the Office”, who seemed a bit off. Rice full of “happy well-adjusted and brilliant kids” - different strokes for different folks..

Dodged a bullet? Talk about being overly dramatic.

ahh - the cornell boosters surface!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC struggled with this choice/decision a couple of years ago and chose Rice. DC was always enamored with Cornell, but after visiting both schools, talking with current students, talking with alumni, talking with current professors, etc - the clear choice was Rice. DC not big into rankings, so Cornell at the bottom of the Ivy and behind Rice did not play into the decision. So far a wonderful experience and DC feels like they may have dodged a bullet with Cornell. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful school, but even the Cornell boosters on this site are a bit cringe-worthy with their blind, defensive and immediate advocacy. Almost as if they get an alert when Cornell is mentioned on this site lol. As my DC said after a visit, too many weird and ultra competitive kids like “Andy from the Office”, who seemed a bit off. Rice full of “happy well-adjusted and brilliant kids” - different strokes for different folks..

I don't think you are doing Rice any favors. No need to put Cornell down in order to show how much you love Rice. Very low class.

[Anonymous]

Well, its not about caliber, ranking or prestige here as both schools are comparable. What's different here is size, location, cost, climate and culture, which are very individual centered. However, there is no win-lose situation in this scenario, you can't go wrong with either of these two schools.

If I had to chose, a harsh winter in a college town would make it very easy for me to eliminate Cornell but for my brother, a hot summer in Texas would be a big NO, even though he won't have to go to college from mid may to late August.

[Anonymous]

One point to consider is internships. Houston is a major city with plenty of options for summer as well as year round opportunities in almost every field from medicine, engineering, consulting, finance, sports, pharmaceutical, oil, energy, banking and what not.