Rice and Wash U and BC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is trying to decide between Rice and Wash U at the moment. Had already been admitted/committed to one via RD and got off WL at the other. Has days to make a choice. Any advice appreciated.

Rice alumni love their school and students rate it high for happiness so they must be doing something right. It seems inclusive, collaborative and encouraging atmosphere by the way these people talk about it. It seems it’s a diverse and liberal community of easy going people focused more on journey and less on a fixed destination.

I went to Wash. U. in alumni times and loved it.

Rice sounds like a terrific school, but I wouldn’t want someone to choose Rice over Wash. U. based on the idea that Wash. U. alum are miserable people who all wish we’d gone to Dartmouth instead, or something like that.

Wash. U. was a great, low-key, seriously beautiful place. I was so happy I went there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

+1. WashU barely has name recognition outside of Missouri. At least Rice has pull in Texas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

+1. WashU barely has name recognition outside of Missouri. At least Rice has pull in Texas.

Even without a full cycle of knowing how well Rice's undergrad business program prepares students, if recruiting in finance/consulting is a priority then Rice would be a much better bet. Olin doesn't do anything special to help undergrads that an average state flagship can't provide, and the outcomes for kids in most of WashU's schools don't justify the price.

You'd be surprised how much pull Rice has in the northeast. I'm coming from an NE boarding school (not Andover or Exeter but on that level), and if you aren't getting into an Ivy/Stanford/MIT, students are much more enthused about getting into Rice as opposed to WashU. If WashU is your "top" option, then you'll usually be pretty disappointed with how your college process shook out, and kids would rarely matriculate there (often choose UNC, NYU, Wake, BC, NEU over WashU) despite around 40% of applicants each cycle getting in.

I can't, for the life of me, understand why WashU is ranked above a place like NYU in USNews–NYU is as good, if not better, in nearly every field/major, and has much better national and international name recognition. I assume it has something to do with the large endowment, but that means nothing if the school is unwilling to actually use it for anything outside of the med school/pre-med opportunities.

I also hope that the facade of WashU having some of "the happiest students in the country" dies soon. Most students are unhappy being here and have very valid complaints, and whoever makes those sorts of lists must've polled 5 freshmen on full-tuition scholarships that don't know other colleges exist, or the kids in Olin who have 10 minutes of HW weekly and party on weeknights. The housing situation is also awful, and the dorms are only "nice" if you can live in them–only freshmen are guaranteed on-campus housing, and around 70% of sophomores get it, but juniors and seniors are barred from living on-campus unless they are in a frat (by far the best housing situation, as they are quite literally on-campus between the gym and academic buildings) or an RA. I was one of the unlucky 30% of sophomores pushed into WashU's off-campus housing, and it's not only their most expensive housing option, but it's a 30-min walk from the rest of campus and a 40-minute walk from the nearest dining hall.

WashU laughably has no real positive campus culture or identity, and anything they try to push is as manufactured as their prestige. The only thing I could say about an "identity" is that it is an overpriced Ivy-reject school for premeds, and I have been shocked with how many students I've come across here who try to transfer out (many, like myself, come to the school knowing they'll try to transfer). I'm so thankful I don't have to come back next year, and if anyone in the future sees this, please stay far, far away from WashU unless it is your only financially-viable option. Don't be fooled by whatever USNews or Niche ranking they are able to buy–the level of education or weight of diploma offered at the school doesn't match that "T15" number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

No dog in this fight, but I would say that Wash U is better known than Rice, and both would be known by grad schools and large employers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think Rice and Wash U seem to have more cross applicants than BC.

They are closer in ranking and both seem to attract more “quirky” kids who are particularly interested in Greek life or d1 sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think Rice and Wash U seem to have more cross applicants than BC.

They are closer in ranking and both seem to attract more “quirky” kids who are particularly interested in Greek life or d1 sports.

Just curious, but how do you know that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like the vent diagram is a huge overlap of applicants at wash and rice overlapping, then very few with BC. Isnt BC a step down from the other two? I say this as a BU alum, so I am not having an ego… BC is great, but in the 40s, aren’t the other two top 20 or higher pretty consistently?

I’m a Wash. U. alum who, sorry, had a great time at Wash. U. But in the 1980s; maybe it was different then.

It’s hard for me to believe that the typical classes or students would be that much different.

It seems as if BC and BU would be better for students who’d love to be in Boston, and BC would be more appealing to students who liked the idea of going to a Catholic school.

Rice is probably classier than Wash. U., but my guess would be that experiences vary from student to student, and from COVID year to COVID year.

I guess another issue would be what people are expecting out of colleges. If, say, current BC students just expect to study, learn something and have fun, maybe that’s a lot healthier than if people go to Wash. U. and think it will get them a fancy job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

No dog in this fight, but I would say that Wash U is better known than Rice, and both would be known by grad schools and large employers.

When your college is often mixed up with at least 3 other colleges (UWash in Seattle, Washington College, GWU), then no, I don't think you can say it's more "well-known" than a place like Rice. Of course, there are differences between WashU and those other places, but it's nothing spectacular or unique enough to make WashU a household name. Everything WashU offers is done better by some other school ranked in the T30. Internationally, Rice holds much more water as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

No dog in this fight, but I would say that Wash U is better known than Rice, and both would be known by grad schools and large employers.

Y are b
When your college is often mixed up with at least 3 other colleges (UWash in Seattle, Washington College, GWU), then no, I don't think you can say it's more it’s


"well-known" than a place like Rice. Of course, there are differences between WashU and those other places, but it's nothing spectacular or unique enough to make WashU a household name. Everything WashU offers is done better by some other school ranked in the T30. Internationally, Rice holds much more water as well.

You are on drugs if you think Rice is better known, it simply isn’t it. There are one or two over the top parents of Rice students here. Both are known “enough” by the people who matter, those who hire or admit to grad school.

[Anonymous]

Agree that Rice is better known, particularly in engineering, though McKelvey is certainly nothing to sneeze at.

[Anonymous]

You have three great choices. No bad choice. It really comes down to what your DC likes and the money. Life is choices. This is a good first one for DC. Also great because can't really make an error.

But if I were going to pick it would be Rice, BC, Wash in that order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In at BC, waitlisted at WashU. 1550, 4.0uw, 4.9W, NMF, captain varsity sports etc. Really liked WashU but knew it was a crapshoot and happy with BC acceptance.

Surprised not in at Wash U with those stats. Congrats on BC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD was WL at BC and Wash U but in at Rice. We are shocked. Can anyone tell me more about Rice? The more we read, the more impressed we are!

I went to Wash. U. I think Rice is probably similar, but in Houston and probably a little more prestigious.

Going there would be comparable to going to Harvard or Yale, but with fewer classmates who are children of heads of state.

???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?

Couldn't be more true. Soon to be former student at WashU here (transferring out), and the general sentiment is that most departments/programs are nowhere near good enough to justify/make up for the total lack of name recognition the school has outside of the midwest. The CS department is downright awful, as are a lot of fields that aren't related to premed.

+1. WashU barely has name recognition outside of Missouri. At least Rice has pull in Texas.

This is absolutely not true. Washington University has great name recognition in the Midwest and South. It has a good reputation in Chicago. It has a good reputation in Houston and Dallas. I haven't lived anywhere else, but I always get a positive response.