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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've heard the kids at Rice are happier than the kids at WashU? Is there any truth to this?[/quote]

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. [/quote]

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

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. [/quote]

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