Anonymous wrote:On an overall national level, Rice for sure. However, there are a few specific programs at UT Austin that are among the best in the country, better than Rice, such as engineering. Also, UT Austin is a reaaally big deal in Texas so if you know you want to stay in TX, a UT degree is probably your best bet. Most kids at Rice aren’t even from Texas and those kids generally have no real desire or intention to stay in Houston or the state after college.
A lot of assumptions here from someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about.
True, UT has a large engineering program but I wouldn't say it's head and shoulders better than Rice. And don't forget about Texas A&M, which has a pretty fair engineering department of its own.
About 35% of Rice students (and about 50% of the non-international students) are from Texas. When we toured last year, of the 12 or so tour guides working that day, I'd say half (at least) were from
Houston, including our tour guide. I was surprised Rice didn't draw more from out-of-state.