Rice is much more nerdy. At Duke, you will find your untalented feeder school kids + legacy/donor kids, which are pretty much absent at Rice.

Duke still has more lay prestige, if that matters, but really no door is open at Duke and closed at Rice for a high-achieving kid.

I have kid at Rice. The residential college system is a HUGE part of what makes Rice so unique. You're not getting that at Hopkins or Duke.

To the poster above who suggested W&M, I agree that they are a similar blend of nerdy/friendly.

Re: Texas avoidance. I don't love Texas, but the weather during the academic year is actually kind of awesome and my super liberal kid is managing ok.

Rice is in a great part of town whereas Durham is sketchy and Duke is divided into 2 parts.

Anonymous wrote:DD really likes Rice for the STEM rigor, research opportunities, nice balance of slightly nerdy student vibe mixed with a fun (not fueled by heavy partying) and collaborative campus culture, but she doesn’t want to live in Texas. A science kid, high stats top rigor from a private that sends kid to both schools. Great ECs. Would Duke be similar to Rice academically and just as supportive, collaborative and fun or if it a lot less nerdy and more fratty?

What other high reach schools are like Rice but not in Texas? Narrowing down ED options. Not applying to HYP due to unhooked.

Very very different. I am not saying one is better than the other. If youa re not in a frat at Duke, you tend to be lonely socially.

And I agree, Rice is so liberal. Maybe you should visit. Rice is filled with liberal progressive kids and is located in the vicinity of one of the most liberal neighborhoods [considered one of the best in the nation] and most highly educated areas in the country.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have insight on Rice vs. Hopkins? They seem similarly nerdy and STEM-focused. Both lack a big sports culture and are located in cities that are not a draw for kids. What is the East Coast version of Rice?

Houston is a huge draw for young people. Not sure what you mean by this.

The Rice Campus is really nice and they’ve doubled the size of Rice Village. The whole vibe of that campus feels highly intellectual. So what about Texas, really? Houston is blue. And honestly if she needed that kind of medical intervention you’d fly her home.

So much garbage in this thread about Rice and Houston. From your description of your kiddo, Rice sounds like a good fit. What about Carnegie Mellon as an alternative? Or John Hopkins? Assuming you don't think she should apply to MIT, Cal Tech, or Stanford.

So much DCUM Duke worship, as expected. OP didn’t even ask about selectivity yet the Duke moms need to say “it’s an extremely hard admit.”

Then they wonder why nobody likes them.

OP, for this description — "STEM rigor, research opportunities, nice balance of slightly nerdy student vibe mixed with a fun (not fueled by heavy partying) and collaborative campus culture" — the closest school my daughter found to Rice's vibe was William & Mary. Like yours, she was unsure about Rice because of Texas, but ended up being WL'd in RD anyway, so it was moot, but she has loved being at W&M. She joined a professor's research lab freshman year and this summer got both a part-time job helping a grad student do their research and also won a grant to do her own original research on existing datasets. If you haven't looked at W&M yet, or dismissed it because you're OOS (we are, too), your daughter might check it out.

Peer Institutions---you can sign up for a free account.

I'd take a screen shot and post it but I don't know how.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/who-does-your-college-think-its-peers-are?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_4101267_nl_Academe-Today_date_20220419&cid=at&source&sourceid&cid2=gen_login_refresh&fbclid=IwY2xjawR4FiFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFTRHZPa0xXNjFwb3gzcG1nc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnGErAqsRrm8wm01G0B3HveA6wIxrpmM2fj_d72CyqPmV5rKhfA7WhJiQbWO_aem_--HOVCO5fu8JWMRb_XU_2g

Anonymous wrote:They are very similar. I think Rice is an easier admit. Neither university is a bastion of diversity though. Both lean conservative and both located in MAGA dominated state legislatures.

In such states usually the most liberal place in the state is the flagship university.

Rice is likely among the most diverse schools in the country. And almost no one at Rice identifies as a Trump supporting conservative. If you are looking for a white, fratty, southern school, Rice is definitely not it. It's largely a happy nerd school with a great campus in the nicest area of Houston.

I get the Texas thing. But North Carolina isn't much better. And no one is singing the praises of Durham. At least in Houston, you eat well.

Generally, Rice is really good in STEM and pre-med. Better than Duke. Also good in other things, but that's what they are known for. They are next to the largest medical complex in the world, so lots of opportunities for the pre-med students.

I personally think the whole South and Texas and politics thing is overblown. If you want MAGA, go to a SLAC in New England or the Midwest. MAGA tends to be rural and small town people. Not frickin' Houston, which is one of the bluest and most diverse cities in the country.

Anonymous wrote:They are very similar. I think Rice is an easier admit. Neither university is a bastion of diversity though. Both lean conservative and both located in MAGA dominated state legislatures.

In such states usually the most liberal place in the state is the flagship university.

This is very much NOT the case for UT / Rice.

Houston in particular is a highly diverse, liberal city, and that is reflected in the student body. There's a lot to dislike about Houston - especially the climate - but the diversity is not a part of that, it's one of the best parts of the town: a highly diverse community just becomes the default expectation. And while the climate is terrible, it is worst during the months that most kids go home for the summer / the first 2 months of the year but can be quite pleasant Nov-May. Rice itself is a beautiful enclosed campus in one of the nicest parts of town. It has the Med Center and Hermann park to the east, Rice Village (shopping and dining that has been moving upscale over the last 10-20 years) to the west, and very nice residential communities to the N and S.

Does anyone have insight on Rice vs. Hopkins? They seem similarly nerdy and STEM-focused. Both lack a big sports culture and are located in cities that are not a draw for kids. What is the East Coast version of Rice?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are far fewer a-holes at Rice than at Dook. Your daughter might consider looking at Vandy, Tulane and Emory if the South (ex. Texas) is a draw. Otherwise, perhaps a NESCAC or other SLAC?

+1

Duke leads the nation in number of enrolled a-holes.

Percentage. Michigan has more in terms of raw numbers, but it is 5x the size of Dook.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are far fewer a-holes at Rice than at Dook. Your daughter might consider looking at Vandy, Tulane and Emory if the South (ex. Texas) is a draw. Otherwise, perhaps a NESCAC or other SLAC?

+1

Duke leads the nation in number of enrolled a-holes.

How so?