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Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

It pretty much is. At my office, for recruitment, we don’t differentiate between Columbia and the other top ivies. And the kids are no different. Cannot tell them apart

Keep trying. Whether you like it or not, Columbia has gone down in the prestige scale in the recent years. And STEM recruiters would definitely not differentiate between (if not prefer because of better attitudes) a Rice graduate than Columbia.

I'm just curious what brings you so much hate on Columbia.

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Anonymous wrote:All three are outstanding schools. You might want to compare the weather in each location. Some people love Houston's warmth. Personally, I feel close to collapse in that sort of humidity and find it unbearable. It's a small thing but something to consider.

You are not living there during the summer as an undergrad...

It’s still going to be high heat and humidity during the school year. September, October, April, May are all typically very hot and humid months in Houston. Even March and November can be quite hot.

My mom’s family is from Houston and we visited often. I remember sweltering thanksgivings and Easters where people got heat stroke. It’s not just the summer.

Ummm...no. This is inaccurate. It is crazy hot starting May till August. Then it starts switching between cool and humid. Oct to March is beautiful. Coincidentally much of the academic year.

No, the PP above had it right. It is not ever “cool” in Houston in September or April. You clearly haven’t spent much time there.

-Texan.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All three are outstanding schools. You might want to compare the weather in each location. Some people love Houston's warmth. Personally, I feel close to collapse in that sort of humidity and find it unbearable. It's a small thing but something to consider.

You are not living there during the summer as an undergrad...

It’s still going to be high heat and humidity during the school year. September, October, April, May are all typically very hot and humid months in Houston. Even March and November can be quite hot.

My mom’s family is from Houston and we visited often. I remember sweltering thanksgivings and Easters where people got heat stroke. It’s not just the summer.

Ummm...no. This is inaccurate. It is crazy hot starting May till August. Then it starts switching between cool and humid. Oct to March is beautiful. Coincidentally much of the academic year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

It pretty much is. At my office, for recruitment, we don’t differentiate between Columbia and the other top ivies. And the kids are no different. Cannot tell them apart

Keep trying. Whether you like it or not, Columbia has gone down in the prestige scale in the recent years. And STEM recruiters would definitely not differentiate between (if not prefer because of better attitudes) a Rice graduate than Columbia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

It pretty much is. At my office, for recruitment, we don’t differentiate between Columbia and the other top ivies. And the kids are no different. Cannot tell them apart

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

Anonymous wrote:Who cares whether it's 50 protesters at Rice vs a few hundred at Columbia? Both are large schools and NYC is a far more interesting place to live and study than Houston.

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Anonymous wrote:Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

Yes, right now would be a good time to visit Columbia to fully appreciate its welcoming down-home atmosphere.

Or Rice. They caught the bug like everyone else. It all began at Columbia.

I live close to Rice. The 'bug' as you refer to is nowhere as close to dimension in Rice as at Columbia.
Kids are busy prepping for finals and moving out. Not one tent or demonstration in site.

Funny, all you have to do is Google.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/civil-rights/protests/2024/04/24/484557/rice-students-nationwide-pro-palestinian-protests-encampment/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All three are outstanding schools. You might want to compare the weather in each location. Some people love Houston's warmth. Personally, I feel close to collapse in that sort of humidity and find it unbearable. It's a small thing but something to consider.

You are not living there during the summer as an undergrad...

It’s still going to be high heat and humidity during the school year. September, October, April, May are all typically very hot and humid months in Houston. Even March and November can be quite hot.

My mom’s family is from Houston and we visited often. I remember sweltering thanksgivings and Easters where people got heat stroke. It’s not just the summer.

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Anonymous wrote:Choose Rice!

Rice University is a great school with happy students. I have so many fond memories of Rice. Also, Houston is a fun city to live in.

No one chooses Rice over Columbia unless it is a money issue

I know plenty of students who have chosen Rice and other universities over Columbia. These are all full pay students. You just don't understand that Columbia is not appealing to or safe for many students. Besides the rampant antisemitism and hostile environment for students, there are severe administration problems at Columbia, increase criminal activity in the surrounding area, and the lack of focus on undergraduates are just a few reasons why people don't like Columbia. Don't even get me started on the quality of life issues at Columbia. I will not recommend Columbia for undergraduates. Amherst and Rice are better options for undergraduates.

Haters going to hate. It's perfectly safe. I was on campus last week. Protests over blown. No worse than GW, Yale, and other campuses.

Anonymous wrote:Thoughts? DC is fine in any environment. Trying to weigh a good college experience with strong after-college opportunities.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a close call. I grew up in Houston. Rice is great but doesn't have the international reach of Columbia. Amherst is a wonderful SLAC but Columbia is Ivy. My kid transferred from a top 5ish slac to a top 5 Ivy. Ivy any day, all day. Great outcomes and congrats.

Maybe but Columbia is not a top 5 Ivy.

By what metric is Columbia not a top 5 Ivy? Do tell. Because with an acceptance rate of 3.7 percent, Columbia admitted a lower share of applicants than every Ivy other than Harvard, even Princeton and Yale.

+1. This. Rice isn’t in the same category as Columbia for most people unless you’re a Texan kid who wants to stay close to home. Amherst is more selective than Rice and a completely different vibe than Columbia.

Rice is at the same if not higher level for STEM and policy majors for employers and recruiters. Is it not what matters? And if you go by feel, far more Rice alumni will say "they love Rice" than Columbia. Perceptions have changed. Esp. after the pandemic when most recruiting has gone online.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Columbia, more than most schools, elicits a love-hate feeling in most people. Any student considering it should spend a couple of days on campus before deciding. I don't think there's typically a lot of overlap with students that are going to equally love Columbia, Rice, and Amherst. Columbia is the easiest to toss from consideration just on feel alone. You either really want to spend four years there, or you really don't.

Yes, right now would be a good time to visit Columbia to fully appreciate its welcoming down-home atmosphere.

Or Rice. They caught the bug like everyone else. It all began at Columbia.

I live close to Rice. The 'bug' as you refer to is nowhere as close to dimension in Rice as at Columbia.
Kids are busy prepping for finals and moving out. Not one tent or demonstration in site.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All three are outstanding schools. You might want to compare the weather in each location. Some people love Houston's warmth. Personally, I feel close to collapse in that sort of humidity and find it unbearable. It's a small thing but something to consider.

You are not living there during the summer as an undergrad...