Texas Colleges (Rice: cost, vs., moving)

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by DDivine

IMO it makes no sense for a small and exclusive boarding undergrad school to loose what makes them unique and successful for the sake of expansion. Most Texas schools are already XXL, which may or may not be a good fit for all students.

How do Rice students do in post graduate and professional school admissions? Are they at a disadvantage?

If anything there will be an advantage because they are used to more rigor. Employers know that. Admissions counselors for professional schools know that. Rice is typically considered (and ranked) as the top university in the Southwest meaning tops in Texas and adjacent states until you get to California. Like somebody said earlier, UT and A&M have some of the brightest students in the nation, but since they are gargantuan they also have a lot of average students who can just coast through some of the easier programs. That doesn't happen at all at Rice. Employers and Admissions counselors know this.

[TheOverdog]

Rice is not really regarded as an 'Ivy equivalent' though due to its small size and relatively small reach. I'm not saying that Rice grads aren't great or Rice's reputation isn't great but it's not that class either. Also UT & A&M don't really have 'average' students 'coasting through', as admissions requirements into the main schools are too high for that. Tx Tech, UNT, UofH, UT Southwestern, etc - that's where 'average' students go.

[tcualum]

Average students go to UT Southwestern? Are you kidding me? Perhaps you've confused it with Southwestern University in Georgetown.

[aa6660]

I think if you bring in Rice, you also have to bring in tuition as a factor. Excluding scholarships, Rice is at $65K, UT is at $26K, and A&M is at $29K. (Going with estimates from same site that include room and boards, texts, etc.) You are going to have that same difference really with most public v private schools. So, if cost is a concern, I'd include looking at scholarships, etc. at each school and making that a contributing factor.

Also, UT & Rice are in urban areas, A&M is less so. Although they consider the Bryan College Station metro area at 256K people, you go just a few miles in any direction and you get into a much less populated area. Austin is up near a million people and Houston is more than double that.

[TheOverdog]

Average students go to UT Southwestern?

Yes, I don't mean the hospital chain, I mean the university in San Marcos with close to 40,000 students. TSU.

[aa6660]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Yes, I don't mean the hospital chain, I mean the university in San Marcos with close to 40,000 students. TSU.

It was previously Southwest Texas State. Never Southwestern. Changed in 2003 to Texas State University - San Marcos and then in 2013 just to Texas State University. I never know what to call it because when I was there it was just referred to as 'Southwest'.

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Rice is not really regarded as an 'Ivy equivalent' though due to its small size and relatively small reach. I'm not saying that Rice grads aren't great or Rice's reputation isn't great but it's not that class either. Also UT & A&M don't really have 'average' students 'coasting through', as admissions requirements into the main schools are too high for that. Tx Tech, UNT, UofH, UT Southwestern, etc - that's where 'average' students go.

Ummm not so sure about a lot of this except Rice not being Ivy equivalent. Obviously if you are a horn or aggie engineering or physics student you aren't coasting, but there are other programs outside of math and science that may not be as demanding. Anyway...

[DanielWayne]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Yes, I don't mean the hospital chain, I mean the university in San Marcos with close to 40,000 students. TSU.

My brother went to UT Southwestern. He went to a no-name commuter school for undergrad but he also happened to be above average.

I just walked around Texas State last Sunday. Scoping out San Marcos for future employment opportunities. It's definitely not an elite university, but you can still do quite well with a degree from there. Plus quality of life in San Marcos far surpasses either Austin or College Station.

[Mark Senior]

Originally Posted by TheOverdog

Rice is not really regarded as an 'Ivy equivalent' though due to its small size and relatively small reach. I'm not saying that Rice grads aren't great or Rice's reputation isn't great but it's not that class either. Also UT & A&M don't really have 'average' students 'coasting through', as admissions requirements into the main schools are too high for that. Tx Tech, UNT, UofH, UT Southwestern, etc - that's where 'average' students go.

Average students go to Baylor, T.C.U and S.M.U. as well. Sure, some THINK more highly of Baylor or T.C.U. partly because they have had and or having success in Power Five sports.

[RSTX]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

Plus quality of life in San Marcos far surpasses either Austin or College Station.

Ummm....whatever.