[time is running out] What college should I go to?

looks like you want someone to make a decision for you so that on the backend, if youre not happy, you dont have to take responsibility.

all those schools are fine and youll get a good education at each one. it just all depends on how much money you wanna pay for it...

if you really wanna go to rice then just do it. 20-30 yrs from now you wont be saying "i shouda woulda coulda"

prestige doesnt amout to much unless youre talking about schools like oxford, cambridge, harvard, yale, princeton, columbia, cornell, upenn... last time i checked, rice was a good school but nowhere near the above mentioned schools...

 

Okay. If you were not planning on going to med school, I would suggest Rice. It is a better school than UH or A&M (at least it is perceived to be and that is what counts when getting a job). UH and A&M are both good schools as well. I think everyone has summed up the pros/cons to each.

Since you are going to med school, your undergrad school doesn't matter as much.

My wife is a doctor (she is finishing her last year of residency in town). She went to SFA for undergrad and killed it on the MCAT.

If you choose Rice, you will owe six figures in school loans. After Med School, plan on racking up another six figures (probably $120-$200K). You have at least 4 years of residency after med school (more if you decide to be a surgeon or a radiologist). You make somewhere between $35-$45K a year as a resident. You can defer your loans until you finish, but that leaves you with at least $120K if you choose UH, and probably $250-$300K in debt if you choose Rice.

My advice would be to talk to UH people in the premed program (my wife actually double majored in biology/chemistry so you don't necessarily have to do premed) and see how hard it is to get into med school with a UH degree. If it isn't a problem (I don't see why it should be), go with the free ride.


If you would like to talk to my wife about it, please feel free, though I think there are some MD's on this board that can help you.

Also, you should at least VISIT UT. It's not all Vince Young and Partying. Austin is a cool college town and there is a very diverse group, plus you get away from Mom/Dad for a while. (And no, I didn't go there...went to TCU)

 

UH is a good school. I have a well paying job...guess where I went? UH!

I loved UH and the environment. You just have to know people. I was involved with the Greek Life pretty much (yes, some partying!)

My friend at UH is in some program and he wants to be a plastic surgeon and he is almost done.

UH is your best bet if you don't want to worry about expenses and etc.

 

you won't get into Rice from houston unless you have a knockout application - In which case you should be looking at much better schools and not even bother with UH or A&M.

 

Also true. It seems like half of college freshman comes into college thinking they're on their way to med school. Four years later most of them don't even stick with bio or premed as a major and moved on to something else. Of those that did, only a small fraction go on to med school. Which is totally fine - that is what getting an education is all about anyway.

 

word!

 

Undergrad is more than just an education, it's also about the people you connect and meet with. Take that into consideration, the value of a brand-name (that counts in the real world), and the opportunity to interact with good professors -- out of your choice I'd say Rice.

But of course, I operated differently than you -- I wanted to get out of Texas for college.

 

youre right but the kids goal is to get into medschool.
not business, law, engineering...

like i said earlier, brand-name really only applies to schools such as oxford, cambridge, harvard, yale... those schools have vast social networks that include people who can really help you out down the line... rice, doesnt fall into this category...

there are good professors everywhere. my professors at HCC did a better job of actually teaching physics that my professors from UT.........

if it were up to me, between rice, a&m, and uh. id pick uh. save money, get the same education, easier to get a high gpa... but if you think youre going to regret it, go to rice or a&m. in the end you have to do what you think is right.

 

Are we still discussing Rice and prestige in the same sentence? The Rice "prestige" is a manufactured one.

 

Rice is somewhat respected nationally, but it definitely isn't in the prestige range as some of the other schools on the East Coast.

I'd take A&M over UH. I was in a similar situation two years ago, where I had the decision between staying in state or going out of state. A&M definitely shone more like a beacon than UH.

That said, staying in state also has its drawbacks. You have a good network in-state, but the out of state network is just limited.

Think about going out of state to some extent. There are fabulous opportunities outside of the state of Texas, as well as most of the best universities in the country being located in the East Coast.

So now to do my plug...

Yale University

Yale rocks ^^
(now that's prestige...)

 

I'll chime in with the choir.

If you're positively going to med school, then choose the school you like best that will get you there. Nobody cares where you do your undergrad.

 

there's no choice to make there. if you got into rice, go. there are countless ways to get financial aid. if money is really an issue, then fine. but, if you want the best education and if you want to be a doctor with a nice resume, go to rice. it doesn't get better than that.

 

Wow, so what was your favorite '80s song...was it "Careless Whisper" or "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"?

 

why pay $120k for a bag of shiat when you can get that same bag of shiat for free?

what what happenes if you dont get into med school? then youre stuck w/ a $120k bag of shiat you could have gotten for free...

 

My girlfriend is living proof you don't need to go to Rice, etc to get into medical school. She went to Sam Houston with me, and got into medical school in Houston.

 

Get the best education, go to Rice.

I went to UH and am doing fine. You can go to UH and end up doing well, but why pass up the advantage of going to such a respected school? Unless you really cant do it for whatever reason, go to Rice.

 

Excellent point, which is why, if his choice is really those 3 schools, he should pick Rice. I agree with you that if he can get into Rice, not easy to do, he probably could get into a school out of state with a better rep, although Rice does have an excellent reputation. Using your point about changing his mind, if he gets his 4 year degree from Rice and wants to get a masters from a top notch program out of state, having that degree from Rice is apt to carry more weight than one from UH or A&M.

 

Cornell vs. Yale in hockey tonight. You're going DOWN.

 

this and the fact that you need the bbs to tell you where to go means that you are a perfect fit for aggieland