U of H

I donno which Rice you guys are talking about because last time I visited Rice, about 3 weeks back, I never saw one attractive girl there. But I only hung around Jones Hall, so I guess there may some attractive girls somewhere on campus.

Anyways, dr_azadre, you have a high GPA, but how challenging is your courseload?

Out of the 4 people I know that went to Rice in the last two years, three have 1500+ SATs, and were in the top 5% of their class at a very competitive public school. The other one had a 1390, but was valedictorian of her class at another very competitive public school. She was accepted into Caltech , but transfered to Rice in the middle of her freshman year.

Don't bother coming to Houston for U of H, you can probably find a similar school near where you live. You would be easily accepted to U of H, but I would only go there as a last resort.

 

dr_azadre,

If you are genuinely interested in UH, you should definitely look into applying to the Honors College there (your scores are similar to mine and I got in back in 1993). You'll get priority registration (i.e. you register before everyone - even grad students), you'll have the chance to take classes with some of the best professors at UH, and you'll have a greater chance of getting scholarships (there are more National Merit Scholars at UH than any other college). The Honors College is run by professors who have connections with other schools and will go to bat for you if you decide to go to grad school (I know that part of the reason that I got accepted into Georgetown Law was because the dean wrote me a awesome letter of recommendation).

You will have to take a 10 hr (6 the 1st semester; 4 the 2nd semester) humanities/literature class your freshman year, but after that, you'll know how to write a good paper (which is the route to good grades in college). And I will admit that UH's reputation in Houston is less than stellar. But if you're looking to go to school in Houston and want to keep your tuition costs under control, UH is a good option.

 

About the ladies. I have a friend who goes to Rice and she lives with about 5 other Rice ladies. None are attractive. Been to a few Rice parties, not one girl was attractive. Now, that's not to say they don't have their share of good looking women, I'm sure they have plenty. But UH has a higher enrollment which means more women which means more good looking women.

About the community/junior college. That is a good idea. If you go/transfer to UH, they'll take transfer credits but won't take the grades. So if you're not really ready to go to college like alot of future freshmen are, if you bomb at a CC/JC it won't hurt your GPA when you right yourself and transfer to UH.

I had a friend who was immature and got involve in all the Corp BS at A&M. It took a toll on his GPA and he had a 0.50 after one year. He took a year off, matured, got himself strait, transfered to UH and started off with a clean slate.

 

I think Drewdog may have misunderstood what cuttino was trying to say. In his quote, he meant, if you walked into an interview and relied solely on the degree from Rice, then an employer may not hire you; given a student from UH or a lesser school than Rice with a high GPA, well experience from summer interns, club activities, etc. However given two students with identical perquisites and if the employer is willing to pay the wages for a student from Rice, then of course, the employer will pick the student from Rice, as simply stated, Rice is more respected than UH. Just because you get into Rice does not guarantee a job, you must still work hard.

Off the top of my head, UH is top in HRM, first or second in the creative writing department, and UH’s law school is second in Texas and forty-something in the nation. I am not bragging here, just listing some facts, as one should when a previous poster claims UH to “suck” without giving any valid reasons. And don’t listen to his comment of: “By going to U of H you are actually degrading your ability to get a job.” I know plenty of graduates from UH that now are working with Shell, AIM, El Paso Energy, Dynegy, Arthur Andersen (did they change their name?), etc. The major factor of securing a job position is what you do in college, not what you did in high school.

Kidrock, while on campus did you check out the Architecture building? It is beautiful. The engineering school has a nice building and the Bauer School of Business as well. With the $40 millions check they got from Charles Bauer, the building’s lobby looks very impressive. UH is a fine school, I think for the reason that it is a commuting school people give it such a hard time, that reason I don’t understand nor do I really care.

 

I haven't checked out too much of the UH campus. I just recall going into one building to take a piss, and man the building seemed like it was an old HISD high school.

I have been in the alumni center near Hofheinz, and I will say that, that building is nice.

I would imagine that all the newly built buildings look nice at UH.

I just think they have a lot of older, out of date buildings that need refurbishment or just be torn down altogether.

 

The Moores Opera House and Moores School of Music are really nice. The music school is good too if that's what you're interested in.

UH is also building a nice new student health/wellness center

 

I think it would help if you tell us what major or occupation you want to pursue.

 

You've got the right attitude, dr_azadre. The buildings don't matter, the location doesn't really matter -- what matters is getting a good education. I was happy with the quality of my education at UH, and the degree certainly hasn't held me back like some of these guys seem to argue. (kidrock - which college did you go to? Whichever one it is, you should know that "aesthetics" are hardly a great criteria for picking one).

subtomic, you got in the Honors College back in 93? That was the same year I got in! Do I know you?

 

Yale is probably the ugliest place on the planet, but nobody complains about the school.

Sam, you probably knew who I was (skinny dude with long black hair, Fu Manchu moustache and dork glasses) but considering what a hermit I was during college, you probably didn't see me that often. Did you ever go to the Honors College post-Halloween bashes?

 

As for getting in to U of H, hell yea you can. I got in with a 2.7 GPA and an ACT score of 20 going to a 5A school.

The option of going to a community college here in HTown before going to a major university is you best bet. For the first 2 years of taking your core classes, bout 80% of them are going to be auditorium classes with students up to 400. I screwed up my first year and a half with those classes, by either dropping the class, or just straight up failed it. It really is a benefit to go to a class with less than 40 people.

I, myself, is a Information Systems Technology major at the university. Its a pretty popular major because I guess these days, everybody wants a major that deals with computers. Plus it is probably the easiest way to get a degree.

As for tution, I am paying bout $1,500 a semester for taking 12 hours. That isnt too bad at all compared to other universities.

The females there is unbelieveable. For being an asian, I have never seen so many asians outside of Asia. But pretty much, the ehtnicity count is pretty much even in every catagory.

Overall, I love my school. I have a rough first year and half but that is mainly my fault. But, in reality, with those grades, you can get into any school you want. Wherever you, its up to you. We are just here to give you our input and expierence.

 

Then I guess you're not a Doctor

Dr_Azadre?

 

Sam, you probably knew who I was (skinny dude with long black hair, Fu Manchu moustache and dork glasses) but considering what a hermit I was during college, you probably didn't see me that often. Did you ever go to the Honors College post-Halloween bashes?

Maybe, maybe no. There were plenty of skinny dudes there with long hair and dorky glasses but the Fu Manchu helps narrow it down. I don't think I made it to a single HC Halloween deal - hung out with non Honors friends instead usually. I did work there though, so if you had to come into the office we might've met then. I'm kind of a stocky dude, short dark hair, had a goatee for awhile back in college. Or we could've had a class together. Anyway, small world.

 

Dr_Azadre,
U of H is a decent school but there are a lot of things to consider. UH has more National Merit scholars than anyone else, and their chemical engineering dept is one of the top 10 in the country. I got into MIT and I chose UH, and I've been pretty happy with my choice. If you're going to come in from out of state, take a good look at the Honors College. The classes are small, I've had good professors, and you get priority registration. You can get into UH easily, it's just a matter of scholarships/Honors College admission. If you have any more questions, you can email me. I'll help you avoid the bad dorms if you get in.

P.S. If you like good football, stay FAR FAR AWAY from UH.

 

UH isnt a bad school, its just not for me

I considered it my senior year because my older sister who i get along great with finally got a job in houston and i could see her a lot.

But i really made up my mind my junior year in high school. I had always been a UT football fan since many of relatives were aggies and i wanted to be different, plus i always liked the underdog and a lot of the early 80's we were underdogs in the "big" game

So anyways, my junior year my mom gets me tickets to the UT-Rice game in Austin(ironically those were the two schools i was considering) and i went to the stadium with a hs friend and my dad. What i saw made up my mind, the stadium was packed for a rice game, a pretty avg-below avg football team. Plus, i knew about the basketball and football teams success, etc.

Plus once i sat down and thought about it my passion is sports, not just as a fan, but a career in sports journalism is what i wanted and rice is a predominantly math/science school. The rest is history as i used the top 10% rule to gain automatic admission into UT-i had a 4.39 gpa with an 1190 SAT score and its been the best decision of my life.

Overall, UH is a good school and it doesnt deserve a complete bad bashing but my mom went there in the early 70s and she even admits the quality has declined, plus it was evident in the scholarship offer i received, that i felt like they had to do it to get my vote. Anyways, now im a freshman at UT with sophomore hrs, studying broadcast journalism with a future in sportscasting.

 

Dr_Azadre,
I don't know much about the specifics of the math and science dept., as far as how they rank compared to others. If you aren't in one of the "good", well-respected majors (creative writing, chem eng, HRM), then have caution. Remember to look for a place that fits YOU, don't listen to homers glorify their school all day. Also be sure to visit your top choices. Anyways, good luck!

 

UH is about as diverse as they come, plenty of hot women too.
It is a commuter school though, you will have to work harder to find a "place"(community).

Honors colleges/programs are a great way to go in any public institution--and your record should get you in them (IMO, probably the best deals in higher ed). You typically get small class experience and help you develop a network/community often unavailable within a large school. Not that I was in it , but friends a while back at UT (Plan 2) said they basically got a bunch easy A's too boot (great lauching place for future Law/Med/Grad school applications).

As for the "school name" doing much for you in the professional world, it typically doesn't mean much. Most professional programs (med, law) basically use a formula of your GPA*test scores irregardless of the school. Of course most students at Harvard get A's, I assume at Rice it is like that. An enginerring degree from Rice, A&M, UT or UH all will probably get you entry in the job market in a similar position. Rice is an excellent school at an outstanding price relative to the comp (Harvard, Stanford, etc), but it still is darn expensive and probably the extra weight of Rice on your deploma will mainly be of value if it is a business degree, perhaps applying to non-professional grad school (probably won't matter for Law/Med much), and in providing initial connections to future employers. Of course I am no fan of the A&M culture being a T-sip, but their engineering school also does an excellent job in the "connections" department that often is the distinguishing characteristic of a Rice, Harvard, Stanford, etc.

In the end, if you are good it doesn't matter what school name is on your degree (or sometimes whether you have one at all), though if you aren't, having a paper from a name school might help carry you a little while until the rest of the world figures it out.

 

Actually, I believe the difference in tuition per year between Rice and Harvard is less than a thousand dollars.