1) I think you're confusing US News & World Report rankings with Tier One status. USN&WR ranks schools in tiers and while those rankings factor into the equation of who gets to be Tier One, but it's far from being its only (or even primary) qualification. 2) Money. Probably the most important piece of criteria is money spent of research (at least $100 Million annually). Of the public universities in Texas not named UT or A&M, UH spends the most. Texas is lagging behind California and New York in number of research universities. Cali has 9. NY has 7. So the Texas legislature is going to throw money at the seven emerging research universities in Texas in the form of research grants in an effort to push them closer towards tier one status.
Exactly. I'm a UH student now. If you want to clean up Third Ward, you HAVE to bring up property values. Bringing students there will bring new retail and residential development (large apartment complexes, for example). New development will lead to higher property values. I wanted to go to Texas, but Texas Common held my application 4 days for no reason. That made it late, and I ended up at North Texas until I transferred. I like UH, but even if it had moved to Tier 1, I'd still have wanted to go to Texas. For the most part, I'm happy with UH (and I'm graduating very soon), but part of me still wishes I'd gone to UTSA and transferred. Ahh well.
lol you don't have a clue. There is intense competition at Rice. There is amazing debate in the classrooms - far better than what you'd get at a place like A&M or UT. More than half the population is from out of state. Rice shows up on the top 20 lists of undergraduate institutions. UT and A&M are nowhere close to be found (I think UT is the closest around 50). Out of state people have definitely heard of all three schools, and their perception is, UT and A&M = enormous state schools just like the same kinds in their state (Univ. of Florida, Mississippi State, Bama, Penn State), and their perception of Rice is a top 20 school.
Just because Rice is a top 20 school doesnt mean ppl have heard of it. Im pretty sure more ppl have heard of UT then Rice in the US despite its lower arbitrary rankings. Mainly because of sports. And that adamant tone you have about your school's superiority just shows the arrogance and douchebaggery alot of other students want to avoid. Im not hating on Rice, i have a couple of cousins that are alums, and a lot of friends that are alums. When i was applying for schools.. I didnt even apply to Rice, mainly because i felt the campus was small and old..but ive been told by my other friends who didnt apply there about some of the arrogance there. Is Rice better then UT?..depends on whats important to you as well as your personality. Will you get a solid education at either place? yes.. The end.
I agree with most of this. I don't think most Rice students are arrogant, but some are. Same can be said about UT students. More people have heard of UT, of course, but most think of them like any other enormous state school. That's the perception. It's not fair, in my mind, because UT is a better academic school than most enormous state U's.
Out of state reputation only matters so much when it comes to A&M and Texas, because a vast majority of their students will stay in Texas. If you want a degree that carries name-brand recognition nationwide, Rice isn't bad, but it isn't great either. Levels of arrogance is a relative thing. Rice students aren't any more arrogant relative to your typical private school student. They do seem to be very defensive about the quality of their schools, but that may stem from the fact that they're the second smallest school in the first tier. Only Cal Tech is smaller.
Rice has a great reputation; just having a degree from there will get you a lot of respect. Its tuition is high but Northern "Ivy League" type universities are considerably higher. The atmosphere there is very competitive, in a subtle way, and there is a lot of arrogance. People are not aware of their own arrogance, but they value intelligence over everything else and are in a constant competition to see who's smarter or, later in life, who's more successful by their standards. If your main goal in life is to climb the social/political ladder, then it's right up your alley, but be prepared to have to start at the bottom. Many of us there were in "the bottom 50 percent of the top one percent", and the whole student body is made up of overachievers who then feel like they have no one to compare themselves to except other overachievers. I entered Rice at a very young age and did not realize what the effects would be. The level of the coursework at Rice is almost insanely difficult, especially in the sciences. Getting through there is the hardest thing I have ever done. I actually believe the academic quality of instruction is better at UT; the coursework is better organized. Rice professors have great research credentials and other honors, but that does not necessarily mean teaching quality (though you will have this problem at any Tier One school, and UT grades a lot of classes on a bell curve so most people won't come out of them with great grades). I have a lot of respect for UT and the quality of academics offered as well as the variety of activities. As an undergraduate experience, it's not for everyone; it's big, it's crowded, it's impersonal, and some people will thrive on the opportunity while others will feel lost or fall through the cracks. UT is actually a level above similar flagship schools in other states, I believe, but people from out of state might not know this. While schools like UH, UTSA, etc. in their current position aren't quite top tier, you can still get a great education there. If you live on campus or get involved, they will not feel like a commuter school experience. You might actually do better at these schools due to less pressure and a chance to rise to the top - easier to distinguish yourself or make straight A's there than at the ultra-competitive schools - it's what you make of it. For those wanting a Rice-type experience but not quite so extreme or competitive, I recommend schools such as Trinity in San Antonio (very high-level coursework and asks a lot of its students, creative and intelligent atmosphere but not the Rice "we have to be the world leaders in everything" arrogance). Overall, remember that it's better to work hard wherever you are and that intelligence and achievement are not everything, nor do they make you a better person. I have decided that I would prefer to be around a variety of people from different backgrounds who don't have to be the "best" or the "brightest" by conventional standards. -Isabel (B.A. Rice, Ph.D. UT)
I think how you made of your education is more important than the school you went to. I you got into a good school, it means you worked hard in high school, but if you graduate from the elite college you went to without accomplishing much, that name brand will not get you far. I had a high school teacher who graduated from Rice. Yeah, going to such an elite school and end up teaching a bunch of teens? I also personally know people who started out at community colleges then transferred to state schools and now have job offerings at companies that they want.
you aren't serious are you? Graduating from a program that is top 20 does a lot for you assuming you have a good GPA. It's not like once they reach that classification they just become as good. The facilities can't nearly match what they have for UT in some deparmantes and I Imagine at ATM too. No one will EVER want to to go UH over UT for business. The bio engineering facility for example put UT in the top 10 in the country just like that. I'm not familiar with ATM but i'm sure it's the same in other departments. I know you guys love your alma mater but you can't lie to yourself. Regardless of if UH reaches tier 1 (and it's not encouraging since you are citing the own UH website) there is no way it could realistically compete with UT or ATM for another 20 years. That's like the saying, "its not the size, it's how you use it" when in reality, it's both. Going to a good school gives you a higher ceiling. It obviously depends on how well you do at that school.
Are you considering the fact that UT and TAMU are like half a century older than UH? UH is now building these lofts that they dropped about $100 million to build. When completed, it should help in attracting out of town students. So if it takes 40 years to compete with UT and TAMU, it would still be an awesome task.
This is probably the one place I would say you're definitely wrong between the two schools. Most other departments, yes. I'll say this much about UT/ATM v. UH... I chose UH because I saw a smarter opportunity in terms of exposure to the local job market. Austin is saturated as hell with college grads working at starbucks and wholefoods. College Station is car dealerships and bars. Houston is where you will most likely make your living, so I chose to go somewhere and dive into the market immediately. I got good grades at UH, was very involved in campus activities, and lived on campus in complete safety for the duration. I know a lot of people who go to UT/ATM and then when they graduate, have a hard time adjusting to the "real world". They get stuck in 3rd gear for some reason, and never want to leave college. They end up floating around CS or Austin for years after they graduate with no real career prospects holding onto something that isn't there anymore. That doesn't tend to happen at UH, people seem to adjust a lot quicker in my experience. I have no proof of this, but I would chalk it up to the easier transition in college from school to work, provided mostly by the fertile Houston market. You can go to UH and be absolutely miserable, that much I will not doubt, but it is what you make of it. I made a lot of it, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Except maybe the chicks at UT. JEeeeezus.
how in the hell do you know that that isn't exactly what your teacher wanted to do? not everyone wants to become a CEO or neurosurgeon.
Yeah I couldn't believe he took a swipe at the teaching profession. Pretty low in my opinion, as teaching is an honorable profession in my book.
I don't think UH is gunning to supplant UT (which will never happen) or A&M (which may happen eventually, but not in my lifetime). I think they just want to be a strong third. People in Houston send their kids to schools like Sam Houston and Texas State instead of going to UH. That just ain't right. UH goal needs to be the third choice after UT and A&M. Right now, that spot is sort of an open race, with schools like Texas Tech, UTSA, and UT Dallas fighting over it.
one of my professors at tomball cc was valedictorian at rice, got his PhD from there, was one of the leaders of the Democratic party in the county, and taught US History at Tomball CC twice a week b/c he enjoyed it. yeah, i found that comment pretty clueless.
While your anecdote does have a successful ending, it doesn't hold much weight in the big picture. UT's business school has been ranked as high as #2 in the nation, and although I haven't checked up recently, I'd wager it's still in the top 5. If somebody had to choose between UT vs. UH business based on the schools alone, it'd be UT business all the way. Other factors such as tuition, cost of living, closeness to home, etc. may affect the decisions. I don't understand your belief that all graduates stay in their college city. Anybody with a purpose and ambition would move out-of-city for a good job rather than work at Starbucks. Since you were in Houston already, it was convenient for you already. I'd also say you had more determination for a job rather than those baristas you encountered (by the way, did you ask what their degree was or did you assume they were graduates?). And yeah, the girls at UT are top-notch.
