surgeongeneral

i'm really having trouble deciding between the two. i'm going to be a psychology major doing premed, and hopefully doubling in something else like business, pharmacy, or engineering. i'm looking to go to the school that has a lighter workload(so i don't study 20 hrs/day), and easier ability to get a high GPA.

rice
-guaranteed mentorship
-86% med school acceptance
-5:1 student teacher ratio

vanderbilt
-10k cheaper than rice
-70%? med school acceptance

and how much exactly does the undergraduate loan matter in graduate school and afterwards? like, if i take 12k in loan(rice) or 22k in loan(vandy), will it be hard for me to pay off after grad school or what?

s'vrone

Go to Rice. If you want a lighter workload, don't do premed.

dreamymel0725

Rice actually has a really heavy courseload. and i think rice's academic is underrated by U.S news

ecnerwalc3321

come to vanderbilt.

evil_robot

Come to Vanderbilt if you're not engineering.

dreamymel0725

why not engineering?

taw19

engineers usually have a much greater workload than other students, since they usually cover more intricate material than the average student.

whodunnit

rice's average gpa is a 3.4
vanderbilt's average gpa is a 3.2

With that said, go where you want and not based on grades or where's "easier."

Linus365

Grade deflation is an issue at Vandy.

snajean

Go to Rice knowing that a higher GPA is needed to get into a top med school. My son goes to Vanderbilt and really likes it, but the grade deflation is definately a reality.

ecnerwalc3321

how do schools notorious with grade inflation/deflation work? do the schools have a policy of what the average should be for each class or department? If people are just going by the school's average GPA's (which can be influenced by a number of factors such as how much the averge person spends studying, partying, etc), I don't think that is accurate.

whodunnit

the majority classes are graded on a curve. in other words, half the class will receive a B- and above, and the rest will receive a C+ and below. Say you're just slightly below average in a very difficult class, a C+ translates to a 2.3. i think that's pretty harsh for being slightly below average. Or say you're above average and get a B-, that's a 2.7. that's still harsh.

ecnerwalc3321

A lot of schools follow the same grading method as Vanderbilt, though. Sure, some schools do the A(+/-)=4, B(+/-)=3, etc, but wouldn't it balance out in the end given an average student?

whodunnit

It's not the A+/A- = 4.0 or whatnot where the +/-'s are integers, vandy maintains the curve of C+/B- being the cutoff for half the class more strictly than other schools. Is it a bad thing? It's just the way things are.

VUAlum

No bad choice, but deciding between based on Med School accept rates or grade deflation is just silly. To factor these data you're assuming you will be in the bottom of the pile at either place. Just work hard, you'll be fine in either H-town or Nashville.

Again, two good places, no bad choice.