JHU(likely 100-120k in student loans) pros:
Double major in electrical engineering and computer science
Prestige- Rank #9
Extensive research opportunities
Academic flexibility
Higher major recognition
JHU Cons:
Cost
Little social life
Rice(0 loans) pros:
cost
great student life
Rice cons:
Lower Prestige- Rank #17
Lower Major Recognition
Only able to major in computer science
Stricter course flexibility
Recommendations? Any other pros/cons I may have missed?
There is no pro about JHU.
To borrow $120K, you’ll need to borrow 125K-ish - there are fees. So now you are $1517 for 10 years (if you can get 8%, which you may not) - so how will you pay that back - with rent, car payment, etc. etc.
You can’t afford JHU and fortunately for you, the government won’t allow you to borrow that much money. Sure, your parents can - but will they? Then they’ll be on the hook.
So let’s look at your pros - prestige, but it’s engineering. I get it - it’s a great name but engineering is very - hmmm - if you are ABET - you’ll be employed side by side with kids from other ABET schools, prestigious or not. Extensive research opportunities - from U of Alabama to U of Wyoming, you’d have that too.
Sorry - you’d be better to go to a community college or get a job at Starbucks than JHU.
Now I get to Rice and the first thing I see is 0 loans.
It could have been Rhode Island - but you’d have me sold.
You know, this really wasn’t a question.
Congrats on two fantastic admissions - but there really wasn’t a decision to make here.
Lucky for you, the Rice campus is gorgeous, the weather is nicer, and prople love the residential college.
You can ask them about getting about engineering Minors - one is in Design.
At Rice University, 25% of undergraduate students minor in one of these engineering-related areas:
Frankly - you have one of the top universities in the country offering you - I don’t know if it’s free but you say no loan. Forget what you see as a rank in a magazine - which is to sell magazines - Rice and JHU are the same pedigree wise - certainly here in the US.
I’m not sure how both meet need - how one is free and one is $120K - but again, there is zero choice to make here.
If you only had JHU - the choice would have been do I apply to other schools still taking apps, take a gap year and start again, or go to community college.
Attending JHU - not an option - and you’ll be much thankful later for not going there.
Congrats and best of luck in Texas.
JHU is not affordable.
Rice with no loans sounds like a HUGE win (and easy choice) to me! Congrats!
Congratulations on your acceptances. I also would recommend going to the more affordable Rice, and note that your parents would have to take out any loans (or cosign, so basically the same thing) above $27K (the max undergrad loans for most students).
99% of the people making hiring decisions in this country can’t tell you the US News rankings of JHU and Rice. The majority of people making hiring decisions in this country view JHU and Rice as peer institutions that are both extremely hard to get into these days. There are certain situation where “buying” prestige makes sense. Those burdensome loans for JHU are buying you nothing that you don’t get from Rice.
You didn’t specify a source for your rankings. This site, for example, places Rice 7th and JHU 9th nationally:
Based on your other thread, I assume this is for CS. Is that correct?
Rice doesn’t restrict access to majors other than music and architecture, so the OP could major in CS, CE, EE… they just don’t like the fact that CS+EE double majors or blended majors aren’t facilitated.
But they lost me at ”lower prestige,” lol.
Like others, this seems like an extremely easy choice to me. Rice is great, I think it is a peer of Hopkins, and it is much cheaper.
I guess my only question is what it is you want to do at Rice you think you can’t do, and why you want to do it. As I understand their structure, it is true for people with that nexus of interests, they would ultimately think you should get what they call a BSECE (Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering). You could also take additional CS courses.
Or you could do CS, and take EE courses.
I also think you could do both if you really wanted to, it would just likely take more credit hours than normal.
But I think people tend to overrate the importance of actually getting a title on their diploma, versus taking the courses. Most employers have no reason to particularly care what it says on your diploma. If actually having a certain degree is important for some regulatory reason, you can get the one which is important, probably the ABET BSECE in this case. But I am not aware of any jobs in CS that actually work like that, and I am sure a BSECE with a lot of CS classes from Rice would be considered for CS jobs.
By “prestige rank” you mean USNWR specifically. It’s one rank of many that is only relevant to its specific methodology. These are two schools with comparable reputations. So it’s a neutral/non-issue at best, not a pro or a con. No employer or grad or or professional school will treat you any differently between these two. If you want to work in DC or Baltimore, you’d likely find more alums to network with and help with job prospects for JHU. If you want to work in Texas, the opposite is true. Everywhere else it doesn’t matter.
If the cost were the same, this could be a difficult decision.
Given the difference in cost, this should be very easy. Rice is a great university. Rice with no debt is a great choice.
This is very true.
Also, the rankings might be the other way around next month, or 4 years from now when @college_scout1 graduates. Also, most hiring managers are likely to have graduated from universities that are ranked lower than either Rice or JHU. Also, any university in the top 50 is very good, and “prestige” really does not matter in high tech.
Given the difference in cost, this is a no-brainer. Rice is a great choice.
Plan to keep ahead in your work. Software sometimes takes longer to debug than you think that it should. If you are ahead, you will have time to get that last bug out (or at least the bug that is keeping it from working).
Rice is a no-brainer.
Unless the academic fit is so bad at Rice (compared to JHU) – which you do list as a pro for JHU and a con for Rice – I would take the money and run.
JHU is the older name, but Rice is also a great school. So unless you don’t think you can study what you want to study – which would have been good to research prior to applying – I would 100% choose Rice in this case.
Even if you had millions of dollars to burn, you could still use that $125kish to buy another car or… three… put a massive down payment on a house… invest for your future financial security… grad school… etc. Having money is not a good reason for wasting it.
It sounds as if you needed merit to make either of these schools affordable, and you got the merit from Rice but not from JHU. (There’s no way need-based awards could differ this much, between these two schools.)
I’m always conflicted about trying to talk a student who has an inexplicably low opinion of a fantastic school into feeling differently. There are so many exceptional students who are heartbroken not to get into Rice. I’d rather see someone who’s on their knees praying every night for a waitlist offer to get a spot, over someone who feels like they’re “settling.”
Do you have any other options that wouldn’t require debt?
Sorry, I know nothing about these schools. The subject line is pretty vague. I was trying to see if adding major might help.
“Rice is a no-brainer.”
#endthread
Rice! No hesitation