Math and Applied Math Departments

mercymom
Tue, 13 Feb 2007 22:51:37 +0000

I’m surprised no one has answered you yet. Well, I don’t have anyone at Rice, but we toured it more than once last year and D interviewed and was accepted there. We also toured and she was accepted at U of Chicago. She didn’t apply to MIT, but I’ve been to Boston and seen the campus, and they sent D lots of cool stuff in the mail.

Rankings. In USNW 2007 book for general math they are MIT (2), U of Chicago (6), Rice (27). For the subspecialties, MIT is in the top ten for almost everything including Applied Math, and U of Chicago is in the top ten of lots, but not Applied Math; Rice does not appear to be in the top ten of any. The online premium edition could probably tell you if Rice is in the top twenty or whatever, and I just know I read somewhere they were really good at Applied Math, so it surprises me they’re not top ten.

Wow. Full tuition at Rice. My first reaction would be to say “jump on it”. But where does your D want to go? Has she visited the three schools? They are very different, and there is the obvious weather difference between Houston and the other two cities. Would the climate be a big difference for her?

I guess my point is that there is the “reputation” aspect to consider, but it’s not like Rice is a slouch on math. Would your D really be happy and have more fun in one place or another? Is the money crucial? I would go where she’s going to be happiest, no matter the rep, unless money is crucial. I think Rice would give her an excellent education and be a bargain to boot. The school’s reputation won’t matter if she’s unhappy or you’re strangled to death with bills.

The structural engineer who worked on my house had his degree from MIT, but he sent his daughter to Rice.