<p>I agree with much of your post except a few things.
I wouldn’t include this in your post. It’s not exactly Rice’s strong point, especially compared to Dartmouth or Duke.</p>
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While it is true that Rice’s lack of major athletics have a deleterious effect on its name recognition, it is a bit odd to imply that it’s the only factor. Rice’s small size and relatively local pull (33% of applicants are from TX) are perhaps equally to blame. It’s much easier to have heard of NYU when it has thousands of alumni around the country.</p>
<p>I would be careful in the phrasing of that sentence, since you seem to be implying that Rice is stronger in science and engineering. I’m sure you didn’t mean to imply that, considering that Rice draws in much less research money than any other top 50 university except Notre Dame (which has a slight lead), but it could be misconstrued and cause a Duke supporter to derail the thread. </p>
<p>Incidentally, I had certainly heard of MIT before I started researching colleges. Schools like Chicago, Brown, Dartmouth, WUStL, and Hopkins were completely unknown to me, however.</p>