Glad the OP has mirrored the language I have preached in deciding between schools.
It’s no longer about test scores and other random measurements of “rank”.
Now it’s game time and which school is going to propel success - be the launching pad to grad school and a career.
Sounds like the parents have scratched out Hopkins.
That leaves Rice and UT-A. Money is $9000 or so difference. If you truly want Rice, you can offer to meet your parents in the middle and chip in from summer jobs as well as work at school.