delete

I'd go to UVA especially if you can get that cost down which I assume you should be. I didn't go to either, but I assume UVA would be more social and fun as you stated.

If you wanted to be in Texas after school Rice would be a good option (ending up in Dallas or Houston) especially at that cost,. In the Southeast like Florida I assume they are both known, but UVA probably holds weight all up and down the east coast. 

Rice any day. Its criminal to turn down a top 20 school for essentially a full ride. You really have to be sitting on a pot of Gold to do that. If you really prefer everything about UVA and hate Rice then take UNC. Its a very similar school for much less

All of UVA’s pros apply to UNC. If you’re really turned off by Rice and aren’t sitting on a tidy amount of cash that would make the cost of UVA inconsequential, just go to UNC. Solid placement if you work hard and a strong alumni network.

I would do Rice! You in the middle of houston, which isn’t a bad city at all. You will have a better relationship with your professors which can give you a lot of exposure in Houston. Also, Rice is a much better school than UVA for academics.

Student at Rice (also from northeast) who went through recruiting process here: While the general student population is certainly quiet in comparison to a school like UVA, I can guarantee you that if you're searching for more of a lively social scene, you will be able to find that here. There are tons of people like you who were concerned about missing out on a traditional college experience, but you are still going to a college with ~5k undergraduates and will find your group of people with similar interests/ideas of fun. Houston is a huge city (great food, plenty of interesting bars/clubs), and you may come to enjoy it with time - some love it, others don't. Your point about sports culture is largely correct, although I'll add that our basketball program just picked up it's strongest recruiting class to date and our football team made our first bowl game in who knows how long last season. Attendance is still low, but the school is making an effort to grow interest in sports and many of us hope that our teams improving will accomplish this. 

Regarding recruiting, Houston vs. NYC is a decision you'll have to face. Nearly every reputable bank with a presence down here does OCR, and Rice kids have a huge advantage recruiting to Houston IB - plenty of kids to GS, Citi, Evercore, etc... every year. On a per capita basis, Rice is arguably the best place you want to be if Houston IB is of any interest to you. Houston is a relatively low COL city still, and IB pay will certainly go further than it will in NYC. Many kids aim to do a year or two down in Houston before lateraling to NYC or going through buyside recruiting in NYC (infrastructure funds, energy transition). I'd be a little more concerned given the current market conditions, but going to Rice does by no means sentence you to a lifetime of living in Houston. 

Recruiting for SA in NYC is certainly harder. The rice alumni presence up there is small, albeit often very willing to help Rice students. You'll have to network harder, leverage whatever connections you may have, and grind interview prep, but it is doable and the Rice brand is still an excellent school which people will recognize. 

Can't go wrong here though, both UVA and Rice are fantastic schools. Recruiting should be one of many factors in your decision. Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Hey, what did you decide? I'm deciding between UMD and UVA right now

24 yo who has friends from HS and professional life that went to BOTH UVA and Rice. UVA people are a lot more fratty and have had all sorts of post grad outcomes due to the aforementioned. From my understanding, you do have to get into the business school sophomore year. Rice people are a lot less fratty but seemingly everyone has a good time and gets a good job after college in finance regardless of major (engineering or econ) if desired. All of the people I know from both drank their fair share during college and had a good time but one was geared towards Greek life and another was towards making a friend group.

I would say Rice given it is 5K unless you have been dreaming of being a frat star, which in that case UVA 120%.

Also, I’m not sure UVA really has a sports culture. Look at football highlights and checkout the stands. Rice is the 2nd smallest D1 I believe and their stadium is empty too.

Bump

targetsarentreal

I was recently admitted to UVA for finance and Rice for economics and I am torn between which school to pick. 

UVA Pros 

• Has an actual social/sports scene

• Better recruiting for IB/Consulting in the northeast (where I currently live and want to work).

• More students so I meet new people often

• More alumni resources 

• True "College Experience" (girls, frats, etc)  

UVA Cons 

- UVA will cost me 75k a year (appealed financial aid so this isn't fully confirmed)

• weather (I love being in the warm of the south and get seasonal depression hard)

Rice Pros

• 5k a year  

• less competition for IB?

• Small class sizes

• higher likely salary which will go farther than if I worked in NYC

• extremely warm

Rice Cons

• Students are known to be introverted and quiet (not really my type)

• 24 hours away from home

• Not sure about ib recruiting for Northeast

• Don't want to live in Houston 

• No sports culture 

• Not the traditional "college experience"

Looking forward to your input and responses. I forgot to submit some financial aid paperwork to UVA so that tuition price should be reduced significantly hopefully. I was also admitted to UNC, UF, and UMiami which would be my next choices (All around 20k a year).