Rice or UChicago?
Hi folks, I’m currently deciding between two transfer options and I’d really appreciate some outside perspective.
I’m interested in electrical engineering or applied math (especially signal processing / systems-type stuff), but I’m still not 100% sure what I want long-term. I do like hands-on electronics—I took an intro electronics course last year and really enjoyed the lab side of it—but I’m not fully sure I want to go into a purely hardware/industry engineering path. I also don’t really enjoy pure CS or heavy coding.
At the same time, I’m very interested in math, but I honestly don’t yet know how far I want to go with it. I could see myself going into something like applied math, signal processing, or even research in the future (possibly PhD), but I’m still exploring.
The two schools I’m considering are very different:
One is Rice, which clearly has a strong engineering program and a more traditional EE environment with lots of hands-on and project-based opportunities. I think I would probably enjoy the engineering culture there, and it feels like a very supportive environment for EE specifically.
The other is University of Chicago. I know it doesn’t have traditional engineering in the same way, but I’m really drawn to its academic atmosphere, especially the Core curriculum and the intellectual culture. I also like the idea of being surrounded by people who are very serious about theory and interdisciplinary thinking. I’m actually quite interested in philosophy as well, and I think I would enjoy that environment a lot.
I’m also considering music quite seriously. I’ve done voice and violin for a few years (not conservatory-trained), and I would love to continue studying voice through their individual performance program. Having access to structured vocal training and performance opportunities is actually quite important to me, even though it’s not my major. Currently these is no individual voice lessons at Rice, but there’s a pretty good voice performance program at UofC.
On a more personal note, I also care a lot about the city and lifestyle. I’ve realized I’m not a huge fan of hot weather, and I’m much more drawn to cooler cities. I also really like Chicago as a city overall—the culture, architecture, and music scene all appeal to me a lot more than I expected.
Right now I’m basically trying to figure out whether I should lean toward:
a more traditional engineering path (Rice), or
a more academic/interdisciplinary environment where I can explore math, philosophy, and music more freely (UChicago).
I guess my biggest uncertainty is that I don’t yet know how committed I am to “pure engineering,” versus a more theoretical/applied math direction that might eventually lead to research.
Any thoughts from people who’ve been in similar situations would really help! Thanks!