Intern
Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 30
Location: United States
Concentration: Finance
Schools: Rice University (Jones) - Class of 2014
GPA: 3.5
Re: Mccombs, UT Austin Vs Jones, Rice University
[#permalink]
22 Feb 2012, 17:03
Congrats.
I got rejected from UT, but got a similar fat scholarship from Rice. Go figure.
Not sure if you're still debating, but here are some thoughts...
I remember seeing McKinsey/Bain/etc recruit at McCombs, but don't remember ever seeing that Rice, however looking at the internship/job reports from Rice a few people from each class do go into McKinsey/Bain/etc. Contact them to ask how they did it. Also, it seems that quite a few Rice MBAs go to work for Ernst & Young. Reach out to alumni and 2nd year students.
Rice is a smaller school so you might see fewer recruiters (but then again, it's Houston), but maybe you'll find UT feels more competitive at UT since a larger number of people are vying for the attention of recruiters. Just guessing.
I can't judge the "international fit" factor very well, but on the two cities... Every who lives in Austin loves it. I know it would be an amazing place to live for a couple of years. But I absolutely love Houston. As a non-native Texan, I thought the city was really welcoming to non-Texans and a huge number of my friends are international (quite strong Mid East, Indian, Southeast Asian communities, and obviously Latin America too). Also, I did know one international MBA student at Rice who came over sponsored by his home government, after seeing the opportunities open to him, he rejected the full-scholarship by his government (and now has to repay them) so he could stay in Houston and take advantage of the opportunities there.
In the end, I liked some aspects of the McCombs program better than Rice, but I know Rice (and living in Houston) is a better fit personally. It never feels good to be rejected, but it makes my decision quite easy.
Good luck. Talk to alumni on both sides before making a decision.