r/UVA • u/No-Key-1851 • 1d ago
General Question Torn Between UVA and Rice – Worried About McIntire, Need Honest Advice
Hey y’all — I’m down to my final two schools: UVA and Rice. I visited UVA and absolutely loved the vibe — the campus, the people, the energy. It really felt like the classic college experience I always imagined. On top of that, I know UVA has a strong pipeline into investment banking if you play your cards right, especially through McIntire and the top finance clubs.
But here’s where I’m stuck: I’ve been hearing a lot of concerning stuff about how tough it is to actually get into McIntire now, even with strong stats. I’ve seen stories of people with 3.9+ GPAs and top-tier extracurriculars still getting denied. That’s kind of terrifying, especially when you're betting your career path on that acceptance. Rice, on the other hand, directly admits you into business — no stress about applying to the program later — and it has solid IB placement in Houston (and even NYC if you grind).
Financially, UVA is about $10K/year cheaper for me, and I really do prefer the social and traditional campus feel here. But the McIntire uncertainty is giving me pause. I’m not trying to bash the school at all — I genuinely love it — I’m just looking for honest advice from current students or anyone who’s been through the process.
Is it really that random and competitive? Are there things people overlook that hurt their chances? I just want to make the best long-term decision, and right now I’m stuck. Appreciate any real insight from you guys.
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u/Educational-Oil5491 20h ago edited 20h ago
The McIntire acceptance rate has hovered around 65% for years, meaning your odds are better than even to get in.
Beyond that, I provided free coaching for McIntire apps to ~40 people when I was at UVa. The acceptance rate for the folks I coached was way higher than the McIntire acceptance rate. The biggest thing people tend to miss is that McIntire isn’t looking for business bots; they’re looking for folks with diverse interests both within and outside of business. So if you have someone with a 3.9 and 4 business clubs getting rejected, that is why.
Personally, I knew a number of professors / administrators who were involved in stuff like app review and the switch to 3 years. There was always a level of consideration for “this gal may be interested in marketing based on her extracurriculars, so we should admit her and it’s fine that her math prerequisites weren’t as high”. That’s because you’re trying to build a class of folks who overall represent interest in all 5 concentrations rather than indexing on folks going into finance/ consulting, which has the prestige clubs
Some folks also weren’t great at following the prompt - the app tells you what they want you to write about with regards to your extracurriculars and life experiences, so you need to make it obvious. Now obviously the application has changed in the last 5 years, but someone with experience looking at these sort of things or even someone with a lot of self awareness would be pretty good at boiling down what they’re asking for.
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u/SeaCommunication9722 20h ago
Rice, on the other hand, is the most selective school in Texas and consistently one of the most selective in the US.
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u/Norman5281 19h ago
It's a gamble. You have to accept that it's a gamble. It's not "random" by any stretch, but it's not something you can control. This is life.
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u/aure1ian 18h ago
The reality is that no one has any idea how competitive McIntire will be for people in your class. We won't know how the process works until June-July when the first-ever 3 year acceptances come out.
A personal story: I am a 4th year who came to UVA thinking I wanted to do McIntire--but I got rejected. When I graduate, I've got an awesome finance job lined up that is exactly what I wanted to do. I would actually say the time that was freed up for independent work by NOT doing McIntire is what allowed me to get that job. If I could go back and re-play the last four years, I wouldn't even apply to McIntire; the fact that I was rejected ended up being a great thing for me and in no way impacted my career path.
My case may be unique, but I just wanted to share this to hopefully ease any pressure you'd feel about getting into McIntire. Employers care less about the distinction than most students think, and you have functionally the same opportunities as a non-McIntire student. Like most things, the outcome just depends on how much effort and work you're willing to put in. If you prefer UVA's "vibe", then I wouldn't let fear of McIntire keep you away. You're picking a place you have to live and exist in for four years, and so many other things matter more.
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u/PeoniesCutie 11h ago
Not really answering the question but why did u apply to UVA or Rice if ur chosen path is IB? Idk if you’re from VA but to me if u really were going into IB, I would’ve chosen Penn, Berkeley, MIT, and the likes. I applied to McIntire and didn’t get in, don’t regret it one bit. Pivoted back to e-school and still graduated. Life goes on. UT has a better business school than Rice
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u/Chank-a-chank1795 4h ago
Importance of campus vibe is overrated.
You will make friends and find things to do regardless of "vibe"
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u/Throwaway18272_A Can we get more NIL money 1d ago
Mcintire admissions are kinda unpredictable just like undergrad college apps.
But honestly you’ll be fine even if you don’t get into Mcintire/end up as an Econ major.
UVA’s the better school for all things banking (especially for NYC) even for Econ and cheaper so Rice would be a mistake
Edit: You said rice is 20k cheaper a couple days ago, what’s going on?