Rice University Top Questions

Some of them are. I'll try to break it down. Smart: Everyone at Rice is smart. End of story. Anti-social: Too an extent there are anti-social people here as there are at any University. Some kids only appear at mealtimes and never participate in college events. Studying overwhelms their life, and they never come out of their room. They are definitely in the minority however, and there is a push at Rice to get you out of your shell and make friends. Upperclassmen go out of their way to include freshmen in activities and out-to-eat trips. Strange: Yes. Rice has a reputation for its quirkiness, and it's definitely true. It's hard to describe though but the strange aspect of Rice is definitely present. Asian: We get a lot of jokes because of the name of our University and its over-represented Asian population. Yeah we've got a lot of Asians. They're smart. So is Rice. It fits. Diversity wise, Rice is a lot like its Ivy League counterparts. Whites make up 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} while the other half is minorities. Race relations are quite good (everyone brings different experiences to the discussions), but Rice is underrepresented by Blacks and Lations. The Admissions Office is working on this however. Wealthy: Depends on who you're looking at. The cost to attend Rice for 2010-2011 was around $48,000. The Administration just announced another tuition/room and board increase and for 2011-2012 the cost to attend Rice will approach $50,000. The continual tuition increases are annoying because they are taking advantage of the students who do pay full tuition (the Administration seems to justify the hikes because the one "rich" group can afford to pay more, and then they raise the rates). Yet in spite of the high cost, Rice is a solidly middle class school. Rice has excellent financial aid packages to subsidize the tuition of students who cannot afford the cost. There are students from lower-class backgrounds and students from upper-middle class backgrounds. The number of upper-class "rich" students may be less than at Harvard, but they are definitely still present. It's just as common to see new BMWs and Land Rovers as older, more mainstream cars in the parking lot (although that may be because our parking is so expensive).

You can certainly find plenty of people who match the first two descriptions, but they're subgroups on par with many others. The third stereotype, not so much; the non-engineering programs at Rice are strong and vibrant, and the engineers themselves are much more invested in the arts and humanities than at other schools. You'll find plenty of computer science/philosophy or biology/English double majors. Not having many highly-ranked humanities graduate programs means the professors tend to be more invested in teaching undergraduates. Not the place to be if you want to be a media studies professor when you grow up, but definitely hospitable to writers, artists, and those who seek a rich humanities curriculum.

It is true that most Rice students are hard-working and competitive (though we are adept at coating our competitive natures in sugar--no claws here). And probably 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}, if not higher, of undergraduates don't drink. But there are plenty of opportunities for those so inclined to get wasted--and the great part is that they are often school-sponsored! The residential colleges host fun parties, and thanks to "private parties" (mini-parties that are in the rooms of students, but open to everyone), you don't have to be of-age to imbibe. And you don't have to drive to get home, or at least find a place to crash. In conclusion--it is a rare Rice student who drinks every night of the week (or even most). But the opportunities exist for that. And the seriously party-hardy tend to move off-campus (deep oc) anyway. Rice students definitely fall into three categories: socially inept (especially when it comes to the opposite sex), commitophiles (these usually latch onto a partner freshman year and don't let go, myself included), and commitophobes (these engage in random hookups fostered by too much Shiner and everclear punch).

While somewhat true, a lot of students do go out and have fun.

No. That's not the case at all! Like any other college, we've definitely got some very hot guys and girls (maybe not as many as some gigantic state university, but then again, we don't have as many ugly people as they do either). We may work hard, but many of us play very hard as well. I go out several times a week, and I have a hell of a GPA, too.

These stereotypes have some validity to them but are not entirely true. For one, yeah Rice students are going to be for the most part smart because it is a highly selective school, however, I would say a good portion do not act nerdy or would be regarded as such. Also the average Rice student studies a good amount on weekdays but starting on Thursday through Saturday you will see a ton of parties on campus and Rice students are not shy about having a good time and drinking. As far as sports go, the two biggies (football and basketball) are usually bad, but our baseball program is a national powerhouse and always in contention for a College World Series Championship. Lastly, not all the Rice students are the best looking people, but there are still some hot girls. Just not as much as our rival schools (Texas, A&M) because we are 10 times smaller than them.

NO! There are SO MANY people here who love fun. We are all smart and most of us study hard, but that doesn't mean that we don't know how to have fun or let loose! Work hard, play hard...that's our motto :)

Although Rice does have a great engineering school and a large portion of the students are engineering majors, Rice also has a prestigious music school (with one of the best student orchestras in the nation), a fabulous architecture school, and all-around strong academics in almost all departments.

No, and yes. Rice has a unique atmosphere that encourages both hard work, and hard play. Though Rice is a very hard university, the residential college system, along with the general personality of Rice Students, makes it so pretty much everyone has a great time.

Maybe for some people, but not completely. Rice students are often quirky and interesting, but usually much more normal than you would think. They definitely are not outcasts from the socially "normal" world, but are more intellectual - there's a different kind of humor and conversation.. usually a very good thing.