Rice University Top Questions

Professors are generally incredibly helpful and truly want students to learn. It is easy to get extensions and you can always get guidance on assignments. Rice's academics are pretty personal and if you make any effort at all, you will get personal attention. The history department is underrated! I had no expectations and I was pleasantly surprised. I've liked every professor I've had (except for one, who was a special case). The classes are challenging and interesting, and the professors have a lot to offer. Unfortunately, because Rice isn't that big, there isn't as much variety as I'd like in class options.

Academics at Rice are insanely hard. It is quite the difference from highschool. Most students were the best in their high school, however once they get to Rice, they become the mediocre students. However, every professor is willing to put forth the effort to help you learn the most possible. While tests are very hard, you are getting the best possible and individualized education possible.

Most professors know my name, even in larger lecture classes and even if I don't really participate. Some classes are hard, and some are just like high school. I don't feel that Rice is really that hard, but it might be harder than some public schools. We get to see certain professors around all of the time, and we can talk to them, say hi, etc. Sometimes, I even forget that they might be famous professors because they are so down-to-earth. The most unique class I will take is neurology and its applications to law. The professor is not super easy but really great. In the psychology department, all of the teachers are really excited about what they do and are all really great people to talk to. Rice students are intellectual and we can have intellectual conversations, but we work hard and play hard.

hard, but not impossible.

Rice is academically very selective, making the classwork at times very demanding. I came to Rice as the academic darling of my high school, only to realize that virtually everyone here was one of their high school's top students. At first the coursework can be very challenging; in an environment full of intelligent students, the only way to get ahead is to study a LOT, and for students who were able to coast through high school, this can be difficult to adjust to. Most classes besides the introductory science and mathematics classes are fairly small; my smallest upper-level seminars have had only 5 or so people, although my introductory physics and differential equations classes probably had over one hundred. Grad student teaching is limited mainly to labs and voluntary study sessions; professors always have office hours and are generally eager to talk to students. Research opportunities for undergraduates are easy to find, and while some of them are the typical monotonous busy-work, I have friends who serve instrumental roles as leading figures in small laboratories. In terms of general education, the requirements at Rice are relatively light, and many students already have them waived from AP; the requirements for majors vary much more, with engineering majors having their schedules almost predetermined while arts and social science majors have the freedom to take on two or three majors if they want to. Rice offers only three minors at the moment, although more have been proposed; right now those offered are mainly in business-econ-related fields.

My professors not only knew my name at Rice, they knew my cell phone number. I actually became very friendly with a couple of them (in a professional way of course). As a creative writing student, I formed particularly close bonds with my workshop leaders. Even in the biggest classes, however, professors were really responsive and interested in my learning everything I needed (and wanted) to know. My favorite classes at Rice were those in the English department, while my least favorite were those classes I had to take to fulfill my math/science requirements, which were populated with jocks and other people who similarly didn't care. Students study a hell of a lot. I mean A LOT, especially engineering and architecture students. I on the other hand didn't really study all that much, considering, although I always had a lot of reading and writing to do. Although most students spend a lot of time in the library and in their rooms pulling all-nighters, there isn't a lot of constructive intellectual discussion happening outside of class. In fact, once studying is over, things get really un-intellectual REALLY fast. Students aren't really all that competitive with each other, except in special disciplines like the creative writing and the architecture departments where there's a lot of actual prize money and recognition being given out, the class sizes are small, and everyone sees everyone else's work. The classes at Rice are more or less geared toward learning for its own sake, at least in the liberal arts department. I really liked the flexibility of the distribution system as opposed to a traditional core curriculum requirement. I got to choose what I wanted to learn in a way that most of my friends at larger universities didn't.

The introductory classes are large, like any other school, but as students move toward specialization, the classes get more intimate. Students get opportunities to do research in various fields and interests. Usually harder classes are balanced by fun classes to minimize the stress of the student, depending on what if they choose to do so. Students are the ones to take initiative towards their future.

Most classes are very small, especially in the humanities and social sciences. This makes for a more intimate environment to hold discussions. Some science professors are too arrogant and obsessed with their research to give their students due time. But overall, most professors are very open to meeting with their students.

Professors are completely personable and interested. I've met with nearly all of my professors and they make an effort to not only know your name but know a lot about you. I've been over to two of my professor's homes for class barbecues or individual dinner parties and i'm on a first-name basis with some of them. Students want to do well but are not competitive among each other. Everyone is willing to help and there are many ways to get tutored or help from peers, ta's or professors. It is easy to have intellectual conversation and the graduation requirements give you direction and broad knowledge, but are easy to meet and give you a huge range of possibilities.

School is school. It's not a cake walk. It's hard, it's college. But it's not impossible. We come out in one piece. In my opinion, what you put into school is what you will get out of it. If you don't want to study and work hard, don't come to Rice. If you are willing to sacrifice some of the social time you might have at another school for academics, come. But again, many many students here balance social and school. Yes, there are your book worms, but for the most part Rice students know when to play and when to work. It's about balance and time management.