Rice University Top Questions

Intramural sports are very popular on campus. Theatre also have a large community here. Each college does their own production once a year (possibly once a semester, but each college is different) in their own commons. Additionally, the Rice Players and the Theatre department each do a production each semester. Religious groups are also popular on campus, with groups available for every religion/denomination.

Sports are one of the more disappointing things about Rice. Students rarely go to games (even baseball where Rice is nationally ranked), and it gets disheartening to see your football team lose nearly every game. Sometimes I wish Rice was more like state schools with regards to sports culture. We don't have tailgating and there isn't a lot of Rice sports pride. Our extracurriculars are actually pretty lame. Rice students spend so much time studying that they rarely have any extracurricular activities. The University encourages us to do things (we've got a ton of clubs/organizations, intramural sports, and opportunities to be part of your college's Cabinet) but it often times falls on deaf ears. Classes are just more important than extracurriculars. Where Rice stands out is in our dorm culture. Rice has 11 residential colleges which you are randomly sorted into your freshman year (think Hogwarts and their four houses). You remain in your college all four years. As you can imagine, all your parties, socializing, and eating basically occurs within your college, and colleges stick to themselves. In addition, there are huge disparities between college facilities. Baker College for example has its students live in a small room and use community bathrooms while the newer Duncan College has spacious suites with a private living rooms, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Luck of the draw I guess. You really can't underestimate the pride one develops for your college though. Each college has its own cheers, history, infamous reputation, dorm culture, parties, and facilities. Whatever college you are put in, you're going to be happy simply because it is YOUR college and your college is the best. No matter what. You wouldn't think of Rice as a party school but we are Texas's only wet campus, and alcohol flows freely. There is a lot of peer pressure to drink and it's actually encouraged by Rice who often times provide alcohol to minors. Our campus police turn a blind eye to this. I personally think that in high school a lot of the students didn't drink. At Rice (when alcohol is everywhere and anywhere), they go crazy. It is common to see vomit in your lobby and bathroom on the weekend. Some kids just can't control themselves. Even our administration is taking notice of this. Alcohol poisoning and hospitalization cases are incredibly high, and colleges were recently put on "hard-alcohol probation." Even with that probation, the booze is still available to those that want it.

The residential college system is mostly positive, but it has some negatives. You have a built-in family and support system. But a lot of people don't become friends who students who aren't in their college. Most students leave their doors open. Some athletic events are popular (baseball), some are not (football). If you don't drink, join the club! There are lots of students at Rice who don't drink. And lots who do. Rice has great traditions: Beer Bike (truly better than Christmas). Jacks (pranks played on other colleges during O-week and Willy Week). NOD (night of decadence). Other residential college parties.

Rice students participate in a lot of clubs. They go to the village and the movies. The galleria is popular too. Finally, Rice has a lot of on campus parties.

If I'm up at 2 am on a Tuesday, I'm probably stumbling back to my room (or someone else's) from Willy's pub. It's open every weeknight til 2 (or 7 on Fridays), and I always have a lot of fun there. There are trivia nights, college pub nights, and all kinds of nights. Twice a year, it becomes a club; every Friday, you can get a bucket for $10 at Happy Hour. I love pub.

The most popular activities are simply related to residential colleges. The colleges have their own governments, groups, activities, and sports teams which really get people involved (especially college intramural sports-- very big). Students are very trusting and friendly; doors in dorms stay open, inviting guests in...in fact, most people just come in without knocking, so the only time we actually locked our door was when we were changing (just in case). We don't have frats or sororities, but the colleges fill that void. The colleges throw big public parties, and there are always smaller parties going on on-campus and off-campus on the weekend (and throughout the week...occasionally). Willy's pub is a great place to hang out-- my favorite time being Wednesday night trivia nights!! Great drinks, okay food, and a fantastic time! We also go off campus to party when Rice or our residential college rents out clubs or arcade-type places for events. Rice is also great in that there are SO MANY free tickets given out-- tickets to baseball games, football games, soccer games, concerts, operas, art exhibits, movies and more! Rice subsidizes tickets and students can get them; It's really fantastic and the seats are always great :)

Rice is a wet campus, so there is a lot of partying. Pub is a popular hang-out, and the residential colleges all throw public parties throughout the year at which alcohol is served. However, there are always plenty of other social events going on. There are social dance societies that offer classes to students, there are constantly plays and musicals being put on by different colleges or other organizations, and there is a comedy troup and several acapella groups that put on performances. There are free symphony concerts and faculty and student recitals at the music school, and there are culture shows put on by various ethnic clubs. A lot of clubs also host study breaks and restaurant trips, and most people enjoy just chilling with small groups of friends on the weekends. The dating scene is kind of interesting. Some normal "dating" happens, but most people seem to just hang out in groups and remain single unless they get into a really serious relationship. We have a really great baseball team and a lot of people enjoy going to baseball games, and our support for the other sports is growing. Football games used to be incredibly poorly attended, but I think that's changing. IM sports are also really popular. All the colleges (plus the grad students) compete against each other for the president's cup, which is awarded to the college that dominates the most sports at the end of the year. A lot of social life centers around the residential college, too. Each college has masters and Residential Associates that plan fun activities and study breaks for the students. Each college also has its own government and a social committee that plans college "fun days" (often involving loud music, food, beer, moon bounces, or a trip off campus).

You pick the activity, and there are students doing it. Theatre is pretty popular on campus, but as is every sport you can think of. There are regular sports competitions between the various residential colleges, and most of the colelges put on various events. If someone's up at 2am, there probably either studying, playing video games, partying, or occasionally some combination of the above. Oh, or playing pranks on the other Colleges. Beer bike. Every year the various residential colleges compete in the epic contest that is Beer bike. Beer bike (which, incidentally, doesn't involve any beer) comes right after an hour long water balloon fight involving literally hundreds of thousands of water balloons (my college alone usually throws 30,000-40,000 and there are 8 other colleges). This of course, comes at the tail end of Willy Week, wherein the colleges play pranks ("jacks") on eachother constantly. Yea, that's Rice.

Nothing at Rice is the most "poplar".. all of the groups tend to be smaller and cater to the people in them. Some of the club sports and ethnic clubs are probably the biggest, but there is such a wide variety of things to partake in. The majority of Rice students live on campus, and there is some sort of open door policy in each residential college. Each college throws public parties - the 80s party is usually a favorite for most students, but there are a variety of themes. Beer Bike is definitely the biggest event on campus. Alums are more likely to come back for Beer Bike than homecoming. This is an even where there is a campus-wide waterballoon fight, a parade, and then a bike race. Athletics are not too popular, but Rice is a D1 school and there is always some sort of athletic event going on. Rice baseball is nationally ranked, so many students keep up with the baseball team. Since Rice is in the heart of Houston, there is a ton of stuff to do: theater, museums, bars, clubs, ethnic locations... anything you can imagine. As a student, I stayed up late to hang out with people, just talking or hanging out, but I would also have to do homework. I didn't get a lot of sleep because I was so involved in the university and wanted to keep up with my friends while doing well in school. As I got older, I would go to bars in the Village or Midtown during the week. It just depends on your friend group..

We don't have frat/ sor. There is a really scary statistic, like 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Rice students marry another Rice student. So if you are trying to meet Mr. Right... haha just kidding. What else? Partying. Some do, some don't. Beer pong, like at most colleges is popular. It isn't really a big division. At Rice, you meet people and become good friends with people you never thought you would get along with or have the chance to meet. For me, that is one of the coolest things about Rice.