Rice University Top Questions

It is a good school for me.

Rice is one of the most unique schools in the country, and that's all because of the residential college system. The already small campus gets broken down into colleges of several hundred students which allows for a closer group of friends and an easy way to make a difference in your college life. The residential colleges are where we all take our meals, party, and live, making them the center of campus life; as a result most students decide to live on campus all four years to enjoy the amazing experience.

Overall, I love Rice. I love the fact that I can easily switch majors in about a minute or so; all I have to do is talk to the major adviser.

I can't imagine anybody not thoroughly enjoying their experience at Rice. The uniqueness of this university is what really appeals to me. The most significant contributing factor of this is the residential college system. The absence of greek life replaced by a family culture, long-standing traditions, amicable competition, and an overwhelming love for your college make it an experience like no other. The professors are incredibly easy to interact with and you know several on a personal level within your freshman year. They're always willing to spend an extra hour if you need help and the relationship that you have with the Masters and Residential Associates, who are often professors as well, are ones that you will remember long after you graduate. In terms of location, Rice is a little bubble in the middle of downtown Houston. When you're inside the hedges that surround the campus, you feel like you are isolated in a little paradise. However, as soon as you step out you're right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of one of the largest cities in the US. If you ever get bored with the countless activities and events happening on campus, there's an equally endless number of opportunities right outside. Something every Rice student remembers the entire time they're at Rice and after as well is their first week on campus: Orientation week. I can say without a shred of doubt that it is the most unique orientation week in the entire world. The amount of effort, planning, and emphasis Rice places on "O-Week" is testament to why so many students still say that O-week was the most fun week of their entire lives. The only complaint I would have about Rice is the weather. Houston weather is unpredictable and often unpleasant. Humidity is prevalent throughout the year and sometimes exacerbates the already high temperature. However, during late spring and autumn the weather is fantastic so it's a give an take. Many people like the weather year-round, mostly because they come from cold environments and enjoy the warm weather without condition.

Rice is known for its small, tree-filled campus, our baseball team, and its supposed "value" and generous financial aid program when compared to its Ivy League counterparts. In a side note, many students are upset at what they see as Rice's waning commitment to low tuition - something we were previously known for - and for the 2010-11 school year, it cost $48,000 to attend Rice. Administration is raising it (again) for 2011-2012. Before long, Rice is going to be the most expensive University in the US. The joke around campus is that Rice is the Harvard of the South (or Harvard is the Rice of the North), and to an extent that is true. Other than Vanderbilt University, Rice is the highest ranked school in the South, and students are very proud of that here. We're prestigious but not pretentious. We like it that way. And from a little more official standpoint, Princeton Review has ranked Rice as #1 in best quality of life and #10 in happiest students. I attribute a lot of this to our great weather - just last week (in February), our entire dorm went outside to tan or play frisbee because it was so nice out. One of the reviewers described Rice as a bubble. That is a great word to describe the University's students. Rice is a small piece of land right in the middle of Houston. Rice gives every student a free pass to everything around us (Houston's many Museums, Zoo, etc), but no one takes advantage of it. Not many people have automobiles here (parking costs are high) so true off-campus activity is rare, but Rice is surrounded by walkable (or Light Rail accessible) areas. Rice provides its students with a Metro-pass that allows us to use the Houston Metro and Houston Light Rail free (which conveniently has a stop at Rice) so we can explore the city of Houston. On Saturday night, the University closes its cafeterias to force kids to go out and try some off campus food. If you don't want to travel that far, Rice Village is a 5 minute bike ride away and has shops and tons of food options. Hermann Park which houses the Houston Zoo (free to Rice students!) is a small walk across the street. The Houston Galleria, a jumbo mall with stores ranging everywhere from Gucci and Neiman Marcus to Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie is a 15 minute bus ride (Rice has its own busing system too). If you need some snacks, Rice has a Target shuttle that runs daily. In Houston, everything is really at your fingertips. Houston is a really weird city. So many different sections make up Houston that it's kind of like a combination of 10 different cities. You've got the artsy Museum District (where Rice is at), hip Montrose area, high-end shopping in Highland Village, ritzy Bellaire, downtown, uptown, and everywhere in between. On the rare day you aren't swamped with homework, it's been really awesome to go explore the city even though I'm from here! I just wish more students would too. Facilities are top-notch but for dorms it really depends on what college you are in. All of the serveries are the same and food quality is better than you would expect (but certainly not great). Fresh fruit and tender meats can be difficult to get (I personally cannot eat the steak), but there desserts are always impressive (I had a tiramisu cake that was just as good as Houston's best Italian restaurant's). Once in awhile interesting options pop up to complement the Chicken Nuggets, french fries, and hot dogs. Just the other day, we we offered Octopus Soup and bacon-wrapped Rabbit. Rice landscapers are always working to clean up leaves/mow grass and our campus always looks great. We've also got wifi on 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus, and students take advantage of it when they want study outside. Rice also just opened up its new student center/rec which is the best gym I've seen on a college campus. All machines have a built in TV in them, there's a heated "relaxation" pool designed to make you feel like you're at a resort (complete with palm trees), and free equipment rentals for things like tennis, squash, or racquetball. We've also got a lot of "quads" for students just to lounge around and study. Just the other day, I witnessed a Yoga class by the student center. Students stop in the student center to buy a coffee or drink (we've got a Smoothie King and our Brochstein Pavilion restaurant on campus) and sit around Rice to study. Rice has thousands of trees all over campus (students say there is a tree for every student) including tons of old, massive live oaks. There are so many trees that you often forget you are in a city. Because Rice is so small and walkable, students are not allowed to drive to class (there's no parking spots anyway). We've also got some awesome buildings that personally remind me of old Europe.

Best things: Students who are genuinely passionate about their work, their research, their activism, their improv comedy, or whatever. Challenging, interesting classes are in high demand -- even if they're not in a popular major but "just for fun" -- and participation in class discussions is enthusiastic. Lots of people double major or dabble outside their fields out of intellectual curiosity. Everybody's busy and lots of people are busy starting something new and exciting. Not a lot of "my parents made me go to college" or "I'm looking for a class that won't interfere with my hangovers" or "my goal in life is to make a lot of money quickly." Also not a lot of grade-grubbing or competitiveness; downward curving is against the rules and study groups are the fundamental unit of social life. My only reservation about recommending Rice is that I think it is changing. The commitment to shockingly low tuition has faded completely, and so the old student population, made up of people who were accepted to elite coastal schools but couldn't afford them, is changing. The school is also looking to double in size. To what end, I don't know. Everything I know about the school might be different four years from now.

I loved Rice. I still love Rice. In fact, part of me wishes that I was in high school so that I could start at Rice all over again! Of course, that would require that I actually be in high school again. Scary. Rice has one of the best undergraduate programs in the country, and it doesn't have the ego of some of the big names (ahem...I'm talking to you Harvard, Yale, Stanford). The lack of ego makes for a great undergraduate experience. Most students aren't completely caught up in themselves and their personal greatness, and neither are the professors. This makes for a fun learning environment (remember, the competitive claws are sugar-coated at Rice). However, there is a downside to Rice's missing ego. No one has heard of Rice! This can be a problem for graduates who, like myself, relocate to another part of the country and wish that their school had the name-recognition to help them land a great job. If you yourself have a huge ego, it can be difficult to deal with people asking if Rice is a community college.

Rice is perfect. The students are amazing. The school is challenging. The campus is beautiful.

Many parties and events at Rice are hyped up a lot, but they never quite live up to the lip service. Beer Bike, however, definitely earned every wonderful thing that's said about it. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Sure, I wasn't the happiest person in the world when a bunch of loud, obnoxious upperclassmen pounded on my door at 5:45 a.m. and handed me a warm Keystone, but I got into the festive spirit very quickly. We drank, wandered around campus, drank a little more, ate breakfast, and drank some more. One kid had Beerios for breakfast--what a champ. The parade came next, and that was unbelievably kick-ass! With our truck full of water balloons, we sought poor, unsuspecting victims from the other colleges and happily nailed them with a well-aimed throw. When we ran out of water ballons, we just started throwing people in the mud. Awesome. We made our way to the Greenbriar parking lot for the races, which were much cooler than I expected them to be. We all got really into our cheers and rallied behind our teams. A nap, barbeque, and drunken Hello Hamlet! performance later, I ended my day gladly passed out in my bed. Best. Day. Ever.

Rice is an extremely small school with only 3000 undergrads and about 2000 grad students. In fact, Rice is the second smallest Division 1 school in the nation. I was always used to going to a small private school since elementary school so it never really bothered me, however, if you do not like knowing almost everyone that attends your university or seeing the same faces everyday then I highly recommend you not attend Rice. When you tell people you go to Rice within the state of Texas, especially in Houston, people react like you are the Chosen One. The first thing everyone tells me is "Oh my God you go to Rice you must be super smart!" Going to Rice in Texas is as prestigious as attending Harvard in the Northeast. On the other hand you may get the occasional person who was rejected from Rice and still has a grudge against them and make sure you know it. Outside of the "great state of Texas," as it is so affectionately called by Texans, not as many people know about Rice. Back home in Miami when I told people I went to Rice, most people's reactions were either "RICE? Like rice and beans?" or "Where in the hell is that?" Baseball fans and people who know more about national universities will instantly recognize Rice. Also the reputation of Rice seems to be growing more and more every year because of increased PR attempts to make Rice a household name.