Rice University Top Questions

It's just the right size for a small public school. One of the best things is the campus; it's beautiful! People usually assume I am smart since I go to Rice. Houston isn't really a "college town," and sometimes, it is hard that places around here close to early on weeknights. There is not much school pride; we have more dorm (called "colleges") pride. One really unique thing is our residential college system. It makes Rice more fun, I think. However, we do not have any Greek life. Honestly though, we don't need it. We compete with other colleges and still have rivalries, etc. Also, Rice is small enough so we can do things like have campus-wide water balloon fights, which are amazing.

Rice is an all around great school with a gorgeous campus.

Rice is a great university to go to if you want to be thoroughly educated in an environment full of very bright, very dedicated students. The university is small-sized (for the most part this is a good thing, although occasionally I've felt trapped upon realizing that I recognize the faces, if not the names, of most of the 3000 people on campus). Rice is divided into nine residential colleges where students spend the entirety of their four years here; the college system is great in that it helps you find your social niche and serves as a nexus for activities spanning from matriculation to the yearly campus-wide water balloon fight. Rice's name recognition outside of Texas (everyone in Texas knows Rice) is mixed; I'm from California, and when I tell people I go to Rice two-thirds of them have never heard of it; the other third are instantly impressed. This is improving with time, though, as we are becoming more and more competitive and getting our name out there with the help of a new administration. A few problems - students spend too much time within our relatively small campus, especially studying non-stop in Fondren Library. Houston really has a lot to offer in terms of culture and especially interesting ethnic restaurants, but with the vast majority of students staying on campus in any given year, it can be hard to get people to leave the comfort of The Hedges (the boundaries of campus).

Rice is absolutely brilliant on an academic level. The teachers are responsive, the students are intelligent, and the classes are really fantastic (at least those that I took in my major). Unfortunately, the school is much too closed-off for me, and offers a really underwhelming social scene. The public parties are for the most part really lame and the college system invites all the awful bureaucracy of the frat system without any of the fun. Of course, most people love it, so maybe it just wasn't right for me. Basically, Rice is a great social scene for students who studied through all of high school and didn't go through any of the social drama of 10th grade the first time. If you had a normal high school experience, live off-campus in Montrose or West U, and try to stay out of the dorms. Houston is definitely not a college town, which is perhaps why it's so great to live here. It has great museums, restaurants, night life, and entertainment options. It's great to take advantage of these resources, but if you plan on doing that, make sure you have a car: the public transit systems in Houston are notoriously underwhelming. There's a lot of school pride at Rice; in fact it's a little bit like a cult. People also get really geared up about their individual college. Beer bike and O-Week are prime examples of that; I tended to steer away from those. Basically, I love Rice as a school and I got a great education, but I had to avoid the majority of the school-sanctioned student events, because they seemed sort of puerile and pointless to me. However, I reiterate that I'm definitely in the minority on that.

Best thing about Rice is the people. Most of the campus is very friendly and open. Intellectual conversations happen all over the place, especially in the serveries.

Rice is an awesome place. The college system brings together students and gives them a certain level of autonomy in their college lives. Residential colleges receive a budget from the University that they can do whatever they want with. Parties are almost always free. Rice is just the right size. Although you see a lot of the same people around, you develop solid set of relationships. A lot of school pride is superseded by residential college pride, but Rice students still love their university. I think the administration does a good job of maintaining contact with the student body and keeps undergraduates in mind.

One thing I would change: the athletic awareness at Rice. Rice is a smart school, but it also has some unbelievable, world-class athletes. There for sure is soem ignorance on both sides--from the student-athletes towards regular students and from regular students to the student-athletes. The situaiton is improving (develping respect for the strengths each group has), but this is a challenge, but in my opiinoin should NOT deter someone from coming to Rice. No school is perfect. Every school has its pros/cons.

Rice is awesome! It's not a terribly small school, but you can still get to know a lot of people and get to know your professors well. It has good academic programs and its music school and architecture school are some of the best in the country. Houston isn't quite as lively as NYC, for example, but around campus we have a lot of restaurants and shopping areas. They are within walking distance. Also, the actual Rice campus is pretty. There are a lot of trees, and plenty of spots to just sit outside, especially because Houston can have some beautiful weather during fall and winter. Sports aren't particularly great here, and we don't win a lot of games. Because of this, there is less attendance at sports events, etc. Rice has a wet campus, and the different residential colleges have university sponsered parties where beer is served to students of age. There is a lot of construction going on campus currently and in the process of getting started because the university is going through a growing period.

Rice is small which makes for a more intimate living environment. There is some school pride but people generally aren't that interested in attending sporting events other than baseball which doesn't take place on campus. When I tell people I go to Rice, in Texas they tell me I am smart and in Idaho they have never heard of it. People take the saying "work hard, play hard" very literally.

I like that the school is small, but by senior year it can feel to small. Especially if you have a tough breakup in a relationship it is very hard to avoid the ex. The campus is beautiful and I think its great htat so many people live on campus and it is so easy to have and go to parties. I was happy overall with Rice administration. Overall students are pretty apathetic about alot of issues and I wouldnt say the student body is as smart or goal oriented as I had imagined. Not sure if that is a bad or a good thing.