Rice University Top Questions

Don't underestimate the amount of learning that happens outside the classroom. The thousands and thousands of dollars you pay each year will be a waste if all you do is schoolwork. Don't be afraid to lessen your course load so you can focus on yourself more. It's easy to think you have time for everything you want to do while still taking a full, difficult course load, but everything requires sacrifice, and the first thing that usually goes is personal time and personal growth. Do not let this happen. I don't know if there's one definitive thing you should learn while in college, but, if there is, I'd bet it isn't something you'd learn in class, so don't take extracurricular or personal learning lightly. Now don't get the wrong idea, class is important, but knowing your limits is more important.

Hey LaQuishia, I'm the future you two years later. Well LaQuishia, first thing first, I'm in college now and it's not all fun and games. You need to step up on your studing skills, can't study at last minute. Second, you need to set up a BETTER sleeping pattern, you go to sleep late and wake up really early and crash in the middle of the day. Need to pay attention more in class, it will help out more in the long run. Last and not least the worst thing is you need to pay attention and study more in Math, we suck.! Now you are doing great in going to school everyday and on time, and that really paid off good here in the future. Also, you are doing great and reading classes, you did so good you don't need to take reading classes. Help us, no help yourself prepare for the future. And Keep up the good work. Signed, LaQuishia from 2013

You will be unprepared. Accept that, and know this - no one else is prepared for Rice, either, and so you're all on equal footing. Don't worry about homesickness; Rice is more than enough of a home to keep that at bay. Embrace your English major, because as much as the idea of being an engineer and making money right out the college gate sounds amazing, English is your true calling, and trying to change that will only hurt. And don't forget the frying pan at home. You're going to need it.

If I could go back, I would tell myself not to be afraid of joining in new activities and clubs at the beginning of the year. I would tell myself to be open to all opportunities and realize college is a time to reinvent myself. I would tell myself that it is okay to move forward in my interests and with my new friends and not to worry too much about the past.

Just because the college applications had a box for declaring your major does not mean that the words you entered in that box must determine your college education. You are not going to know what you want to be so early in life, so don't try to commit so early. Explore your options, because that 14 hours of your psychology major classes and the 6 hours of pre-med classes you will otherwise sign up for your first semester in college will be a complete waste once you realize that you do not want to major in psychology and that you do not want to go to medical school. Relax and have some fun--following a strict path was for high school. Your freshman year should widen your view and have you thinking about possibilities, not turning them down. You do not have to graduate in three years, and college is not solely about getting a degree, although an integral part. But do know that you should always study and give it your one hundred percent in classes--no more slacking, no more procrastinating. College is real.

If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now about college I would have alot of advice to give myself. I would tell myself to buckle down in my highschool studies and get good grades, take advantage of the free financial aide applications, and sign up for as much scholarships that I qualify for. In highschool, it would have been a big help if I really understood how important it was to have acheived good grades and the impact that it would have made for me in college now. If I had paid more attention in highschool, I would have been able to be placed in higher college classes, instead of taking courses that I already took in highschool. It would have also been nice to know how important and easy the financial aid application and process was, so that I could have avoided paying out of my own pockets my first year in college. Last, if I had hustled more and really followed up on the scholarships out there, paying for college would have been alot more easier.

I have learned a lot about myself and other cultures. I have been able to decide on a major and set it. The people at Rice University are there for each other. If you need something there will be someone to help you. I gained valuable relationships. Relationships that will help shape me as a person. When you have a support system it is harder to give up and just stop and say I cannot do it. There is always someone there to tell you that you can and to motivate you to keep pushing on. I have figured out that everyone is intelligent in there own ways. Some are a little more intelligent than others. College and high school are two very different things. It is a huge spatial jump. I have gotten life experience that I can pass on to my friends that are getting ready to enter college. This way they can be more readily prepared than me. I hope they receive a support system like the one I have. However if they do not, then I can be theirs. My support system can hold me while I hold them.

My college experience has shown me how responsible I've become and has increased my knowledge of real-world things. It has been very valuable to attend because as a young adult I am transitioning from depending on my parents to depending on myself. College has helped me do this. In regards to school, I rely on myself to decide what classes I should take. This transition is making me make more life decisions that I usually would rely on my parents to make.

Here at Rice, I have made connections that will last a lifetime, no matter what direction I choose to go with my degree. These connections are with professionals, professors, classmates, and world leaders. My education is beyond the classroom; I'm learning how to work in the world, and above all, I'm learning how to live.

Some of the best friends Ill ever make in my whole life.