Rice University Top Questions

Believe in your dreams and try the best you can, you would be surprised of what you can achieve. Believe in yourself!

The most important advice I can give to students is to study what you are passionate about. When I first came to college, my only goal was to prepare for medical school so I could be a doctor and make a lot of money. Along the way I realized that my true passion was in bioengineering. Although becoming a bioengineer is not quite as lucrative, I will have the academic background to choose jobs I love for the rest of my life. Take the classes you like with everything you have. Form close relationships with people you look up to. Use college as an opportunity to create your life and your passions. There are many students who follow the dreams of their parents without passion or success. They seem so unhappy to me. Parents, allow your children to choose their own future. I will always be thankful for my parents' support and understanding. College is an incredible rites of passage--a safe place to explore the world as an adult for the first time. Live it for yourself.

Find a college that is extremely expansive when it comes to different disciplines. That way, if you don't know what you want to do, you can find that out in college. If you're set on what you want to do, find a college that is either very well rounded and developed in areas of your interest.

Don't make judgements about at school or it's students until you've visited. Preconceived notions are the most dangerous aspect in choosing a university. Be sure to take a visit with a clear mind and no judgements. Sit in on a class, and ask students if this is a typical class for that university. Get the students talking. They were in your shoes once and are often eager to help.

Don't cross off any colleges for silly reasons. If you're unsure, be sure to visit.

Location, location, location. Take time to consider the area where you will be spending the next few years. Would you prefer to live in a small towns or a city? Do you like the beach or is snow more your thing? Most importantly, what kind of environment do you see yourself thriving in? What surroundings would be most conducive to your personal and academic growth?

You should definitely visit the school and see when you're there, whether or not you can see yourself going to school there. That's what I did, and that was how I fell in love with Rice.

Make sure you can picture yourself at this college/university. Also, keep in mind that you may not be able to use/involve in all that the college/university has to offer. So, don't necessarily look for the college/university with the most resources or opportunities. Think practically of what you would like to do once in college/university and what you will have the time to do.

While you can never know everything about a university without actually attending it, I found it most helpful to visit the colleges I was applying to. Yeah, rankings and statistics can be indicative of how well a school will prepare a student for the "real world", you've really got to visit the campus and talk with real students about what the school is like. Even after visiting a college, it's hard to tell which one is the perfect fit. I picked my school based on the fact that it was in a particular region, and it's been the best experience of my life. Maybe I just got lucky; probably not. Ninety-nine times out of one hundred, you'll end up loving the college you enroll at. Once you get to college, do what makes you happy. Studying is important, but making friends and doing something that interests you is just as necessary. If you want to sit in your room reading textbooks all night, go for it. If you want to party every night, do it. Find a balance, do what you want, and it'll all work out in the end.

don't fuck it up.