<p>Survivorman or Man vs. Wild?</p>
<p>Johnny Bear, I don't think Beef is trying to embarrass you. I'm not sure if your comparison with the SAT questions is fair. He was just saying that providing more than one recommendation does not necessarily mean you can't follow directions. Either way it's a stupid thing to argue about, I'm sure you both want to help prospective Rice students.</p>
<p>I got a question...How is the life of a premed at Rice? :D Definitely considering a science major and the premed route...</p>
<p>al91: my roommate and a lot of my friends are premeds, and it's definitely not easy (being a premed in any university nowadays isn't easy, and being just about anything at Rice won't be easy either). So expect hard work, lots of studying, some stress, and big rewards later on.</p>
<p>That being said, I think Rice is possibly the best school in the world to be a premed in. The resources and opportunities here are just amazing... you can do research your freshman year with professors and doctors in research clinics and hospitals across the street in the largest medical center in the world, and there is a new collaborative research center that's almost finished, and it'll be dedicated for Rice students to do research alongside doctors. </p>
<p>The science major/premed route is one of the most popular things at Rice, and I think that if you really up to the task of being a premed, you will thank yourself for coming to Rice in the end. You will probably thank yourself for coming to Rice no matter what you do with your life, anyway :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the info beef! Hopefully i can get in (applied ED) and i'm almost certain i'm gonna get on the road towards med school. Research center sounds great!</p>
<p>I hope I get in too al91! I'm applying RD though. I am going to major in bioengineering and I am going to do premed also. I want to do the Medical Scientist Training Program where I can get my PhD in bioengineering from Rice, and also get my M.D. from BCM. Rice is the perfect place for me to do this because Rice's bioengineering department is top notch, and the Texas Medical Center is right across the street. I hope that my application/essays will show how passionate I am about Rice and this program.</p>
<p>How are the humanities at Rice? Most importantly, how is the newspaper?? (widely-read, well-ranked, competitive, etc)</p>
<p>Rice is my first choice, but I've been hearing some things that concerned me. Can anyone tell me if these are accurate/ degree of accuracy :</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Alcohol is a major part in social events</p></li>
<li><p>Students aren't into extracurriculars besides those that will help their gpa/ get into med/law/grad school</p></li>
<li><p>Students are politically apathetic</p></li>
<li><p>Partying often gets out of hand. (I've heard of the (in)famous NOD)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>My take:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Alcohol is a part of many social events. For some people it might be major, for others not at all. It's totally your choice. No one will pressure you to drink or give you a hard time if you don't.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, Rice students care about their GPAs, but they don't brag about work hard, play hard for no reason. There are plenty of ECs that have nothing at all to do with academics!</p></li>
<li><p>Some are apathetic, some are involved.</p></li>
<li><p>Like every other school, parties sometimes get out of control. NOD is a little tamer now then in its famous Playboy days, but still a big party. There's lots of security because it's a public party.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>From what both my kids have told me, students are really into their extracurriculars. Tons of performances, theater, club sports, kids involved in student government (which really is government - not just lip-service to government), inter-college sports, volunteering, etc
There seemed to be lots of political action on campus with the last presidential primaries, and I remember reading about an all-night sleep out protesting the situation in Uganda where the kids have to hike into town for safety every night (or something like that...)
Re: alcohol. It's definitely there - but both my kids were/are able to have a good time whether they were/are drinking or not, and I know my DD's experience was more "sip wine" than "swill beer until you are drunk".
Re: parties. The public parties are well-organized with security and Rice student EMS on hand. The parties at Rice sound like they have really fun themes (I remember DD really enjoyed the ArchiArts party - one time I think it was held in a museum). And there are some formal type parties where kids dress up, and the "Passport to Houston" free performances at the Opera or Ballet or Symphony, etc that are great.</p>
<p>I can say something about #4 for Artemis_D. </p>
<p>Quote: 4. Partying often gets out of hand. (I've heard of the (in)famous NOD)</p>
<p>Actually, NOD is one of the safest parties around Rice. Every year tons of students act as security, preventing violence, and helping maintain order. Also, EMS and many police officers are around and ready. According to statistics no one was arrested at this year's NOD. I was security myself-so I got a first hand account of it and actually experienced it.</p>
<p>It's actually pretty cool and safe at the same time!</p>
<p>actually Johnny Bear, you didn't get into Rice with that SAT score. so quit terrorizing the poor people on here.. :]</p>
<p>I've been getting some confused PMs so I'll clarify my point:</p>
<p>Sending an extra teacher evaluation doesn't do anything to help you. If the teacher has something exceptional to say, then just make that teacher your recommendation and drop the other. And as I've stated, this doesn't apply to non teacher recs. If you've worked with a professor or something you would want to consider getting him or her to write an extra rec for you.</p>
<p>And I did get into Rice with my SAT score. It was the strongest part of my application. :]</p>