<p>Jeremiah and Hezekiah: thank you both for your amplifications! Never having stepped foot in a Rice classroom, I operate at a disadvantage in trying to create a 'picture' of what some of Rice's classes are like. As I read earlier threads, I, perhaps mistakenly, got the impression there were more "less able" teachers than I would have predicted. Your subsequent notes clarified things for me. Don't get me wrong: overall, I've read tremendous things about the university. It was on the basis of these glowing comments that I had imagined "nearly all" faculty being excellent teachers. I feel I'm on shaky ground again: perhaps "nearly all" faculty ARE excellent teacher and that I'm still missing a bit. It's difficult to put this into words. I am not trying to put Rice down in any way and all of this may be moot - I'm not even sure I'd make it past the first round!
Guys, many thanks for your help.</p>
<p>First, really appreciate those who spend the time to answer our questions.</p>
<p>I'm a father of a 7th grader and I'm already thinking about Rice 5 years ahead. I have a question about the point sreis raised in post #15. I think it is really nice for Rice to accept AP credits so that students can skip those 101 classes. The question: does Rice accept IB credits as well?</p>
<p>I'm trying to decide which high school for my son. The issue of AP vs. IB may turn out to be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>I live in Louisiana and over the years Rice has taken in best kids in our areas. Thanks in advance for your help.</p>
<p>YOU'RE already thinking about a college for your kid?</p>
<p>That is really sad you are trying to pick a college for your child five years in advance. It nice that you are concerned about your child's future but it almost seems as though you want to live vicariously through him. /He/ is the one that is going to spend 4 yeas at a University and since it is four years of his life, let him choose. A person that learns in a place they want to be learns more than a person forced to learn elsewhere.
And honestly, 7th grade is too young to be worried about college. Your son is probably 12-13. He should be out having fun. Those are the last easy years of his life. After that, he's in high school where grades matter. After that, college. After that, he enters the workforce. Then there is no time for playing and carefree days. </p>
<p>You know what I was doing in 7th grade? I was failing 3 classes. I was at a magnet school, pre-AP classes, skipped a grade. After one semester, I was burned out and depressed beyond belief. It is horrible when a 7th grader becomes apathetic and depressed. The only remedy for my problem was dropping the courses, moving back to the 7th grade instead of 8th grade, and being a normal happy kid that doesn't have to worry about the future.</p>
<p>The short and long of this message is quit deciding your childs future for him.
And I dont care if you take offence to this post.</p>
<p>cajundad, to answer your question: they do in fact accept IB credits.</p>
<p>Hmmmm.... rj1988, I think you are coming to too many assumptions that may or may not be true. I don't think that he is picking his kid's college necessarily. If he is then I completely agree with what you said. If the dad is just looking at colleges to help his son make an educated decision about where he should attend school then I don't see any harm in looking into different types of colleges. </p>
<p>To address cajundad's question, Yes Rice accepts IB too. In my opinion as a freshmen, I would suggest that your son take AP classes and not join the IB program. IB is a way of life and a lot of kids don't get to have a life once they are in the program. I never did IB, so my opinion could mean nothing. Well, I am sure that IB kids get to have a life too, but what I am saying is that the IB program is so demanding that it ruins some kids high school lives. </p>
<p>Also, I am not a parent and even if I was I don't think that I can tell you how to raise your kid, but as a kid (I don't knowif I really consider myself an adult at 18) I think that you should present the different options to your son and give him the choice. Explain the differences between IB and AP. I don't think your son or you should worry about the college until at earliest the summer between Sophomore and Junior year. It is sad to think that everything someone will do in HS is just to make their college application look better (I know some people do that, and I did that too). Let your son do things that he wants in HS. Obviously, he needs to know the importance of grades and work ethic, but I am almost positive that if he is unhappy in HS, his grades will reflect that. </p>
<p>There are people here that have absolutely no AP credit, so if you are thinking that AP or IB will help your son get in, don't count on it. </p>
<p>Here is my little life in a smaller nutshell. I got Cs and Bs in all the grades up to 7th, in 8th I don't know what happened but I pulled off straight A's and the rest of the quarters mostly A's and like one B. Then in HS I took one honors class and got straight A's in everything. Sophomore year through Senior Year I got straight A's too. Senior year was not fun for me (either was Junior year, but for other reasons). I was a nervous wreck my Senior year. I was applying to colleges, president of three clubs and an active member of two more clubs, played a varsity sport, four AP classes and an honors, and worked part time- all this while applying to colleges. I did all that without having pushy parents. My parents had a very, very limited role in the college search process. This was a blessing and a curse (more of a blessing though), because I got to look for the school I wanted and I didn't have them trying to choice a school that didn't fit me. So basically what I am saying is that let your kid be independent, if you push him too much he will only resent you later. If your son wants to be an AP or IB student he should choose. And lastly, let him choose the college because this is where he will have to live for four years as an adult away from you. I think you should present the information to your son and leave it at that. Let your son choose in four years when that time actually comes. Plus, your son may change a lot in HS and maydevelop new interests that would make Rice not so ideal.</p>
<p>I think the comments on letting teens enjoy the "monkey years" and later, to make their own choices, with some input from parents, are right on the mark. I think it's important for dads (and moms) to hear things from a teen's perspective. I have seen too many kids attempting to become people they think their parents want them to be, rather than becoming the people they already are.</p>
<p>I too, believe that 12 and 13 year olds should be running around basketball courts or soccer fields, imagining they will be the next MJ, LBJ or Pele, Ronaldinho!</p>
<p>Cajundad, there are numerous comments about the IB on the Parents Forum under the thread: "information on IB program". Perhaps some of the postings can guide your thinking. Good Luck!</p>
<p>"I think you are coming to too many assumptions that may or may not be true."
I grant that I assumed a lot, but with due cause- the wording of Cajundad's post said it all:
"I'm a father of a 7th grader and /I'm/ already thinking about Rice 5 years ahead."</p>
<p>But ah well. I tend to get caught up in the moment sometimes. I stand by everything I said, though, even if the reason for the post came from an assumption.</p>
<p>Well, rj, would it make you less sad if I say my 7th grader son has an older brother who is a freshman at Rice?</p>
<p>I was "instant chat" with my son last night about whether Rice takes IB credits or not. He said he thinks so but not sure. I thought I ask this question here since sreis brought up the issue in this thread. I would really like to hear the opinion of a Rice student who actually went thru the IB program.</p>
<p>I am a Rice student who went through the IB program! Rice does accept credits for IB, but they are not as useful for a couple reasons. For strictly credit information go here: <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Ereg/ap/f05s06.html#rec_ib%5B/url%5D">http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~reg/ap/f05s06.html#rec_ib</a></p>
<p>Rice, like many other schools, only gives credits for HL exams with a score of 6 or 7. </p>
<p>My opinion: Firstly a score 6 or 7 is harder to get than a 4 or 5 on an AP. Secondly on average IB students take 2 HL exams and 4 SL exams, so effectively they have 2 exams that even have a chance of giving them credit. On top of that, a lot of scores overlap, so you can only get credit for one of IB Math and AP Calc, IB Native Language and AP Lit/Comp, IB Foreign Language and AP Foreign language, etc. Overall I took 6 IBs and 10 APs and I got 6 credits for IB and 36 for AP. So I would say AP is much more effective credit is your goal.</p>
<p>If you want to know about which is better for the education of your child, you really would have to research that. For most people I would recommend APs because it is much more flexible and equips with basic knowledge. IB education is a liberal look at education that is probably better for humanities students. They actually have a philosophy which you can read about where APs are of course just tests.</p>
<p>I think, what rj was trying to convey was this: suppose your younger son wanted to attend The Juillliard or say, the Sorbonne. Then what? Whether his older brother is at Rice should be irrelevant, shouldn't it? But hey, he's your son...just my two cents worth.</p>
<p>My school didn't offer the IB program (and barely AP), and I only started hearing about it when I started talking to Rice students. From what I gather there is no advantage to taking the IB program over AP. You get the same course credit and both look equally good on a college application. From what I've heard though IB is a lot more involved and intense. Many of the IB kids I've talked to wished they had done AP instead, same payoff with more time to invest in other activities (clubs, teams, sleep). Though I'm sure the AP vs IB argument is a moot point or most on this board.</p>
<p>Just for general reference for the seniors, not all AP's are created equal. Some at Rice are MUCH more useful than others. Both english AP's are not useful at all. They don't count toward D1 distribution and you only get 3 hours of general credit for each (which does help some, don't get me wrong, but D1 credit would have been nice).</p>
<p>If you're looking to get out of some of the harder classes and need to know which AP's you should focus on come testing time you should really focus on:</p>
<p>Economics: The AP tests are relatively easy and as Hezekiah can tell you the intro class is really hard. If your major requires econ pass this test (at least micro) if at all possible (self study if you must), you'll thank yourself later.</p>
<p>Science: If you're going to be an engineer, pre-med, or natural science major having exposure to an AP level science class will help, but odds are you will retake same class when you get to Rice anyway. If it comes down to preparing for a science AP or something else, you shouldn't sweat the science. (If you are comfortable enough with the material to skip the intro class you probably wouldn't need to study much for the test anyway.) For all other majors THESE CREDIT HOURS HELP. If you're an academ then getting some natural science credits knocked out by AP will allow to take classes a lot more interesting and free up a good bit of your schedule.</p>
<p>Psychology: As someone who just took intro psych let me put it this way. If you are going to take intro psych (or are planning a psych major) do your best to get this one out of the way. Intro psych isn't the most interesting class (compared to the higher level psych classes which seem MUCH cooler) and it's one of the biggest at Rice. Besides I've heard this AP is a joke.</p>
<p>Computer Science: If you're a comp sci major this really won't help you. If you're not a comp sci major this doesn't really help either. I have this AP and other than the 6 hours of general credit it gives me, no real good has come of it. If I wanted to take a comp sci course (and the thought has crossed my mind) I'd still have to take the intro class in scheme.</p>
<p>Most Rice students come in with some credit (though I have met several that didn't). The average seems to be around 20 hours. I came in with 29, and I've met several people with 60+ (mostly TAMS students, one of my friends is classified as a senior after one semester). None of my AP credit was very beneficial as far as distribution credit is concerned, but having those hours means I never have to take more than 12 hours a semester to graduate (and I get more electives :) ).</p>
<p>sreis, Jeremiah, and torrestowers: Wow, what some great infos you guys are giving about the IB program. That really helps, thanks.</p>
<p>heydad, I'll be thrilled if all of my kids go to Rice. That's all I'm going to say.</p>
<p>cajundad, I hope all of your children go to Rice but I hope you will feel just as proud of them if they choose the Juilliard or the Sorbonne. I hope they will continue to bring immense love, joy and meaning to your life and I wish you all "..fair winds and following seas..."</p>
<p>RE credits from HS: my son has taken an Intro to computers class at Depauw university, and will take Calc 2, and a poly sci course next semester. Will these count?
He is originally trying the computer science major. Any thoughts or advice to give him regarding that field? He loves what he has heard of Rice, but we haven't been able to visit.
Any advice for his application?
thanks!</p>
<p>oceanrose496, I'm waiting to hear back from Rice for ED and have already been accepted into Rose-Hulman.</p>
<p>I am jumping to the conclusion here that you obviously have never been to Rose-Hulman if you are trying to compare them, unless you are doing it strictly base on the strength of their program. Rose-Hulman is a ghost campus even when school is in session from what I remember. You'll hear bells in between classes, and you only have five minutes to get to your next class, just like high school. I didn't like it very much. Plus, there aren't very many people that go there, maybe 400 per class, if not less.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to bash RH, I just think it pales in comparison to Rice.</p>
<p>Muchas gracias for your opinion, rufio55.</p>
<p>"Rose-Hulman is a ghost campus even when school is in session from what I remember. You'll hear bells in between classes, and you only have five minutes to get to your next class, just like high school. I didn't like it very much. Plus, there aren't very many people that go there, maybe 400 per class, if not less.</p>
<p>I'm not trying to bash RH, I just think it pales in comparison to Rice."</p>
<p>hmmm. Then why did you apply?</p>
<p>"Well, rj, would it make you less sad if I say my 7th grader son has an older brother who is a freshman at Rice?"</p>
<p>No.
Doesn't change the fact he is in 7th grade.
Doesn't change the fact you said you were looking ar Rice /for/ him.
And, to a degree, it makes it worse- you are expecting him to follow in his brother's footsteps.</p>
<p>But I stray from the intent of this thread. Sorry. I won't post any more on this subject matter and I'm willing to let you have the final word, Cajundad.
=)</p>
<p>what schools would you compare rice too, both in general and in "how hard is it to get in" terms?</p>
<p>also, can you guys talk about the social scene? what do you do on the weekends/how often to you go out/how is the surrounding area, etc? also, what is o-week exactly?</p>
<p>I think you can glean some valuable info by reading all the posts in this thread. O - week, I believe, is Orientation Week but I can't swear to it.</p>