Concerns about Rice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Okay you guys, I'm giving myself an ulcer stressing about college and I've done my homework-- these are my top concerns about going to Rice. If any current Rice students want to respond, I would be forever grateful! I only have 2 days left to decide.</p>

<p>1) I get the sense that students aren't very involved with things on campus outside of their residential college. It seems like the students who are really involved outside of academics are somehow part of planning events for their residential college, but it doesn't seem like people do much at clubs and stuff-- I know the opportunities to become involved with clubs and sports exist, but do students actually take advantage of that? It seemed rather lackluster to me.</p>

<p>2) I like school spirit, and I'm worried about Rice's lack of it because students identify so much with their residential college instead, and because Rice isn't big on athletics (I don't care about baseball). Current Rice students-- has that aspect of life at Rice bothered you at all?</p>

<p>3) The social scene at Rice seems rather small and static. I'm worried that I would get bored with the same themed parties every year, and it seems like the nightlife is limited to just those. </p>

<p>4) The Rice bubble. People don't go into Houston much for internships, etc. because public transportation sucks. True or false? I want to get off-campus occasionally at such a small school.</p>

<p>5) While I know that any major at Rice will give me an excellent education, it seems like Rice focuses all their energy and funding on their top programs-- engineering, the Shepard school of music, and architecture. Are the opportunities to get cool internships and participate in programs and do research (off campus!) in divisions other than these, like maybe within the social sciences, lacking?</p>

2

<p>1) I’m very involved in activities on campus (in addition to a position in my residential college). My friends like to say I’m overcommitted, but I love the clubs I’m involved in outside of my college. I’ve gotten to know a lot of people from across campus that I wouldn’t have met otherwise. Students certainly take advantage of it. Sure, some may be happy with a lower extra curricular commitment and may choose to make that in there college. Others aren’t involved in their colleges but are involved in campus-wide activities. And of course some do both. Clubs are very popular.</p>

<p>2) Our college spirit is just an extension of Rice spirit. I’m not quite sure how to explain it. I’ve never been a huge “school spirit” person so to speak, but I really like the college spirit. I think there is an overall Rice spirit - the happiest students in the country mantra, etc. - but that is mostly expressed through love of the college system, and therefore the individual colleges. Does that make sense? The lack of whatever you are describing clearly doesn’t bother me.</p>

<p>3) The nightlife is not just limited to the public parties (which aren’t all the same year to year. The ones that stay the same are the very popular themes that work well). There is so much else happening on any given weekend. Whatever sort of activities you are looking for, you’ll find them somewhere on campus on any Friday or Saturday night, probably in your residential college. The public parties in no way limit my social experience.</p>

<p>4) False. The light-rail line right across the street will get you into downtown for free (thanks Rice!). Elsewhere in the city, you might want a car if you don’t want to work to time buses right. But people get out! I know many people staying here in the summer for internships. Some will do internships during the year, but many do allocate their time more to their studies and to clubs/research/their college here on campus. Going downtown for cultural events is also certainly popular. As you probably know, the serveries are closed for dinner on Saturdays, so if you want to get off campus that is your perfect opportunity to do it weekly. Go explore Houston and find some cool restaurant. If you don’t have a car, you will know someone who does. I don’t have a car and still manage to go out to eat regularly. I don’t feel like it limits me.</p>

<p>5) I personally believe that publicity is focused as you say, but not energy. The most popular majors on campus are actually some of the social science majors. I don’t remember the exact order, but psychology and economics are both in the top 3 majors. There are lots of research opportunities in the social sciences and humanities. As an engineer, I haven’t been paying attention to humanities/social sciences internship opportunities. They are certainly present but I am not familiar with details.</p>

3

<p>1) The clubs at Rice are alive and well. Very, very popular thing to be a part of. </p>

<p>2) Rice does have loads of school spirit, but not really in the same sense as a school like Ohio State. Rice’s spirit is more of an ultra-enthusiasm for engaging and interacting with your classmates, not necessarily a sports craze (although you will find people who are still into that, even at Rice).</p>

<p>3) See previous poster’s answer.</p>

<p>4) Absolutely false! People go off campus a LOT! And the public transportation (light-rail) is fast and free for Rice students. There are so many cultural events going on in Houston, and so many great places to eat of campus.</p>

<p>5) Previous poster summed this one up perfectly.</p>

4

<p>I’d like to add to operaluvr’s answer for #2 - Rice’s school spirit IS present, just expressed differently (i.e. not generally through sports). What I find to be the best measure for this is how much Rice students love talking about Rice. We don’t shut up about it; we try to get people to come here, we fawn over prospective students and do all we can to spread the gospel about what a great place this is to be. I think that’s a significant form of school spirit - it requires more time, effort, and dedication than slapping on face paint for a game.</p>

5

<p>It sounds to me like it’s possible that your ideal school is a large school. Rice’s “focus” on to programs like engineering is more likely a result of corporate demand and interest. You will likely find the same situation at any school that has engineering programs.</p>

6

<p>Also in response to (5), as an engineer I’d like to provide some perspective. The engineering school is the most visible school to people not actually AT Rice because that’s where the majority of our exciting publications come from (see the most recent string of front-page stories on senior design projects, anything with the word “nano”, etc). The engineering school comes out with inventions, which are easier to report on and often more exciting to the general public than social science research on international conflict or indigenous populations of whatever. In terms of actual programming, though, I ENVY social science and humanities majors. Most of our high-profile internships on campus - anything offered by Leadership Rice in particular - caters to non-engineers. Most international travel opportunities are also geared to non-engineers, who have the time and schedule freedom to study abroad. 4 of 6 humanities/SS majors I’ve roomed with (all seniors) currently have internships or volunteer positions off-campus, and all of them have worked on-campus at some point. The off-campus positions are less academic in nature (Houston is not a bastion for thinktanks, after all), but there are opportunities with city government, education policy, etc. And as a student in general, I wouldn’t say that Rice puts most of its efforts into music/architecture at all. If you want examples of cool things some of my social science/humanities friends have done, feel free to PM me!</p>

7

<p>As a mom of a junior, I just want to add to question #5. My son is a Poly Sci major and will be spending a second summer in D.C. Last summer he was on the Hill. This summer he’ll be conducting some sort of public policy research. The internships were sponsored (i.e. paid) by Leadership Rice and the Baker Institute. The folks in charge of these programs have incredible connections. His friends and room mates have a wide variety of majors and are doing incredible things this summer. A senior friend who is a Sociology major is graduating with four job offers- one med. equipment company, two research opportunities and TFA. Not an engineer in the bunch. P.S. He LOVES Rice and is loyal to his college as well.</p>

8

<p>1.) Clubs and campus wide involvement is as prevalent as you want it to be. There’s tons of opportunity to do stuff across campus, and my cross campus involvement has been just as, if not more rewarding than my involvement in (my particular Residential college). </p>

<p>2.) College spirit almost certainly dominates Rice spirit. Certain colleges go to more sporting events (football/basketball) than others, but if you’re looking for campus to shut down for a Saturday morning tailgate, you just won’t find that en-masse here. As a varsity sports liaison, I organize stuff like that, and it’s awesome, but not everyone goes. A big part of this may be because our football and basketball programs were under the weather the past few years, and as our record improves (football has a very good chance for a bowl this year), the crowds will come. </p>

<p>3.) Nightlife at Rice just isn’t crazy. As someone going into Junior year, and a very strong participant in my college’s nightlife, I can tell you that your mileage is going to vary, very strongly by what the atmosphere at your college is like. At my particular residential college, there is always stuff to do on Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights, particularly if we are preparing to go to one of the larger public parties, but even that gets kind of old. One way to avoid this is to make friends across campus, and take a night off at your college to go hang out somewhere else. I will say though, if you absolutely need a frat-party type atmosphere where people go nuts on Thur/Fri/Sat nights every weekend, Rice is not going to provide that. On the plus side, Rice has a pretty inclusive and nurturing atmosphere for that type of thing. People aren’t excluded, and the alcohol policy lets us police ourselves. Major plus in my book. </p>

<p>4.) Houston is very much a driving city, but the metro does let you go downtown pretty easily (Rice also pays for your metro). I got an internship through RiceLink (our job board), and will be working downtown all summer. As far as going off for social events, there are concerts in Houston pretty much every weekend (free @ Discovery Green!), as well as tons of art in the Museum/Theatre districts, and tons of good food to discover. How much you go OC is really a personal choice, and a function of the preferences of your friend group. </p>

<p>5.) Rice is definitely an Engineering school, and many of your friends will be engineers (I live with 2 Mechanical Engineers and an Econ Major; I am also an Econ Major). </p>

<p>As a social sciences major, I will +1 what silentsailor wrote about opportunities. It almost seems like it’s easier to get internships for social sciences than it is for engineers! I had a plethora of options, and my suitemate next year is currently in London both studying abroad and working an internship through Rice. Also, check out the baker institute for Public Policy. It’s on campus and pretty sweet.</p>

9

<p>I can’t speak for everyone here, but in my personal experience the 5 things you listed are definitely misconceptions. I’m pressed for time at the moment, but to address them quickly:</p>

<p>1) There are many clubs outside of your residential college and I have many friends outside of my college. You will make many friends in class and the smaller class sizes help a lot(this is not true for larger, introductory classes but I still have made friends in them).</p>

<p>2) I am proud of going to Rice above all things. I love my residential college, but Rice is the campus and school that provides the whole atmosphere and amazing experience. You will see students wandering the campus in Rice gear on a daily basis.</p>

<p>3) Each year there is a new class of incoming students. Though the themes may remain the same, the people change and honestly it’s the people who make the party. I’ve met a lot of people who I see very often because of the small number of undergrads, but there are also a lot of people who I have not met. Night life is filled with study breaks (always with food), going OC for food, party floors, public parties, intramural sport practice, and the list goes on.</p>

<p>4) I take the light rail all the time to go downtown. I think the METRO bus is sketch in some places, but other Rice students on CC disagree. I suppose it depends on where you come from and your standard for public transportation.</p>

<p>5) Tons, tons, tons of internships! I cannot express this enough! The career services at Rice hold jobs fairs very often and they practically throw internships at you. If you are seeking an internship and can’t find one, you honestly are not looking very hard. Rice is indeed geared towards engineering, but other majors get their fair share of resources as well. </p>

<p>Hope this helps. Good luck!</p>

10

<p>THANKS so much for all this information and also to the OP for the questions.</p>

11

<p>While this probably isn’t going to be much use to the OP anymore, I just wanted to weigh in on #5 for anyone else reading this in the future. I think the previous posters have covered everything I’d say in response to the other questions, but I just wanted to throw out there that both the School of Social Sciences and the Sociology department send out emails extremely frequently throughout the year (often daily) about internship/fellowship/job/research/etc. opportunities. There’s definitely not a lack of focus on providing those.</p>