<p>Hi ,
We are the parents of an international student who has just been informed of his admission to the class of 2009 in Rice. We are thrilled and thought of checking some facts in advance.
This post ( our first) will be full of questions so please excuse us:
1. We have received the 'blue' folder from Rice on the admission. So what is the next step after we send off the $150?
2. If our son cannot make it in April for the introduction will there be any difficulty during August?
3.Does the University help in accomodation for parents when they come with the student in August for the induction?
4.Does the University help with the Visa process for international students?
Would be grateful for some answers to begin with .
Dharma</p>
<p>Your queries might be better answered by calling Rice University; that is the first place I would inquire at regarding these concerns. Perhaps even e-mailing would be more suitable.</p>
<p>nspeds is correct, you may want to contact Rice directly. Here is what I think of answers to some of your questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't know as I don't know what a blue folder is.</p></li>
<li><p>No</p></li>
<li><p>No - parents are on their own. You can ask them to send you a list of hotels near by. They are close, but not walking distance. You will need transportation. In addition, Rice is about 40 miles from the Intercontinantal Airport.</p></li>
<li><p>Sooner you send your $150, better it is. They will send you an I-20 which is can be used for getting the student Visa.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If I am not mistaken, there are some good hotels across Highway 59, but they are still not walking distance and the location of Rice is not exactly an inexpensive area. While you are looking for hotels, also try to look for rental car services; it should make your trip much easier.</p>
<p>We stayed at a hotel within walking distance right next to the light rail system. I will look up the name. It was very nice and they also had a shuttle to Rice and Rice Village if you didn't want to walk. I'll look it up and write again.</p>
<p>The closest hotels to Rice (in walking distance) are probably the Warwick and the Marriott Medical Center. They aren't budget hotels though. Other very close hotels are the Crowne Plaza in the Medical Center and the Holiday Inn - Greenway Plaza. If you stay further from Rice, it will be cheaper - so if you can rent a car, you might want to.
When I moved in, we stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriott on Old Spanish Trail. Not walking distance, but close and nice.</p>
<p>As to your first question - after you mail your deposit, you will start recieving mailings from Rice every few months. These will include health forms, a housing contract, roommate questionaire, and a bunch of other things. </p>
<p>For the second question, a resounding no. Lots of students don't go to owl weekend, it's no big deal. It's mostly for kids who are trying to decide if they should go to rice or not. But it's fun, so if you have the opportunity to go, take that for what it's worth.</p>
<p>Hi~We stayed at the Warwick...thanks for jogging my memory jenskate1. It was very nice and they had some very good rates too. We ate in Rice Village after taking a shuttle and we walked over for my son's interview. I wouldn't do it for a week but for a couple of days it was great!</p>
<p>thank you everyone for all the information and a happy new year in advance.</p>
<p>we'd have to depend on public transport, as we're used to a right hand drive and would be unfamiliar with driving in america. it would be really great if you could provide me with the contact info. for some of the hotels so we could prepare ourselves better.</p>
<p>try this</p>
<p><a href="http://explore.rice.edu/explore/Hotel.asp%5B/url%5D">http://explore.rice.edu/explore/Hotel.asp</a></p>
<p>Public transportation in Houston is not very good.</p>
<p>You may want to consider Residence Inn by Marriot. They have fully equiped kitchen with refrigerator, stove, pots, pans and dishes, and they give free breakfast each morning.</p>
<p>Mmm, I volunteer at the Med Center right next to Rice...isn't there a Hilton like...RIGHT THERE? Or am I just being delusional....</p>
<p>There is a Hilton right next to Rice. We have had good luck with the rates at the Marriott, which is a VERY nice hotel. You can ask for specials or the Rice rate. Weekends especially have been low.</p>
<p>The Best Western-Medical Center is also very close-- It is by no means fancy, but it is perfectly adequate, free breakfast, indoor pool, little business room with computer and free internet access, etc. However, if you realy prefer convenience, I would agree that the Marriott or Warwick might be preferential. The Airport shuttles (about $15 one way) will take you directly to these hotels,and they are a little closer to campus. You can also have things shipped directly to your residential college, so that may cut down on the luggage. (We shipped our s's bicycle-- arrived safe and sound, but he didn't lock it up correctly, and it was, unfortunately, stolen the 3rd day- not by students). I dont mean to frighten you-- the campus is VERY safe-- there was just a rash of bicycle thefts at the beginning of the year-- nothing else.. bummer, but no tragedy). Also, this link should be very helpful - it is the parent handbook <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Eoweek/handbook/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~oweek/handbook/</a>
Your son will also get a VERY detailed and VERY helpful mailing from the residential college to which he is assigned later in the summer. It will answer almost all questions. It will be provided by the coordinators of this year's orientation week from his residential college. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Hi fellow parents and Rice'ans,
Thanks once again for the wealth of information. We now feel comfortable and welcome and have already started liking Rice. Have made a note of the various links and the hotels and will start working on this possibly by mid June once our travel plan is firmed up. Will post details of letters/ forms received from Rice as and when they come.</p>
<p>Dharma-
Don't forget when you contact the hotels to ask for the RICE SPECIAL EVENTS rate. There are regular hotel rates, Rice rates , and Rice special events rates. I know the special events rates apply to parents weekend and homecoming-- I'd assume they also apply to move-in/ orientation as well. Here is the link for all information for Rice parents <a href="http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Parents.asp?SnID=75614398%5B/url%5D">http://www.students.rice.edu/students/Parents.asp?SnID=75614398</a></p>
<p>When you plan your stay in August, be aware that you help your child move in on Sunday morning, then the o-week schedule has an entry at about 1:00 p.m. that says "Parents say good-bye". Your child's time will be full of o-week activities pretty much non-stop after that. There will probably be a meeting for parents at your child's residential college, then a few other sessions you can attend (one on int'l study opportunities, one from the Rice career center, etc.) that afternoon, and after that there's nothing really for you. Your child will be extremely busy - I asked my daughter to call once during the week, and she did, but don't expect a lot of contact. You may want to plan to arrive a couple of days early so you can buy a few things for the dorm in town rather than carrying them or shipping them, but there's not much reason to stay in town past Sunday.</p>