Current Rice Students

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
21

<p>jrock07: Well, you can always go talk to the professors... there is an engineering orientation - ffor any interested prospective engineers to see the differennt departments.. Further, the first 1 and a half to 2 yearss are similar courses... so there is time to explore in the grass root subjects.. then there is stuff like BioE 132.. which is a freshman seminar class. where they cover stuff like Carbon nanotubes and astuff u would do.. but in very little detail... so dabble a bit and decide!</p>

<p>me.duh... im no sure... id say BioE for now... but i really cant give a definitiive answer... id say check the website... also... emailing the Head of Department isnt a bad idea...</p>

<p>Anyuthing else.. feel free to ask.. im here to help!</p>

22

<p>you guys may not be able to help with this, but how easy is it to go abroad if you're an engineering major?? i know at other schools it's sort of difficult</p>

<p>and if you had to generalize the feeling of the people and campus, what would you say?? like how is rice different from harvard, stanford, penn, duke, etc.?</p>

23

<p>it seems pretty hard to go abroad, but that depends on where you want to go as well. if you want to go to paris and are, say, an intermediate french speaker, it would be very difficult for you to keep up with engineering courses if you're not ahead. civil engineering would be the most flexible engineering. i'm sure it is about as difficult as at other schools. there is one option though, and that is our "sister" school in germany called IUB which is english-speaking and has (harder) engineering. </p>

<p>i talked a little about the people in post #10, but i have no idea how the people are at those places. prob better to compare what students say at each.</p>

24

<p>hey.. it is difficult just becuase the major is hard</p>

<p>d when i reachIm in transit now.. will respong</p>

25

<p>Look on the website for info about study abroad as an engineering major. The son of one of the old-time posters on this website whose son is at Rice did the "engineers without borders" program and went to some country and worked on some engineering program (sorry, very low on the specifics here.) Picked up a strange disease but ended up cured.....</p>

26

<p>My son is a Comp Sci sophmore this year and is off to Japan this summer to work at a company, on their web site. He got it through Rice. They have other internships they can direct you to in nano tech and other areas. There are opportunities for eng students to go abroad, during the summer, on vacations and some during the school year.</p>

27

<p>Thanks !</p>

28

<p>Another thing is how mucg AP credit you have. If you haave enough, then taking a semester abroad is fine, as even if all the credit is non-transferaable, then you have enough hours to get you along comfortably.</p>

29

<p>i disagree with that. in my experience, it is rarely about raw number of hours or even distribution requirements; the demands of your major are much more important. i came in with 45 credits and am not a science/engineering and still i have to plan carefully to study abroad. the best way to get ahead is to actually get credits in your major, such as taking physics C and calc bc for sci/eng.</p>

30

<p>well... if you are an econ major.. and you take a year in LSE (London School of Economics) thats a plus to you. Engineering credits are hard to transfer... while language courses and social sciences are easier... thats just how it works out..</p>

<p>And if you have AP... then the 45 credits can cover all your Distribution.. so you can take ANY course that you feel like...</p>

<p>Say you are a Theatre major (only). Thats a small major.. so you finish those classes in 4 semesters.. you have 120 creds totally to graduate from Rice... so you can go abroad and take a course of your fancy and transfer it here...</p>

<p>On the other hand.. Im a Chemical and Biomolecular AND Theatre major... so I haave barely any flexibility in my course... so I cant be done and take a semester with what io want to...</p>

31

<p>if you are an econ major, you can take just as many econ courses at Rice as at LSE, except in the latter case you are being forced to do so. i wouldn't call that a plus for that reason. </p>

<p>my advice for someone to study abroad is to find a major as soon as possible and make progress there. there are so many distribution options and easy classes you can take to fill up your minimum per semester that the only courses that you can only take at certain times of the year that could really set you back are major requirements.</p>

32

<p>Are any of you guys pre-med? I'm looking into a Social Science major (Anthropology), but I'm considering a biology major as well.</p>

<p>How are the research opportunities? Other schools have medical centers a short walk from the campus...does Rice have any places where pre-meds tend to go for medical volunteer work and stuff? (Forgive me, I don't know if there's a hospital nearby or not)</p>

33

<p>I guess you're just starting your search. Rice is directly across the street from one of the nation's largest medical centers with a very large number of hospitals right there. That's one of the reason's Rice has so many pre-med students and has the special and highly selective Rice/Baylor program which enables you to go directly on to medical school after finishing Rice.</p>

34

<p>My mistake. lol</p>

35

<p>^ That medical center is actually the largest in the world, according to a Rice manual. I'm excited for that.</p>

36

<p>Yes, there are 13 hospitals and 2 medical schools located at the Texas Medical Center (which is right across the street from Rice). You can check it out here: <a href="http://www.texmedctr.tmc.edu/root/en%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.texmedctr.tmc.edu/root/en&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

37

<p>and the med center encompasses like 200 acres.. or seems so on the map...</p>

38

<p>1) I know that other schools of Rice's caliber generally have cut-throat competition and hostility, but Rice is known for students working together. To what extent is this true?
True. The Rice Honor Code is hardcore, so it keeps things under control. Students are here to learn, and I think that the modus operandi gets that job done.</p>

<p>What is the student body like? Are people generally conservative and religous or is there a good mix? Are they accepting of out of state kids?
Rice doesn't have a particularly active political scene, so between apathy and general acceptance, you'll fit in. If you're looking for activism, you can find it, but don't expect to be swept off your feet. Being out of state is kind of normal here. It's funny to see how conversations between instate/out of state people go, but they're usually laid back. This question isn't that specific, so I'll also add that I experienced hardly any shock when I started here. Rice is what you would expect: hard working young people (slightly liberal, naive/full of potential) in a big city (very American, consumer driven). Of course, you will come to appreciate little things like Texas culture without feeling overwhelmed.</p>

<p>After undergrad I will attend law school. To do this I will need, in addition to a high GPA, good recs, and extensive LSAT prep.
With all due respect, I think that these plans might be a little narrow. You should seek to become a happy human being, something that's easy to forget during the agony that is college admissions and planning your life future. Now...
1. Does Rice have a pre-law group?
Yes. And counseling is very professional.
2. How accessible are the professors?
This question is secondary to how well do the professors teach. They teach very well, and they're usually available after class and in office hours. Also, because they often don't feel overwhelmed (at least during my first semester) by having too many kids, they can focus on individual time to an appropriate extent.
3. How do you like the college system? I don't plan on joining a fraternity and my other top choice is a big greek school. I like the idea, but want to know more about it.
It's hardcore rox your socks off the best. No kidding. But, there are some disadvantages. You'll make friends that are convenient (that you live near), and it's difficult at times to make cross-campus friendships because people end of settling in where they live. On the other hand, you'll make some good relationships and coming home to your college always feels good. It's just kind of out of your control. Also, they provide a good way of keeping people involved. It's a healthy balance to college life and it definitely builds school spirit.
5. I will be doing Social Sciences, but Rice is most well known for the Engineering. Anyone from SS want to give insight on the program?
I'm a freshman, and I know that SS is good, but I'm not sure how good. I like our class sizes and I've learned a lot in my SS classes.
6. What do you do when not studying? parties etc.?
It's up to you. I've noticed that a lot of students don't party and that a lot of them do. In general, free time is well split between chilling out and visiting friends and partying, but that's an intensely subjective answer.</p>

<p>2) I know that its one of the easiest places to double major but would you recommend me double majoring in something like history if one of my majors is engineering?
It'll be hard. It depends on which major you're pairing with (Policy Studies is only a second major...) and how many hours you come in with. If you have a lot of distribution credit, you can start exploring your majors right away. </p>

<p>3) Have you guys done any research your first semester? Is it hard to do research as a freshman?
Yes. Anyone can do research, and Century Scholars is not necessary. It helps if you have experience or knowledge, but if you express your interest in the right places, you can learn a lot on the fly. Most freshman don't do research because they'll do it "later on." Why not start young?</p>

<p>4) How is Houston in general?
It's a great city, and a big one, so opinions are mixed. I like it. Ask something more specific if you like.</p>

39

<p>Rice is right on the light rail line, across from a huge park and the zoo, near lots of museums, med center, and Rice village - a lovely shopping center with restaurants, coffee shops and small stores - which is less than a mile away, just a short bike ride or walk away, and the surrounding neighborhood is absolutely lovely with a mix of big old houses w/garage apartments, condos, bungalows, churches/synagogues. Other parts of houston, and houston traffic are not so nice!</p>

40

<p>Sorry it's taken me forever to respond to some of these questions (I was studying abroad!)</p>

<p>About research in your freshman year:
Someone did mention century scholars already, which is a good way to get involved pretty much from day one. (see <a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Ecentschol%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ruf.rice.edu/~centschol&lt;/a&gt;) but, as you have no control over whether or not you get picked, I wouldn't rest your hopes for research solely on getting into that. That said, even if you aren't a century scholar, opportunities for research are great. Generally, just asking a professor if there is a way you can get involved in research in his/her field is flattering to them and they are likely to take you, particularly if you have demonstrated that you are a good student in their field through other work. If they don't have a spot for you, it's not a bad idea to ask if someone else in their department might be interested in taking you on.</p>

<p>About studying abroad!</p>

<p>I just came back from a semester in Melbourne, Australia, and it was great. Some of my friends spent the past semester in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cairo, Egypt; Davos, Switzerland; and others. I know there are Rice students in recent years who have gone all over the world. Many students who's schedules are too demanding to allow a whole year or semester away choose to travel over a summer. I spent 3 weeks in the UK (all over england and scotland) on a Rice sponsored program in comparative health policy the summer after my freshman year. Last summer, an engineer friend of mine spend 8 or so weeks in Germany, and another double-majoring pre-med friend of mine spent about the same amount of time in Costa Rica. Really the opportunities are endless, and studying abroad is pretty darn amazing. Really. I'll send you pictures if you want.</p>

<p>I went on a lot of trips throught this program, btw. Highly recommend it:
<a href="http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/ISOP/index.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://online.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/ISOP/index.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Brief answers to other questions asked here:</p>

<p>Yes, be a pre-med anthropology major. I'm a pre-med sociology major and it's SWEET. But explore a bunch of options before deciding.</p>

<p>The med center is almost ridiculously huge. No, it is ridiculously huge.</p>

<p>Personally, I really like Houston (which is lucky for me, since I have 5 and a half more years of Rice/Baylor to go). It is better with a car / friends who have cars. But you can have a decent time without a car.</p>

<p>Ok, that's all. Hope it helped someone!</p>