<p>I am admitted as a transfer for fall 2010. However, I am having difficulties supporting myself to live on-campus. I am from a foreign country and I don't know anyone in Rice. </p>
<p>If I choose to stay off-campus, how difficult it is for me to know new friends and have some close friends? Will my social life be extremely bad if I stay off-campus? I don't wish to be alone for a few years there.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>This will all depend on how much effort you personally devote toward creating and maintaining friendships. Whether you live on- or off-campus, you will take part in O-Week this fall. A large part of O-Week is devoted to social activities, so you should have many opportunities to meet people in your residential college. </p>
<p>One of the great things about O-Week is that most new students come in without knowing anyone in their college, so pretty much everyone is excited about meeting new people and starting friendships. As long as you keep yourself open and accessible, by the end of O-Week you should definitely have at least a few budding friendships. Then, as long as you make an effort to be present in your college somewhat regularly (for mealtimes, social events, etc.), even if you live off-campus you should easily be able to maintain a happy and active social life.</p>
<p>most people dont know anyone when they get here, but yes I admit it is easier to meet people and network if you are living on campus. Living off campus has it’s challenges, yet you still can hang out and have friends.</p>
<p>You will spend a lot of time on campus. I would say to remain active, be prepared to be on campus a lot during the first few months.</p>
<p>Doesn’t Rice require undergrads to live in their assigned residential college except for one year? Do they enforce it?</p>
<p>no they do not</p>
<p>Living off-campus your first semester at Rice will, in my opinion, make it difficult to have a good social life. The main thing is the “first semester” part. Living off-campus would work a lot better if you did so after having already developed a healthy social life. I was a transfer student last semester and lived on-campus, and even then it was difficult to get a social life started–but that was mostly because I transferred in the middle of the year, which in retrospect I really don’t recommend doing (I think midyear transfer has been eliminated now actually). Don’t get me wrong: everything worked out fine. But it wasn’t necessarily easy by any means.</p>
<p>I would say definitely try to be present for all meals and social events within the first month or so and introduce yourself to everybody. Once you get a social life started, you’ll be able to “retreat” off-campus more easily.</p>
<p>Definitely take advantage of O-Week.</p>
<p>Spend as much time on-campus as possible. Seriously. Never ever turn down an opportunity to be social your first month or so. A transfer in my O-Week group lived off-campus and didn’t really get a chance to solidify the friends she made during O-Week. She ended up having a pretty tough experience because she was never around, so people didn’t know who she was.</p>
<p>I would recommend eating as many meals as possible in your commons (even if you just bring your own food), studying with your college (in my college, we study in our commons), and just being around for general life. It’s not impossible to make friends while living off-campus but it does require a bit more of a concentrated effort than if you were living on-campus.</p>