<p>I'm having trouble answering this question:</p>
<p>"How did you first learn about Rice University and what motivated you to apply"</p>
<p>How should I go about answering this? Are they looking for technical things that I like (residential college system, undergraduate focus, research availability, etc.) or would it be better to be a bit more cleverly humorous?</p>
<p>I'm especially confused on the how I first learned about Rice part. Do I want to blatantly say I found them on the internet? Because that's how, but for some reason that seems a bit too simple to be part of an answer to an essay question.</p>
<p>Maybe focus more on the second part of the question. I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying you found Rice on the internet when researching top schools. If you can be cleverly humorous, sure. </p>
<p>Personalize it - don’t simply list out features of Rice. We all know Rice has a res. college system and undergraduate focus. WHY does that appeal to you is of much more value. </p>
<p>You go can always add Rice U Class of 2015-2018 to your Facebook page and see what their students are saying about Rice U. It’ll give an idea about the quality of various departments, professors teaching, and activities on campus that you might “motivate you to apply”.</p>
<p>Well of course I would write about why I like it. But I feel even the answers to “why” would seem a bit generic. “ie. I like the residential college system because it creates a close-knit, cooperative atmosphere contrary to the competitive vibe often found at other universities”.</p>
<p>Would you say that quote would be a good starting point for more explanation, or am I not “personalizing” it enough? </p>
<p>Although yes I think that I should focus on the second part, the “How did you find out about Rice” doesn’t really give me much to go on by itself lol.</p>
<p>Thanks for the answers guys. Rice is my favorite university as of now, hopefully I’ll be able to visit (although that would be a 12 hour drive)</p>
<p>Rice knows this already. Talk about how you feel about close knit atmospheres, or how you like to work in teams, how you have benefitted from people from different walks of life etc etc. Talk about how much fun it would be to have a football player on one side and a music major on the other.</p>
<p>Insert yourself into the picture. Not what Rice offers but how what Rice offers appeals to you specifically.</p>