<p>is it super important to get a rice interview & visit the campus? I live a long way from houston, and I think it highly unlikely that I will go over there and tour the place (I've seen the institute virtually so I'm hoping it will be good enough). Basically I'll just go to rice if they accept me...by no means am I implying in this sentence that I am just applying to Rice b/c of prestigiousness and stuff. I really want to go, but my chances are unrealistic so I don't want to burden my parents with false hope lol. Thanks for your input! :)</p>
<p>Request an alumni interview near you; you don’t need to visit campus. :-)</p>
<p>Yeah Rice understands that most people don’t really live near campus/can go visit, so requesting an alumni interview will still show interest (and help you get to know rice better 
) so just relax and hope for the best!</p>
<p>if the alumni interview web page is not clear - email admissions with your requested date/time or see when they have open slots</p>
<p>My son didn’t visit Rice until accepted. Then he went to one of the accepted students days and fell in love. I would recommend you enroll in a college without visiting first! Same story as above with George Washington except there was no love. If I had to guess, I would have expected him to go to GW. If he had to pick without a visit, he would have picked GW and made a big mistake.</p>
<p>I didnt visit until O-week. It ended up well, but I would have to say that if you can visit, then you should.</p>
<p>Its not the campus and the classes that you visit for, those we know are good. Its for what else goes on on campus and whether you like the people there</p>
<p>Our experience was a lot like what BrooklyninOhio described – with Owl Days and the campus feel working their magical spell – even after my husband had dragged his feet to the airport, motivated only by the generous merit aid offer. Well, my husband caught on quickly, and later tuning out some noisy pitches from relatives, my son “knew” from his visit. </p>
<p>I wonder a bit about how the hosts are matched to the prospies. There’s no such thing as perfection – but I know of one high school senior who was very excited about Rice and then turned it down because his inept host did such a poor job that he couldn’t wait to go home. </p>
<p>These things just happen, I suppose. We just need to keep learning… and I’m amazed how many things have a way of working out nicely. BrooklyninOhio – I think your son would have found a niche at GW, if it worked out that way. But then you wouldn’t be here …</p>
<p>Ottoline, I know what you mean about inept hosts. My daughter didn’t visit Rice until after she was accepted, for Owl Days. Her host couldn’t have been less interested in the task and actually abandoned her regularly with no communication about her whereabouts. (I learned later that there were a lot of complaints that year that her Owl Days took place when students were studying for finals and has since been moved back a bit.) If my daughter had been completely dependent on being welcomed by her host she probably wouldn’t be at Rice now, but fortunately she’d hunted down the one other Rice student from her high school, who was a Rice sophomore at the time and she arranged to meet with that girl. She attributes that meeting as key in her decision to go to Rice. So, for anyone planning a visit, I recommend finding other students to meet with while you’re there, not just your host. It would be a shame to let one distracted host spoil the experience for you.</p>
<p>BerkeleyMom, the fact that your daughter was wise enough to track this student down
and not just feel frustrated by an inept host says a great deal! And even if a host
is truly dedicated, Owl Days is a great time to talk with as many students as possible.</p>
<p>Polobear, sounds like you have a keen virtual sense of Rice. An alum interview worked
for us and many others … I really hope you get a chance to take part in Owl Days!</p>
<p>My son also had a horrible match for a host during Owl Days; no need to go into specifics, but it was obvious that there would be no hosting of value at all. What was most impressive is that the host’s roommate picked up on what was going on and stepped in and became the de facto host. Before the evening was over my son went to a comedy club, played basketball, and met with several groups of students and prospies. </p>
<p>At that stage we were down to Rice and two other excellent schools. My wife and I would have been happy with any of the three, so we let our son decide. He chose Rice primarily based on that night and the feeling he got about the other students. I should also mention that he was blown away by the psychology class he sat in on the next morning.</p>
<p>Im glad that it all turned out good, bird rock. The hosting process is severely flawed in its current iteration. Absolutely anyone can sign up, pretty much, and the university is short of hosts.</p>
<p>My freshman year I had 4 official prospies plus 5 who kinda jumped in. So I was hosting 9 people for a thursday through sunday thing or something like that (got a hw extension from my prof thankfully)</p>
<p>They have made Owl weekend into “owl Days” which is plain stupid in my mind. I always ask - how much did you gather about Rice from sitting in on a class? We all know the academics are good. Its the rest of the Rice experience that is important. By having a weekend, prospies can experience the classes and the LPAP’s and the IM sports etc while the host is closing out their week and then spend a solid Friday night thru saturday experiencing the parties, hanging out, late night food etc.</p>
<p>Thank you Ottoline, berkeleymom, and everyone who has replied to my question and also given their own perspective about Rice’s impression. I will contact my regional admissions person as soon as app is done for ED/EA. Hopefully, crossing fingers, after that I’ll get in </p>
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<p>Could anyone also tell me about Rice’s financial aid? I have 0 EFC. I’m currently looking for a big scholarship for u.s. residents. If you guys know of any, please let me in on how you/your kids (if you are a parent) have paid for college in the past. TY :)</p>
<p>Polobear:</p>
<p>Rice’s financial aid is fantastic. You will more than likely receive a near full ride in grant money, with the exception being a ~2000 dollar work study.</p>