I’m currently applying to Rice (Texas native) but some people (actually a lot) are telling me that Rice is “no fun.” Obviously I’m trying to ignore them, but I’m wondering if part of this is true. Do rice students in general just study study study? I am very aware that Houston has an amazing Museum district and the Galleria and etc. (I’ve visited a few times) but I guess I’m asking if Rice students actually go out to do these things, as well as clubbing/partying? I’m the type of student to work hard-play hard and I’m wondering if Rice students are the same 
I appreciate any responses!
Before posting, please remember that I am not saying Rice people don’t have fun. My friends are, and hopefully I can prove them wrong
It really depends. I’m going to straight up say that you can’t apply to a top 25 (or even a top 50) and not expect to be able to skimp past on studying.
That being said, I was able to have a lot of fun when I attended Rice and I have a lot of friends who also have tons of fun. I’ve actually never heard of anyone complain about not having fun because of having to study all day. Most people here don’t expect to be able to go out three times a week or anything, but being able to do something fun once or twice on the weekends suffices. A lot of people at Rice like to stay on campus. There’s usually something going on around campus, whether it’s a public party (i.e., a bigger party hosted by one of the dorms), a private party (i.e., a smaller party hosted by a small group of people), general social gatherings, crawls (think bar crawl but different dorms and/or rooms), events held by Rice Program Council (e.g., bubble soccer), or just people hanging around in the commons or their rooms. A lot of other people also like to go off campus too, such as to sporting events, bars, museums, etc. I’ve never been bored at Rice and even though some weekends I had to sacrifice to finish schoolwork, I never once thought I wasn’t having fun. I had actually transferred from another university to Rice and I had a lot more fun at Rice. Both in terms of balance of schoolwork and non-schoolwork, and in terms of what I was actually able to enjoy doing.
On the other hand, I do understand that many people might not find what they’re looking for in terms of fun at Rice. Some students were able to pull off good grades easily in high school, but weren’t prepared for the amount of work needed to do the same at Rice. In addition, some people find the residential college atmosphere a bit exclusive and not the most conducive for a social life outside of the dorms. But I usually find these people few and far between so I’m surprised that so many people are lamenting to you about not having fun. The vast majority of my friends were/are work hard play hard types and I didn’t hear a single one of them complain about their overall experience at Rice. Obviously we all like to whine about how busy we are, but most of us are pretty good at time management and are able to set aside several hours to do our own thing at least once a week. It might depend on whom you fill your friend group with, so I might have been able to avoid most of the people who actually don’t like it at Rice. But I would say that the vast majority of Rice students don’t believe there’s so much schoolwork to the extent that they aren’t having fun. And I would go out on a limb and say you might think the same, so long as you prepare for the type of education they’re getting when coming to Rice.
Current Rice student here- we absolutely have fun! We have a wet campus (alcohol is allowed) and literally two bars on campus.
But look at any of our old traditions: Beer Bike, Willy Week, Baker 13, Night of Decadence (was on Playboy’s list of best college parties.) Most of those traditions are more tame now, but if you look at where our culture originates, it’s pretty clear that work hard, play hard is our motto.
With that said, I think it’s more important that our residential college system and lack of frats makes partying and having fun a lot more inclusive. You will have fun, and you will feel a lot safer and less pressured than you would at many other places.
Thank you all for the positive responses! I’m doing an overnight campus stay soon so that I can get a better feel for the school. I’ll definitely be looking forward to this.
Rice is frequently near (or at) the top of “happiest students” and “best quality of life” lists, so you can be certain that life at Rice is anything but tedious. Rice will challenge you intellectually. There is no question about that, but you’ll have many opportunities to engage in the University’s many traditions.