<p>We recently visited and loved Rice, but I am surprised that housing is guaranteed for only 3 years given how important the Houses are to the life of a Rice student. I know there is housing nearby for rent, but what does it do to the sense of life and/or house connection in the year away? Does it feel like exile? Is there a loss of connection to the community? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Is it true that you don’t know WHICH 3 years are guaranteed? Our tour guide mentioned that each college has its own policy which isn’t set in stone. For example, one year it’s sophomores who have to find alternate digs, the next year it’s someone else. She did say that if you really want to stay on campus, you can usually do it. I wish I had asked more questions because it turns out that’s what my 2012 daughter perceived as a big strike against Rice.</p>
<p>It’s clear from the start whether possible moves will take place after freshman or sophomore years. I can remember when I was once worried about how this would play out… But it’s worked out well for my son and it seems like everyone he knows who wanted to stay on campus stayed. He also has friends who are enjoying the benefits of off-campus living.</p>
<p>Some students have happily moved out of the colleges for a year or more and find reasonably priced nooks off campus, leaving rooms for those who prefer to stay; others have been choosing to move into the new residential colleges that are seeking to round out their class representation: still others put together suites that include upperclassmen to boost their standing in room draw and stay on campus. I’ve heard of few cases where students who wanted to stay on campus ended up off-campus And, I’d like to add that living near by is an appealing option, too.</p>
<p>I’m really surprised to hear that someone would rule out Rice because you’re guaranteed “only” three years. That’s one or two years more than most universities offer. </p>
<p>I hadn’t heard that some of the colleges change the year that kids aren’t guaranteed housing. My daughter’s college does that sophomore year and as far as I know, has done it that way for years. She’s a sophomore this year and was one of the lucky few who got to stay in the dorms. I think there are about 25 sophomores at her college on campus this year. There are pluses and minuses to both options (on/off campus). The big plus to being on campus, even when most of your class is off, is convenience. You have someplace to call home during a long day of classes. On the otherhand, most off-campus students have friends whose dorms they call home. My daughter and her suitemates regularly house friends overnight in their common room, especially on weekends, and I think a lot of off-campus students still eat in the serveries pretty regularly. On campus, you don’t have to shop for food, or cook, or worry about transportation. On the otherhand, if you like to cook, or are tired of servery food, or would like a whole house to spread out in, being off campus can be a nice change. In fact, my daughter had a hard time deciding whether to take the on-campus housing this year when it was offered to her. She felt like she might be missing out on that off-campus experience. I think most of her friends have enjoyed the off-campus adventure this year, but almost all of them are planning to live on campus again next year.</p>
<p>Three years on-campus at Rice is enough to convince many seniors to live off-campus. I think it would be unusual to live off-campus alone, so roommates living in an apartment is not much different than roommates living in Sid Rich, Jones, Brown, etc, except that you don’t have gnomies (sp?) come clean your bathrooms each week. Only freshmen eat breakfast in the college commons anyways.</p>
<p>To the above poster who stated that only freshmen eat breakfast in the commons, I respectfully disagree–we have a great representation of all classes except juniors, who live off-campus the way my college does it.</p>
<p>I will admit–the only 3 years of housing guaranteed thing did cause me to pause when deciding to come to Rice. However, since coming here, I’ve learned that it’s truly not as scary as it sounds. The college system fosters such wonderful relationships that it’s easy to stay connected to your college–many colleges have lounges for off-campus students where they can do their homework, store their stuff, and just hang out. As well, many college-wide events (tailgates, etc.) are open to off-campus students.</p>
<p>There are definitely ways to stay on campus all 4 years, such as being elected to the governing body of one’s college, or getting lucky in the room selection process. Granted, it’s not a perfect system, but students who want to stay involved with their college DEFINITELY are able to maintain their involvement (or even become more involved as the year goes on).</p>
<p>DD elected to live off campus for 3 years. To say they are “kicked off” is not really accurate, they are the bottom of the room draw. Since some like my daughter elect to live off campus 3 years, there are spaces that sophomores can fill. One of DD’s friends has lived on campus entirely except when she did her semester abroad. DD has not found it a hindrance to participating in her college and feeling connected to it. She still goes to cabinet, is on sports teams for her college and hangs out with friends who live on campus. She live with 2 others that also like off campus for the quite, control over food and cleanliness. She also has her own room. As mentioned above, many schools only guarantee one year.</p>
<p>DD lived off-campus for 4 semesters; one semester sophomore year, one study-abroad semester, then off-campus two semesters senior year. Twice she was able to get on-campus housing at the last minute when her plans changed - spring sophomore year and after she returned from a study-abroad. She lived in three different places off-campus, each within about 5 blocks of campus - just a short stroll. DS lives 6 blocks off-campus now. Both kids saved us money living off-campus (because it’s cheaper, but Rice Financial Aid budgets the same amount for on and off-campus housing. My kids are frugal and didn’t/don’t have cars, and rented reasonably priced housing.) Upsides: we save money, kids have more room to spread out, can easily cook for themselves, more independence, quieter. Downsides; less convenient to campus. Both still felt/feel connected to campus and eat/ate frequently on campus using Tetra Points.
I WORRIED like crazy back in 2004, when DD got accepted to Rice because of the housing issue. I NEEDN’T HAVE WORRIED! The amount of on-housing is increasing (even more than student enrollment), and off-campus housing is easy to find and relatively cheap. It gets “passed down” from one group of Rice students to others, as they take-over leases and rents. Rice U also owns some apartments near Rice that it leases out to students. (And then there are all the grad apartments, too - though not usually available to undergrads.) There is an online off-campus housing guide. Lots of options, and kids who really, really want to stay on campus can make that happen. If not - lots of sweet garage apartments, duplexes, apartments near campus… DS pays $550 a month to rent a HUGE 4 bedroom 2bath duplex 6 blocks from campus with wood floors, crown molding, nice old-fashioned kitchen, big dining room… (way better than any derelict student housing I lived in!) I hope this helps any parents who are worried. Plus there is a Rice shuttle to various grocery stores etc. so that kids without cars can buy things if they can’t find a friend to give them a ride.</p>
<p>We were concerned about this issue too when we learned about it on our visit. Our son seems completely unconcerned about it, and he is obviously right. I know we feel like we are sending children away to school, but they are really young adults, and they are capable of figuring it out, just like we did at that age. anxious, which direction do the kids live from campus? We drove around campus and the neighborhoods just to the south and west seemed rather upscale. I presume, therefore, that there’s more student-like housing to the north.</p>
<p>Actually parts of North side are most upscale - at least right near campus. DD lived North one block over on Bolsover in a duplex, also on Wroxton about 3 blocks north in a quadraplex and on Quenby North west about 6 blocks away in a divided house. DS lives South West of Rice about 1/2 a mile (in the area north of Main and Holcombe) where there are a lot of big brick duplexes and apartments - just one street over from expensive houses. All very nice and solid, but a bit “dated” in terms of finish. Trees and green grass… There are also quite a few apartments on Dryden and Travis just one block South from campus… some look like big houses, but are really duplexes while others are older apartments showing their age. There is a lot to choose from, and even more if you are a student with a car and wish to commute out a little further. There are lots and lots of garage apartments, including some with opportunities to trade babysitting/chores for rent, and people who rent out a bedroom or two in their houses to Rice /international students.<br>
Just a note: DD’s college “jacked” some sophomores off-campus; DS’s “jacked” some Juniors off-campus. When you join your res college you will know what year gets lowest room draw. It doesn’t change within that res college - so it is not unexpected. :)</p>
<p>Bravo, anxiousmom! I suggest copying this post and finding a good place for it.
And I hope that everyone reading these words gets in – it won’t be long now. All the best luck!</p>
<p>Hi anxiousmom!
My s was “jacked off” soph yr, and lived in a duplex with 6 other Rice students. Turns out he stayed in Houston for a summer internship, and was able to stay in the house and found other inters for the summer. Worked out great (with the exception of one summer roommate, but that is another story), and he and his friend moved back on campus for jr and sr year. Like anxiousmom, I was worried-- for no reason. It was a great learning experience for him.</p>
<p>My younger s’s school requires on campus living for the first 2 yrs-- thereafter its not only not required, its hard to get. He just secured a house near campus with 2 other friends. Not sure what he’ll do for his sr year. I cant think about that yet!!</p>
<p>a few colleges kick sophomores off, a few kick juniors off, and the current freshmen at the new colleges are going to be able to stay on all 4 years, to my knowledge. as a freshman getting kicked off for next year, the prospect is honestly extremely daunting. not once, though, have i rethought my decision to come to rice. </p>
<p>moving off campus really does suck if you’re very into your residential college and all that it has to offer, but all the amazing people/opportunities/the residential college system’s existence itself definitely outweigh the suckiness.</p>
<p>in summary, i’d say this is probably the worst thing about rice. but if the worst thing is getting further away from your school, i’d say that reflects pretty well on the institution itself. plus, i’ll be back!</p>
<p>Many students stop going home to parents during college. They stay in Houston for the summer jobs and internships or go elsewhere. Somehow they grow into independent young adults who can figure out their own housing. Perhaps it should be a requirement to make them live off campus so they get out of their cocoons and nests.</p>
<p>My s said that in his res college, they jack off the sophs because they like to have upper classmen in residence in the college, and sometimes if juniors move off campus, they may be less likely to return for senior year. I personally felt more comfortable with the idea of a junior living off campus than a sophomore, but it worked out fine for him.</p>
<p>It’s worth pointing out that there are a lot of people who do live on-campus all four years. I’m one of them.</p>
<p>I went to the Vision weekend last month and stayed in Jones, and my host told me that Jones is mainly the only house that people get kicked out of. (And she did use the term “kicked out.”) This system doesn’t seem right to me. So you get put in Jones, and know that judgment day is coming in three years? Or how does that work?</p>
<p>I’m really sorry that your host had such a negative attitude about living off-campus. First of all, every college (with possibly the exception of the new colleges, which are still figuring out how many available beds they have) have guaranteed housing for three years. So, regardless of where you end up, you will likely have to live off-campus for a year.</p>
<p>However, different colleges do this differently in terms of what year you’ll live off-campus, what you can do to try and stay on-campus, how many people get to stay on-campus, etc. </p>
<p>I would STRONGLY encourage you to view this as a positive thing. There are definitely some students who really enjoy living off-campus (cheaper, quieter, etc.) and regardless of whether you like it or not, you won’t be on your own! Upperclassmen will help you find housing, figure out the lease, find roommates, etc. I promise you it’s not the end of the world. </p>
<p>Also, Rice students have a really high quality of life and are really happy. This is coming from the whole university, including students who live off-campus. </p>
<p>As with anything, the experience is what you make of it, so if you go into it with a positive attitude and a desire to remain connected to your college, you will be absolutely fine.</p>
<p>Agreed. ^^ And as others have pointed out, most universities don’t guarantee housing for all 4 years, so it’s not atypical to Rice. The good news is that there is affordable, abundant and safe housing options near campus. Not all universities can claim the same thing.</p>
<p>And Jones is definitely not the only college where many people get kicked off. I’m not sure what gave your host that idea.</p>