<p>In a senior in HS, and Rice is currently my top or top 2 choice.
I am also looking at Pomona.
I have been reading some threads around the forum, and have seen a problem indicated in many universities about the abundance of teachers assistants, and how they can even teach classes.
It would seem, due to the size of Rice, that there is a bigger focus on undergraduates than graduates. Is this true?
How are the professors generally? Extremely dedicated to teaching, or more research oriented? </p>
<p>Also, some questions on college life. Are there really nice beaches close by? Do many students take trips to them often?
And what is the drug/alcohol spectrum like? An abundance? overabundance? Does it take up the primary social focus?</p>
<p>I have more questions that I cannot think of right now, but if someone could try to answer some of these that would be very nice.
Thanks a lot!
Zach</p>
<p>In terms of TAs, I think Rice is pretty good about having actual professors teach courses. I have a graduate student teaching a non-majors music class for me (Shepherd School works differently from the rest of Rice) and my friends say they have TAs that run lab portions of science courses, but other than that I can't say I've even heard of TAs teaching courses at all. We currently have a 5:1 student:teacher ratio, so there are plenty of professors to go around. They only have to teach, like, two classes each, so they have time to put a full effort into teaching and still do research.</p>
<p>There aren't any "nice" beaches that I know of nearby. We do have some relatively crummy beaches, though, notably Galveston and Freeport, both about an hour, give or take, away from campus. I wouldn't say people go to them "frequently," but if you want to go (or have a car yourself), it shouldn't be too difficult.</p>
<p>In terms of alcohol, I would say there is an "abundance," but not "overabundance." It's definitely there if you want it (for just about any occasion), but there are a lot of people who simply don't drink at all and still have a great time. If you simply cannot stand being on a wet campus, you might be uncomfortable at Rice, but if you just don't want to drink and want alternative options, Rice is a fine choice.
In terms of drugs, I haven't really witnessed any drug usage at all. I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you might be able to find some pot-smokers, but they are rare and harder drugs would be virtually non-existent.</p>
<p>I would like to point out that one of the nice thing about Rice and the residential college system is that there isn't a frat system, meaning there is no exclusionary sense. This means that if you want to drink, you are welcome to no matter who you are, and if you don't want to, you will still be accepted by others. Drinking doesn't monopolize the social scene (although it can make things more fun if you want it to).</p>
<p>Hope that helped! Anyone else can rebut my thoughts if they care to.</p>
<p>All of my classes are taught by professors. 3 of my 5 professors are just phenomenal teachers who consistently surprise me with their ability to make lectures interesting/exciting (I'm in facebook groups dedicated to two of these professors). Then there are 2 who are obviously really interested in their subjects and put a lot of energy in to their classes but don't manage to make their classes as... entertaining as the other 3. These two are both new professor, while the other 3 are long time faculty, so they'll most likely get better with time. This all varies I'm sure with each schedule, but that has been my experience so far. I've been really pleased with the quality of teaching so far. </p>
<p>And about labs: there is a professor in charge of writing the labs and doing all the administrative type stuff and then TAs are responsible for helping students actually complete the labs, which they're pretty helpful about.</p>
<p>In my 6 semesters at Rice, I've had one class (an intro econ class, which had another section being taught by a professor) taught by a TA (and he was a final year doctoral student and a pretty good professor). Most of the time, they're used to lead tutorial, discussion sections, and labs. Most of the time, except for in a few large intro classes (I'm speaking only of the social science classes, I don't really know what goes on in science/engineering) they aren't even used for that. Rice professors are required to teach a relatively light course-load, so they have plenty of time to actually deal with students.</p>
<p>As to the drinking issue: Rice is a wet campus. You'll see alcohol around. I feel like our wet campus actually allows us to have a much more low-key drinking culture in some ways though. There are large parties, but there are also a lot of low-key events. For example, one night every week my college does senior wine night, where all of the seniors (the 21 year olds) bring wine to share with each other during dinner in our commons.</p>
<p>Obviously you would have generally smaller classes at Pomona with few if any Teaching Assistants. Having said that, I have always wondered why Rice has been so underrated. I think it should be a top-ten school, with an undergraduate teaching flavor similar to Brown/Dartmouth/Princeton, and probably fewer TAs than Cornell/Penn/Stanford. You'll get an outstanding education at either institution.</p>
<p>Rice:</p>
<p>Classes with less than 20 students: 62%
Classes with more than 50 students: 9%</p>
<p>Pomona:</p>
<p>Classes with less than 20 students: 73%
Classes with more than 50 students: 1%</p>
<p>Thanks for all of yours replies, they are greatly appreciated.
Some more, mostly minor questions about applying.</p>
<p>I am planning on doing early decision.
I think I saw something about this in another thread, but does early or regular make a difference with aid money? Do they still give merit-based aid to early decision applicants, and is need-based the same?</p>
<p>And if anybody happens to know, are there special rice letters of recommendations papers to give to teachers and counselor, or not?</p>
<p>Would sending 3 letters be fine - 1 core teacher, music teacher, and church mentor/youth group leader</p>
<p>And I play violin and piano, done both for about 10 years. Would it be beneficial to send a video or audio of a performance? I am not planning on pursuing these later, but would they help anyway?</p>
<p>Galveston is closest but is basically a tar pit, so that's out of the question...</p>
<p>BUT...</p>
<p>If you had a long weekend and really wanted to go to the beach, there's South Padre Island, which is pretty amazing. It's down right by Mexico; you even have to go through a customs check point on your way back up. It's about a 6 hour drive, but the water is warm and blue.</p>
<p>Pomona beats Rice on beach access... but Rice beats Pomona on water temperature! :)</p>
<p>It would seem, due to the size of Rice, that there is a bigger focus on undergraduates than graduates. Is this true? YES! Which is really REALLY nice, because you get to know your professors really really well. I actually went to breakfast with one of my professors on Monday.</p>
<p>How are the professors generally? Extremely dedicated to teaching, or more research oriented? All the professors, for the most part, are AMAZING. They are both extremely dedicated to teaching AND research. It's basically the best of both worlds. Also, the research opportunities are limitless.</p>
<p>Also, some questions on college life. Are there really nice beaches close by? Beaches, relatively close (1-2 hrs drive); nice? no.</p>
<p>Do many students take trips to them often? No, it's just a hassel to drive that far off campus; I'd rather go to Austin.</p>
<p>And what is the drug/alcohol spectrum like? An abundance? overabundance? Does it take up the primary social focus? It takes as much social focus as you want it to. I know people who do them and people who don't, but it really depends on the kind of people with whom you surround yourself.</p>