Questions for current students

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Hi! I have a couple of questions. I was admitted to Rice class of 2014, and I'm going to Owl Days next week (I'm so excited about Rice!). But I'm also a little nervous about a few things.</p>

<p>1) I've heard Rice students love to party. Does that distract from academics? Does it get really loud in the Residential Colleges during parties?</p>

<p>2) Do people get drunk a lot? Is alcohol allowed at sporting events?</p>

<p>3) Do the residential colleges have single-sex floors?</p>

<p>4) Do all of the residential colleges have air conditioning, laundry facilities, and dining halls? What else do they have?</p>

<p>5) Is smoking allowed in residential colleges?</p>

<p>6) Is the library good for studying? Does it get loud or is it ever too crowded? Are there a sufficient number of books, etc?</p>

<p>That's all for now. I really love Rice!</p>

<p>Thanks in advance! :)</p>

2

<p>1) it does get loud, but it doesn’t distract from academics. Each college has self-imposed “quiet hours,” in which it’s fair game to call a noise complaint (to your college’s chief justice, not to RUPD) on another student. At Lovett, quiet hours begin at midnight during the week, and 2 am on weekends.</p>

<p>2) There are lots of threads about drinking at Rice, and I’m not really going to directly address this extremely general question that is buried among five other questions. To my knowledge, alcohol is not allowed inside at sporting events.</p>

<p>3) No. All of the bathrooms, however, are single-sex.</p>

<p>4) Yes. Every building at Rice has air conditioning. The laundry machines are rented from an outside company by the residential colleges, so you don’t have to worry about keeping a roll of quarters. A lot of the social functioning of the residential colleges revolves around dining, so each college has a common eating space. Everyone comes together for meals, and it’s kind of what hold the community of the college together. Other facilities vary from college to college, but most have a lounge/game room, study lounges, a weight room, and a music room.</p>

<p>5) Smoking is not allowed in rooms. Each college has their own policies regarding where smoking is allowed — most allow it on one or two balconies.</p>

<p>6) Yes. The library does not get loud. Period. The library has over 2 million books, over 6 million microvolumes, and access to more than 65,000 online journal archives. The resources are sufficient.</p>

3

<p>Thank you! That was really helpful. Yeah, I read the other threads about drinking now and think I have a better understanding.</p>

4

<p>1) I’ve heard Rice students love to party. Does that distract from academics? Does it get really loud in the Residential Colleges during parties?</p>

<p>Yes, I suppose you can generalize and say that Rice students like to party. However, most people party hard during the weekends, and most definitely after they get their work done. If not, they will definitely spend a loooong time in the library on Sunday. I mean, to get into Rice, you have to have had the discipline and time management skills to balance social life and academics. So no, don’t worry about that. Point 2: Each residential college has designated loud/quiet floors or sections. And like ^ said, each college has a self-imposed quiet hour. It’s never been a problem for me or anyone I know during the weekday. During Fridays and Saturdays, I recall just a few complaints, all of which were resolved through the college chief justice (elected from the residential college) so no police was involved. Rice kids are pretty respectful in that matter.</p>

<p>2) Do people get drunk a lot? Is alcohol allowed at sporting events?</p>

<p>Um, it depends on the person and the event. At public parties, yeah, people get drunk. But obviously you make your own decisions about drinking and partying. Nobody forces or peer pressures you to drink. We all get drunk to have fun, not to be bellierent. Rice students don’t equate “drunk” with belligerency. I’m inclined to say that alcohol is not allowed at sporting events… </p>

<p>3) Do the residential colleges have single-sex floors?</p>

<p>Nope.</p>

<p>4) Do all of the residential colleges have air conditioning, laundry facilities, and dining halls? What else do they have?</p>

<p>Yeah, agree with what NYSkins said. College will come with any or multiple of the following: computer room (I think at every college), weight room (Brown), dance studio (Wiess), trampoline (multiple), hammocks (multiple), and a “commons” aka cafeteria. </p>

<p>5) Is smoking allowed in residential colleges?</p>

<p>Not in rooms. </p>

<p>6) Is the library good for studying? Does it get loud or is it ever too crowded? Are there a sufficient number of books, etc?</p>

<p>I LOOOVE Fondren. I’m here right now. Most people find Fondren to be a good place to study. There are “louder” areas and the “stacks,” which is… well, really quiet. Sometimes the computers can get crowded, but it’s never been a problem for me to find space to study. Yeah, books are good.</p>

5

<p>

I am living proof that this is not true.</p>

6

<p>1) I’ve heard Rice students love to party. Does that distract from academics? Does it get really loud in the Residential Colleges during parties?</p>

<p>It depends on the crowd you jive with. I only went to one college-sponsored party my whole four years there. It does not distract from academics if you choose. On those nights anyway you can hang out at the library or the RMC. Yes, it can get loud, but I’ve called the chief justice with a noise complaint for a private party and it was addressed well. One caveat, relative to other schools, Rice is NOT a party school. </p>

<p>2) Do people get drunk a lot? Is alcohol allowed at sporting events?</p>

<p>The people who got drunk in high school will continue that trend in college. About half of Rice students, rarely or don’t drink at all. Yes, there is alcohol at football games but only for those over 21 inside the stadium.</p>

<p>3) Do the residential colleges have single-sex floors?</p>

<p>Only Jones college. </p>

<p>4) Do all of the residential colleges have air conditioning, laundry facilities, and dining halls? What else do they have?</p>

<p>Absolutely of the above. All the colleges have open quads for outside gathering. Most with barbeque pits, picnic tables and hammocks. Some have basketball or volleyball courts.</p>

<p>5) Is smoking allowed in residential colleges?</p>

<p>Absolutely not. Very few people smoke at Rice.</p>

<p>6) Is the library good for studying? Does it get loud or is it ever too crowded? Are there a sufficient number of books, etc?</p>

<p>It is great for studying. It does not get loud. It is only crowded during exam time enough then there are six different floors to study at. The private study rooms are booked then, but everything else is not crowded ever. There are zillions of books. For every paper there were dozens of books that covered any aspect I wanted to know.</p>