<p>How is the Rice Residential system so much different than that of other schools? I know it's created from the Oxford Residential system, but what IS the residential system? </p>
<p>Rice students: What is the best part of this residential system? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>1) basically, when you enroll, you are "randomly" assigned to 1 / 9 residential colleges. notice i placed the inverted commas. idea is that the university tries to make each college a microcosm of the university and tries to make each one as diverse as each other one. basically, you're a member of the college for the rest of your life. it's kinda like a community consisting of: students, faculty associates (double as advisors and ppl you talk to over meals), a faculty master (chosen by each college's govt to live in a house adjacent to the college and serve as your parents away from your home / liaison to the rest of the faculty), and anybody else from campus police officers who patrol the area around the college / cleaning ladies, etc. it's an awesome support system and makes you feel like you have a family away from home.</p>
<p>2) what i like best: once again, it's like having a family away from home naturally, there is a lot of college pride going on, especially during big campus events like Willy Week / Oweek, etc. each college has cheers for itself and against every other college, and it's pretty cool overall. but outside of such events, we still get along fine with each other.</p>
<p>on the academic scene, the college system also is the main reason that builds an excellent sense of brotherhood among all students. you'll constantly hear abt ppl at other universities competing w/ each other to the point that they sabotage each other to get better grades. that does not happen here. i think of it as a very cooperative learning system. undergraduates run a lot of the review / recitation sessions you'll go to. whenever you have problems w/ a class, and a friend hears about it, chances are there will be 5 ppl showing up at your door the next day offering their services. there is a tutoring system that is organized by students and you get placed with the right tutors by your college.</p>
<p>and by far, the social scene more than makes up for everything else. basically, oweek (orientation) is a whole week designed to make sure you get to know all the faces in your class in your college pretty well. lotsa fun events abound (it's not completely academic!!!) and also opportunities to bond w/ ppl from other colleges (not to mention shouting cheers against them =D ) . basically, this thing abt social scene is the foundation on which all that brotherhood that i've been talking about is built on.</p>
<p>i can never stop talking about how the college system contributes to the whole Rice experience. it's the main reason i picked Rice over Duke / JHU even if i'm a bioengineering major. people think i'm crazy. i think they are. and i'd think you will be making a big mistake if ever you decide to pass up Rice.</p>