<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>Daughter is very interested in Rice and has been given an assignment to complete a thorough research paper on a college including a personal ( phone or in person) interview with an admissions counselor.</p>
<p>We are planning a Rice visit in the next two weeks sometime after the Houston area Spring Break is over ( March 22 or so). Would love suggestions about specific things for her to ask about /see/ experience while she is on the campus. Also, if you know of an admissions counselor who might be particularly helpful/friendly? She is only 14 but carries herself pretty well. She has a friend who is a freshman at Rice on the track team and he lives in Brown College so at least she does know someone there. Rice actually sent her a form e-mail after she took her PSAT's so she feels she could maybe have a chance there if she continues to do well.</p>
<p>We could also use hotel suggestions for this stay. We will probably go to Johnson Space Center ( she is interested in Astrophysics/physics, Engineering or Comp Sci as a major) too.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>^I couldn’t imagine a HS teacher asking a freshman to do that. And getting a letter or brochure from Rice does NOT reflect your chances to get in. Many students get those letters, so don’t think they have any significance. I just think it’s odd that a freshman is already visiting colleges and getting in contact with admissions officers. They are more focused on their incoming 2016/upcoming 2017 class. Maybe that’s just me though,</p>
<p>Would she feel comfortable sitting in on a class? My younger daughter could have done that when she tagged along on her sister’s visit to Rice as a high school sophomore.
Also have her pick up a copy of the school newspaper for additional perspective.
I assume it’s your daughter who is supposed to interview (ask questions of) the admissions counselor, and not the other way around. I would be surprised if the office couldn’t accommodate her, as long as you make that clear. She could ask about their study abroad programs, and research/internship opportunities for undergraduates. If your family would need financial aid for her to attend Rice, she might ask about that as well.
All of this is covered in the information session, so she probably only needs a few questions for a one-on-one interview.</p>
<p>The campus art gallery is interesting–devoted to installation art.</p>
<p>@ Mango15: Believe it or not, this teacher ( it is a Gifted Research Methods class ) has done just that. This research is to be fully footnoted and should cover a wide area of topics about the school. There are about 24 kids in the class and they had to all choose a different college. He then compiles the reports into a manual of sorts for all the students to use as a reference tool and it is also used by the guidance department. He keeps them about 2-3 years then discards them. It specifically requires a live ( phone call or in person) interview with an admissions counselor and it must be fully documented to include the time, date, place and complete record of the conversation. When your kid is also an active athlete and travels quite a bit, the traditional Junior year campus visits are tough because that is when many important swim meets ( Fall ) and track meets ( Spring) take place. We are giving up a huge track meet this year ( FSU Relays ) so she can visit Rice instead. University coaches will be paying more attention to Juniors that Freshman anyhow.</p>
<p>@ IloveLA: She would love to sit in on a class! Yes, one of the questions the teacher wants answered addresses the financial aid office.</p>
<p>Yes, this is early but you cannot imagine how many kids/families have no plans and no clue about college requirements and then they wonder why their kids can’t get into University of Florida.</p>
<p>Although I would happily give you names/emails of specific admissions officers, it is probably easiest to just contact the office this time of year. The Admissions staff will be extremely busy finalizing RD decisions as well as preparing for the admitted student events in April, and it would be easier to coordinate with the receptionist than with a particular counselor.</p>
<p>She will certainly be able to sit in on a class when she visits, as well as tour campus and go eat lunch with current students. Yes, it is odd for a HS freshman to be doing this, but if you wants to do it she can certainly make it happen. There is always an admissions officer on duty, but they will probably be more focused on the current juniors and seniors than a freshman.</p>
<p>Thanks all. I will call today and hopefully someone at the office can make a suggestion as to the best approach. In reality, most of the information she needs is on the web site but he does require the live interview so cannot get out of that.</p>
<p>My advice would be to try to get a later date. March 22nd is right around the time that they are doing RD decisions, possibly even the same day, so the admissions office is bound to be extremely busy and an interview might be difficult for them.</p>
<p>Yes, I just called the office and had to leave a message on the voice mail but they did call right back 
I told them the situation and they said if we scheduled a tour and information session, an admissions officer would be giving the talk and we may be able to ask a few questions then. They also said they always have “walk-in” counselors available without an appointment. I personally think that qualifies for a live interview! The paper is due March 28th when my daughter returns from her Spring Break so we cannot really delay it much but maybe able to do the phone interview if we cannot make the trip. It is a 9 hour car trip for us…</p>
<p>Rice has their “mini” spring break on Marych 22-23, so if she wants to sit in on a class, you might want to pick a day other than those…Rice also offers a “lunch with students” option, which my D really enjoyed. It might give her paper a different feel if she can also interview other students over lunch.</p>
<p>MANGO- my son started college visits when he was a freshman in high school! How unusual that you didn’t. I think you are the odd ball here. What better way to plant a passion and vision for all the hard work that you are going to encounter in the next three years! It gives reality a face. We visited no less than 20 colleges between his freshman year and the summer after his junior year! That way he was very informed on what colleges he was really interested in and which ones he wasn’t. Since we took a few years for all the visits, each college stood out more instead of trying to see many colleges in a short amount of time. He could then make the choice that would be the best fit for him. By the way he chose RICE! And he couldn’t be more pleased!</p>
<p>^haha wow really? I always thought students went as juniors. The only thing I did was attend information sessions my junior year. I applied to 16 schools I was interested and specifically told myself that I didn’t want to visit the schools until I received an acceptance, in fear I would fall in love with a school and not get in.</p>
<p>I broke my promise to myself and visited NYU last week and fell in love with it and now I’m too anxious for the decision to come out haha</p>
<p>Well sorry I guess I am the weird one.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re the weird one, Mango. Honestly, the majority of students don’t visit many schools at all, and I think very few would start visiting before their junior year.</p>
<p>Well as it turns out, we can’t make the trip to Rice this Spring Break but daughter is still required to speak on the phone with an admissions counselor for a brief interview. This teacher wants the conversation/interview documented and I am told this is a busy time of year in the admissions office!</p>
<p>@Mango15 - From experience, I would say you are not in the minority; I only visited three schools, and all were in the spring of junior year or in senior year. Most of my friends only visited a couple as well, all in the last two years of their high school careers too. While I appreciate IBWarrior’s point of view, which makes sense, a lot of people don’t have the money or time to visit all those schools, and there is always the risk of falling too deeply in love with a school before being accepted, as mentioned.</p>
<p>I concur that most visit in their junior or senior year. That said, there are often a few sophomores and freshmen, and it’s definitely not a bad thing. If you end up applying to a school you visited before your junior year, though, it’s a good idea to go back for a second visit in your senior year (before or after your decision) to get a more informed/relevant look at the school to aid you in deciding where to go.</p>
<p>As others have said, there aren’t any classes on the 22nd or 23rd, so you won’t get the same picture of the school as you would on a school day (regardless of whether you visit a class). For an initial visit, though, that’s not necessarily an issue.</p>