<p>We are looking closely at our UC and local Stanford but in the last month have heard some good things about Rice. S1 is nearly 2300 SAT, 800 math and will complete HS with 12 or 13 AP (self studied a couple) all 4 or 5, 3.8UW. He's very strong in computing and math but also a natural learner of spoken languages (he speaks 3 besides native English - 2 to AP level, 1 to 4th year. Fluent in Spanish.) My concern about the large public UC's is that he's not great about administrative stuff - like reading his email, getting his applications and college essays done. He might thrive say at a Berkeley for the strong challenging computing and languages. But he also might forget to read his email or forget to sign up for a required class or ?? I had heard from another parent that looked into it that private Rice might do a better job at keeping a somewhat obtuse freshman on course and tacking toward all his requirements. Any thoughts on guidance and environment for this type of student?</p>
<p>Strongly agree from what I have seen (albeit after two months)</p>
<p>When they arrive on campus and go to their college (dorm) they are assigned a group of upperclass advisors which are a huge help, and usually some have similar academic interests. In addition each of the 11 colleges (each with fewer than 400 students, and thus fewer than 100 freshmen) has plenty of faculty watching over the student. A “master” and spouse live adjacent to the college. In addition, 1 to 3 younger faculty live in the dorm and also eat meals, interact, and help watch/advise the students for that college. They pay close attention to the upcoming mid-term “pumpkin grades” to get struggling freshmen students more help. In addition, other profs are assigned to the colleges and eat meals from time to time with the students which can also help. Even with lots of APs typically at least one class is a “Freshman Seminar” and they do seem to try to orient the students very well from what I have seen so far, quite remarkably well it seems.</p>
<p>I am hard pressed to imagine a school that would be much better at keeping a smart student on track (possible exception might be military academies which have various discipline options).</p>
<p>Rice campus seems remarkably friendly as well which probably also helps create a good environment for asking for and getting help.</p>
<p>A big plus at Rice is the residential college system. This allows high levels of interaction between freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. As a result, it is very easy to seek help or talk to fellow majors who went through what you did a few years earlier. </p>
<p>2018RiceParent covers a lot of the other positives, between the ‘Masters’ who are faculty advisors and always available to talk to and/or seek advice from. The RAs are also there to help you out. Rice also has an academic advising office which I have heard is helpful. </p>
<p>Finally, the environment is not at all cutthroat. I was a Chemical Engineer and our whole class would collaborate on difficult problem sets and help each other out where needed. </p>