My daughter came home to live with us in Houston during the lockdown between spring break and the end of the semester so I was able to observe her reaction to the online classes. She is a rising senior Psychology/English double major. She thought the Zoom classes were ok and that the professors did the best they could under the circumstances. She is looking forward to on campus instruction this fall. Your daughter will be able to get a start on her distribution requirements this fall. She may want to take some of the intro courses for her intended major as well. Many students come to Rice intending to major in one thing and end up majoring in something else or double majoring. She will get lots of academic advising during O Week and will sign up for classes at the end of O Week.
My D is also a BioE major. BioEâs have a alot of requirements compared to other majors and many classes have to be taken in sequence and are only offered in either spring or fall. That means there is not a ton of flexibility. She will likely have to take a math, chem, and physics (depending on her AP situation) freshman year and all freshman take FWIS. I donât know if it will be possible to load up on humanities. But, as @Houston1021 said, your D will get lots of help with her schedule during O-Week.
My D just finished her freshman year so she was taking Differential Equations, Chem, Physics and CAMM from home. They were fine and I suspect that if classes move online this fall they will only be better since the professors will be more prepared. As I said, while my daughter much preferred to be on campus, she did choose to take Organic Chemistry online this summer, so she obviously didnât hate it too much!
My DD just finished her freshman year as well - is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Similar comments as above - mixed levels of quality with the virtual learning. I think for Physics the lectures were provided asynchronously but the discussion section and lab were live. All of her other classes (Multi variable calc, engineering design, engineering leadership, intro to comp engineering) were live except for an industrial processes course - welding, etc. which ended up with them just watching some youtube videos.
Like others have said, the on campus experience at Rice is so wonderful - my DD really misses it. Every day she says she wishes she was back on campus - even now. She really didnât like the online learning, in addition to the situation of being at home / away from campus and her friends. She somewhat threw in the towel the last month of the semester - really couldnât seem to keep herself motivated. She said she was so productive when she was on campus.
She refused to take any summer courses, citing her strong dislike of the online system. She came in with lots of AP credits and has a part-time summer job plus is very active in one of the school clubs doing a lot this summer so we didnât push for her to take anything.
There is a movie called The Trust 1993 - suposedly about Mr. William Rice. I am going to try to find it.
Happy New Year! Greetings to all Rice parents of incoming students and veteran parents. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, post them here, and other Rice parents will do our best to answer. The biggest news lately is the postponement of return to campus until February 15. My daughter is tired of living at home and is very disappointed but understands. Students cannot return to campus and all classes are remote until Feb 15 - The Rice Thresher
I received an email the other day about dining options on campus. My D shared that she has heard that the food is one of the only downsides of rice. What have your kids experiences of the meal options been like?
Up until this year the food was good with lots of variety per my daughter. After the pandemic restrictions were imposed for the 2020-2021 school year, the food is not as good. She says there is a lot less variety, all food servings are boxed separately to go, and there are no more salad bars, etc. Food has to be eaten outside or in dorm rooms rather than inside the dining halls. Hopefully the food will get better if/when pandemic restrictions are eased.
Rice has announced it will have an in person graduation for the class of 2021, but parents and friends will not be able to attend in person, only virtually. Rice will also have an in person graduation for the class of 2020 that did not have an in person ceremony last year. https://commencement.rice.edu/?fbclid=IwAR1vYatWx7Z6L7EmiEcjOeykogHAn93DCVqBnqw8CH2GLZNI1CQQoQ6ZDmY
Rice will have in-person May commencement ceremonies, featuring journalist Nicholas Kristof - The Rice Thresher
I agree with @Houston1021 - until this year the food at Rice was very good. In fact, I remember seeing some poll where they were rated one of the best for food. Pre-covid, there were 4 - 5 servies on campus (what Rice calls cafeterias) and each had a chef assigned, some a pastry chef. Everyday the menu would be published and the kids could eat at whatever one they wanted. I believe each had a salad bar, several entree options (including vegan/vegetarian), burgers (including turkey), fries, sandwich options, dessert options, a panini press to get creative with, etc. Often they would do special food stations like a burger bar, ramen bar, taco bar, made to order crepes and waffles, etc. One servery has a pizza oven. Chef Kyle is well known for his weekly homemade cinnamon rolls.
The covid restrictions are causing a lot more complaints about food since all serveries are serving the same thing and it has to be taken to go. My daughter thinks itâs improved a little this semester and they are starting to bring back a few of the funner options but itâs still not like it was. Hopefully by next fall things will be closer to normal.
Homemade cinnamon rolls?! Yum! I bet thatâs it- they are probably getting some bad press for covid food which makes perfect sense. I will have to let my D know, but to be honest I think she doesnât want to get her hopes up for an admittance. Just a few more weeks of wishing and waiting;)
I ran across this article about the food situation at Rice (in normal times). Itâs a few years old but it gives you an idea of how things work:
https://magazine.rice.edu/2017/07/rices-food-revolution/
I feel like the food at Rice is a little more âgrown-upâ than at some other schools. The chefs get creative and use a lot of fresh ingredients. Itâs not all just burgers, fries and pizza - though those things are definitely available.
Good luck to your D! I know this time is crazy stressful!
If any parents of incoming or admitted students have questions, please feel free to ask them here or PM me. Rice parents will be happy to answer them. There are some Facebook groups, but not everyone participates in that forum. Scroll back through past posts, and you may find the answer to your question.
We are heading to Houston on Friday - Sunday to see campus.
We arrive at the airport @ 11am.
My daughter is signed up for one of the morning âself guided toursâ on Saturday.
Anyone have any other âmust doâ ideas or suggestions for us??
We have done some research on local places, eat, etc.
Just hoping for student/parent suggestions.
We have recently (past 2 weeks) done an admitted student event at Tulane, walked around with a map at Vanderbilt, toured with a current freshman at UNC, and are heading down to Rice for the âself guided tourâ event.
Would LOVE suggestionsâŠweâre ready for the conviction to strike our daughter about where is her home for the next 4 years!!
Enjoy your trip to Rice. The campus is in the heart of the museum district. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Natural Science Museum are just down Main Street from campus, and there are several other museums in the area. The MFAH has a Van Gogh exhibit now. The cityâs main park Hermann Park is right across the street from campus. The park has the Houston Zoo, McGregor botanical gardens, a Japanese garden, the Miller Outdoor theater, a reflecting pond, a golf course, etc. Take a drive or walk through the park. Rice Village is a dining and shopping area just west of the campus. Try Torchys tacos or Hopdoddyâs burgers in the Rice Village for fast casual dining. Hungryâs is a good healthy restaurant very close to campus. Rice Village Dinner, Sunday Brunch & More | Hungry's
UPDATE: Rice has moved graduation to the football stadium and will allow each graduate to invite 4 guests. The ceremony will also be live streamed. Rice updates plans for May commencement ceremonies | Rice News | News and Media Relations | Rice University Launch Meeting - Zoom
Thanks so much for the great info 
Rice isnât providing student guided tours due to the pandemic. However, Rice has tents set up at various points along the tour and Rice students are there to answer questions, They may be giving out some swag like t shirts and water bottles. You can go inside the student center (RMC) and visit the bookstore and the student run coffee shop. If you are going to be near campus around sunset, visit the James Turrell Skyspace for a great light show. James Turrell Twilight Epiphany Skyspace | Moody Center for The Arts
Thanks so much! We will be in town Friday-Sunday morning. We will definitely plan to be there @ sunset on Friday 
You may not be able to go inside the Turrell structure but can see it from the outside. Another small museum with a great collection near campus is the Menil Collection. There is a very nice cafe outside the museum Bistro Menil. https://bistromenil.com
If you are staying near campus be sure to ask if your hotel has a shuttle to Rice and/or a Rice rate. If your daughter is interested in premed, the medical center is right across the street from campus. A walk down Fannin street takes you by some of the major hospitals: St. Lukeâs , Methodist, Hermann, Texas Childrenâs and MD Anderson.
If you have a rental car and want to make a side trip, the Space Center Houston is open and very interesting. They are having some events about Apollo 13 this weekend. It is about 30 miles to get there from Rice.