I am currently a freshman at Rice University. As the title of this post suggests, I am wondering if I should transfer out of Rice after this spring semester. Here is some of my background / reasons:
People. I feel socially isolated. I never had any trouble making friends, but here, I feel like there isn't anyone that I can have a conversation with. The residential college system kind of limits the type of people I can meet and befriend, but even the ones I meet in class aren't really what I would consider friends... we talk only when we need help on homework assignments. I just feel so suffocated here. Rice is a diverse campus, so I'm not sure why I feel like why I can't talk to anyone despite having met lots of people.
Lack of academic advising. When signing up for the past fall and this upcoming spring courses, I reached out to so many advisors (students and faculty alike) for help on selecting my courses, but I feel like none of them knew me enough to give me the help I needed. I'm not sure how other colleges handle academic advising, but I feel like Rice's "just go talk to any advisor for help" system isn't really serving my best interest. I feel like I am taking the wrong courses this year.
Majors. I am considering both Cognitive Science and Statistics as my majors. The Cognitive Science major here is decent, but we only offer BA in CogSci, and I don't know what I would do with a BA in CogSci after I graduate. Most CogSci majors here go to med school, which I have decided against. Also, the Stats department here is pretty awful (i.e. bad professors and classes) according to several upperclassmen majoring in Stats.
Brand name. I admit that this is an extremely superficial reason, but I am going to be completely honest here: Rice is not well-known outside of Texas. I know that the quality of education is far more important than a school's brand name, and that people/companies that matter know how prestigious Rice is, but I am still distressed every time I think about it. I understand that this is a "dumb" reason, but I am only human and cannot completely control how I feel.
Extracurricular activities. Club activities are kind of dead here. People who want to get involved have ways of getting involved, but overall, I feel like there isn't much life at the extracurricular scenes. I loved doing a bunch of clubs in high school, but here, I barely got involved in 1 (maybe 2) club because there weren't many that captured my interest.
On the other hand, there are some pros of Rice that make me NOT want to transfer out:
Small classes
No crazy grade deflation (like at UCs)
Great financial aid
Research opportunities
Houston
The cons of transferring (e.g. losing credits, having to adapt to a new place, not being able to use this year to plan your next year etc.)
OVERALL, I feel dead at Rice. I have always been super motivated and have worked hard to achieve my goals, but for inexplicable reason, I don’t feel motivated to do anything. I do fine in my classes, but I feel like I lost the joy of learning. I know that Rice is a GREAT school – top-notch academics and “happiest college students” title. I am just never happy here. I have tried to make the most out of my time here, but the thought of transferring out constantly looms over my head.
I don’t know if I am just feeling the common college freshmen blues or if my unhappiness is Rice-specific. I know this is a long post, but if you managed to read the whole thing (thank you), I would really appreciate it if you can give me some insight!
I’m so sorry you are feeling this way. I don’t know anything about Rice’s advising system, but I’d suggest you reach out to someone in Student Affairs/Student Services. You may just need someone who knows the college and all its resources to set you in a new direction. They can help you figure out how to find your place in the big institution.
“I feel dead at Rice. I have always been super motivated and have worked hard to achieve my goals, but for inexplicable reason, I don’t feel motivated to do anything. I do fine in my classes, but I feel like I lost the joy of learning.”
Take this thought to the counseling center, and chat with someone there. Their whole job is to help students sort things out. They will have some ideas for you.
You also could consider taking a leave of absence for a year, and just doing something that is not academic for a bit. It could be that your problem is that you are feeling burned out.
Wow. I am considering transferring out of Rice for the same reason. Btw going to the counseling center really might help. I went there and they didn’t try to persuade me into staying here, they actually listened to my reasons for wanting to transfer and helped me search better schools. I agree with your points too. The residential college system really isolates those who can’t fit themselves in during O-week and the lack of brand name + being far from the east coast frustrates me.
Lack of brand name? If you equate “brand name” with “every 18-year-old has heard of this school,” try somewhere with a huge sports footprint and see how you like the academics.
As an aside, my. older s (a mechE Rice grad) works for a big firm in SV. When he first interviewed for the job, he went through many, many interviews (9). The final interview was with one of the senior staff who has an advanced degree in another field ( I would rather not be too disclosing for reasons of privacy). But, that final, 9th interviewer was… a mechE Rice grad too.
Your adjustment issues may well be a general college adjustment, not specific to Rice. Please see a counselor before making a decision.
Rice is well known and highly respected among people in many, many fields. Just because , oh, for example, Tennessee may have a more known “name” does not make it a better choice!
You shouldn’t leave Rice. You sound depressed and you’re looking for someone to speak to. There are people at Rice that specialize in nothing but improving student life. Look here: http://www.rice.edu/undergraduates.shtml
While isolation can be particularly distressing (been there), some of your other concerns are superficial. Rice has a superb brand name, and not just in Texas. Maybe not in New York City, but not everyone goes to Columbia. As for the quality of majors, look at the accomplishments of alumni in your chosen major for evidence of its quality. Talithia Williams, who is a tenured professor at Harvey Mudd College in California is a Ph.D. product of Rice’s statistics program. You could even contact her by e-mail and ask her about her experiences at Rice.
Hang in there. Talk to your college magisters about social opportunity beyond the hell-bent-for-medical-school vibe that can sometimes be stifling at Rice.
I don’t really have much to add other than you should try not to listen to 1) advice trying to convince you to stay at Rice or 2) advice trying to convince to leave Rice. Ironic because you might be looking for a black and white answer, but ultimately, you should have to make a decision yourself without that sort of persuasive influence. But I say this as one who transferred (albeit, to Rice) and the best advice I received had nothing to do with if I was making the best decision for my future or anything of that ilk.
I highly suggest going to the counseling center as one pointed out, especially if they act as a 3rd party with no motivation to keep you at Rice. The thing is, one way or another, you’ve made your mind about the impression of Rice and it shouldn’t be anyone’s business to “unconvince” you of your impression. We all have different perspectives and arguing about subjective items often goes in circles. But if you’re able to talk with someone about the underlying issues of your concerns, whether that be your social, academic, or other intangible matters, then you’ll be best suited to make the decision that’s best for yourself.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to offer their insight! I will definitely be keeping some of the advice in mind.
@locke1997 Okay, so I’m not the only one who feels that way. Are you set on transferring, or are you thinking about giving it more time?
@jym626 I was wondering the same questions. I am afraid that I will feel the same way even after transferring, so I was planning on visiting potential schools to experience the campus environment. But I guess I won’t know till I start living on campus. It’s almost like a gamble.
@ChiGuy123 Thank you so much for your advice. I really appreciate your neutral stance. Do you mind if I ask what school you transferred from and the reasons behind your decision?
@student909 I transferred from Case Western Reserve University. I actually had a ton of similar concerns that you currently have. There, I felt that Greek life isolated students socially and that even though it seemed diverse statistically, I didn’t feel there was a lot of diversity in terms of personality, or people tended to isolate themselves amongst similar minded people. In addition, the curriculum there was very particular and I felt it wasn’t flexible for someone who wanted to take classes outside of my major. Also I was concerned about the brand name because there were many good schools in the midwest that overshadowed Case Western, although I’ve learned that most private universities will mostly cater to region they’re located in anyways. Then overall, it just seemed like a big school even though the numbers were small and I really wanted to go to a small school to have that small school atmosphere.
Title of the discussion is “Should I leave Rice?” Just trying to be helpful. And in an indirect way, you’re saying, “You should transfer because that’s what I did.”
@student909 I’m actually a sophomore, and when I was a freshman I decided to stay for another year and see if it would work out. Honestly, I kind of regret that I didn’t apply for 2017 fall. I felt that sophomore peer groups are even more cliquey, and I felt Rice didn’t give me the academic experience I wanted. I’m not saying that you are bound to have this sentiment, though. I’m an international student, so in my school it was pretty standard for most friends to go to east coast schools & because I’m a foreigner cultural difference would have blocked me from going into the peer group even after my freshman year. All I can say is ask yourself what you really want. I personally think it’s okay to transfer even if you have a subjective impression against the college, because that itself is an indicator that you don’t feel happy in this school–regardless of the superficiality of your reasons. However, like some posters pointed out, Rice is generally regarded a good school, and for you that might be enough, who knows?
I just transferred to Rice this semester and have never been happier, but at the same time, last year I felt a lot of what you are feeling now. Feel free to reach out to me if you need help determining if you should transfer, fixing your current problems if you stay at Rice, etc. as well as if you decide to leave then where you should go and how to apply successfully.
For what it’s worth, I’m currently an upperclassmen at Rice, and my first semester of freshmen year, I was miserable. It wasn’t until the end of Spring semester that I started feeling like I had friends, and now, I absolutely love the school and feel really at home there. Two of my closest friends have told me that they felt the same way. All three of us have said that we were thinking about transferring out after the end of freshmen year, but now we’re all so glad that we stayed. (One of them was also a CogSci major who just graduated, and he’s now doing Teach For America and considering going into either curriculum design or going to grad school in the future). Each of us has found a group of friends, gotten really involved in clubs and extracurriculars, and found our own niche in the school.
Regarding academic advising, I know it can be difficult to get the personalized help you need, but you should definitely make an appointment with the Office of Academic Advising. PAAs can’t always give you advice that pertains to you, but the OAA should be able to help.
I know Rice can feel isolating sometimes, but hang in there and give yourself more of a chance to find your place in the school. And feel free to PM if you’d like to go to Coffeehouse sometime. Freshmen year is tough for a number of reasons, but don’t give up on Rice yet. I came from a similar perspective before, but now I wouldn’t trade my time at Rice for anything.
Rice is definitely not a no-name school. Not sure where you got that idea in your head. Sure it doesn’t have the same recognition as Harvard or Stanford. But any hiring manager will surely know about Rice, even outside of Texas.
I am actually surprised to see how many activities there are at Rice given that it is a small school. My son would not have enough time for as many activities that he could find interesting.
@student909@locke1997 I am a sophomore from Brown College and went exactly through what you are going through my freshman year. I ended up taking a leave of absence to sort things out.
Send me a direct message, and we can arrange to meet at any time you’d like before the end of the semester, preferably during dead days.
@Shenanigans1 I would love to meet with you. We have gone through very similar experiences as well. I am usually at Brochstein or Pub.