<p>I was accepted to Rice for the class of 2016. Rice is basically the perfect fit for me, but my only concern is the social scene. I work hard, which is how I got into Rice, but I like to party/drink and I want my college experience to include that aspect of life. I know the residential colleges throw public parties pretty often, but does that get repetitive? What other options will I have? Any feedback is greatly appreciated- thanks!</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance. As you mentioned, the colleges throw themed public parties pretty regularly, and they vary in quality from college to college and year to year. For the most part, though, they’re pretty fun IMO - especially Duncan’s Sensation “White Out” party (but I’m a little biased, haha). There are also a good number of private parties, too, and they can rival even the best public ones! </p>
<p>Trust me, you’ll find plenty of people here who also work hard and like to party/drink. There are always birthdays to celebrate, major crawls to go on, pub nights to attend, and “college nights” (all-day themed party events for each college every semester). Not to mention Willy Week - an entire week of festivities that culminates in the largest annual water balloon fight in the world, cheer battles between the colleges, and BEER BIKE. (BTW: Beer Bike was yesterday, actually. Soooo much fun! I can’t stress it enough. I <3 Rice.) </p>
<p>For off-campus partying, Houston has plenty of great bars and clubs, plus there’s always a concert to attend. If you or someone in your group of friends has transportation available, you can also take trips to Austin for things like the ACL music festival, or to Galveston/New Orleans for Mardis Gras, among other places. </p>
<p>In short, there’s lots of fun partying to be done at Rice, and there’s an extra helping in Houston and surrounding areas. You have so many options that you’ll live here for four years and will not have experienced everything.</p>
<p>If you like to party/drink, Rice is definitely a good place to be, given our alcohol policy and social scene. In fact, my professor who’s brand new here just told us about how the stereotype of Rice students throughout Texas is that we are all heavy drinkers. I’ve never heard that before, but I can see where it comes from based on the opportunities here. (That’s not to say you have to be a partier/drinker to love life here. I have so many friends who don’t do either or only do one of the two and still love their social lives here. We are a truly inclusive campus and have something for everyone. In fact, I would argue that we have the “best somethings” for everyone too. We basically just know how to have fun, no matter how we do it.)</p>
<p>Highly recommend you visit for Owl Days and get a first-hand perspective on what the social scene here is like.</p>
<p>Thank you both! You were both extremely helpful. I’ll be going to an Owl Day in two weeks, so I’ll hopefully get a good idea for myself!</p>
<p>One of the coolest things about Rice is it has not one but two on-campus bars. One of the school’s most precious gems is Valhalla which is a small dive in the basement of Keck Hall. The bar is over 40 years old and operates at basically no-profit margin. Its run by and frequented by graduate students, but its open to anyone who is 21+. You’ll always have a place for cheap premium beer there :)</p>