I’m an incoming Rice freshman and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips about living there. I’ll be in the tower so I’ll have a community bath. So, I’ll just list a few questions I have about life at Brown but I’d love to hear about your experiences and useful tips and ideas!
Should I bring desk mirror with an LED light to do makeup in?
About how big are the bookshelves in the dorms?
Do the closets have doors on them or are they open? (I was hoping to bring an over the door full length mirror)
Do most people wear comfy clothes (i.e. sweats, nike shorts, tees, sweatshirts etc.) to class or do a lot of people dress up?
How far of a walk is it to get to the majority of your classes from Brown? Should I definitely get a bike?
How far away is the North Servery from Brown?
From experience, how well do the command strips hold up on the walls of the dorms? Are they overly textured or anything?
All the old O-week books say I need clothes that can get dirty...should I just bring an old t-shirt and some cheap athletic shorts?
Overall, how would you rank the roommate matching service?
Is signing up for classes during o-week stressful? Do people usually have trouble getting in the "best" times?
Thanks for taking the time to read over some of my questions! I’d love to hear what everyone has to say!
I can’t answer your questions but Brown’s web page has a floor plan and description of facilities. It also has contact info for folks who can answer your questions. http://www.brown.rice.edu/the-tower/
Hi, @anicole45 - I can only answer a couple of your questions, but my D was in Jones, which is right next door and shares a servery, so I have perspective on a few of these topics:
The servery is very close, no worries there!
You can definitely manage without a bike. My D never used one when she lived on campus, only in the summer when she had an off-campus sublet. It would tip toward being a need only if you’re in a major like music or architecture, that will put many of your classes at the far end of campus. (Or maybe if you’re a varsity athlete, as most of those facilities are on the south end of campus too.) Otherwise it’s entirely a matter of preference.
A lot of people wear comfy clothes to class. You wouldn’t be out of place if you dressed more nicely, but you’d really have to go out of your way to feel under-dressed - there isn’t a lot of fashion pressure!
Definitely the cheap athletic shorts or equivalent for O-week. It will be hot out and a lot of the activities will be messy. If I remember correctly, the flow of free t-shirts will start right away (and continue for 4 years), so yes, bring an old t-shirt or two, but you’ll pretty quickly find your new supply of t-shirts taking over anyway.
I believe the student leadership of the College does the freshman roommate matching, based on the surveys. It’s generally pretty successful. Remember that it isn’t important that your roommate become your best friend, as long as you have a considerate and supportive relationship. My D and her freshman roommate weren’t especially close and had different groups of friends, but they lived together companionably and remained on good terms, even though they both moved on to suites with their own friends in the subsequent years.
The desk mirror is probably a good idea, but don’t stress too much about anticipating exactly what you’ll need to optimize your routines. Amazon Prime and the Target shuttle are your friends. If you’re not sure about something and it isn’t a life-and-death need, you can always wait and see.
I can try to answer some of your remaining questions.
I can't speak for Brown but they were pretty big at Duncan. I don't know if you would label them as "bookshelves" though since most people used them as extra storage space for miscellaneous items or remaining clothing.
Again, I can't speak for Brown but Duncan had a walk-in closet. You can still attach the mirror onto the door that you walk into the room if Brown's closets are walk-in, though it may defeat the purpose of being convenient.
So...unfortunately Brown is probably the college that furthest from the rest of campus. I still agree with aquapt's post about not needing a bike. Try going to first year without one and see how it goes, then you can look into buying one if you think it's worth it.
Very well. I don't know if anyone's had trouble with it in any residential college.
It's usually pretty good. I've seen more often people get along with their roommates and either become really good friends or become roommates/suitemates again in the future (or both). There have been some misses but it seems to work more often than not and work really well at that.
Depends on your major honestly. You may have trouble getting into some electives or fun classes, but any class that your major requires you should be able to get in. It's less stressful for engineers who have core classes they're required to take but it's more stressful for certain pre-meds who are ahead of their classes and are trying to take other reqs or fun classes.
Welcome to Rice!! I don’t have too much else to add, but I thought I would affirm what the commenters above have said. I’m not at Brown, but if you have questions about life there, seriously just email the O-Week coords. They’re probably the nicest people you’ll ever meet and will be overjoyed to answer your questions.
Anyway, my take on your questions:
If it’s small and inexpensive, it can’t hurt. However, you should be fine without one as long as you have a mirror somewhere.
I don’t know about the closet doors. I think if there are doors, they’re the folding kind. You can definitely throw an over-the-door mirror on your room door, though.
Most people wear comfortable clothes, but if you’re like me and athleisure isn’t your thing, it’s not unusual for people to wear dresses or cute tops and shorts everyday. (A warning: if you wear cute outfits, people will compliment them a lot.)
Yes, Brown is probably the college farthest away from everything. It’s about a five-ten minute walk to the main academic quad. You should be okay without a bike unless you have to get to the sports fields or Shepherd often. A lot of people have longboards/skateboards, which are less bulky than bikes, and you can bring them into the buildings with you, meaning they’re less likely to be stolen.
North Servery is connected to the Brown commons, which is right across the Brown quad from the tower. On weekends, you’ll have to walk to West Servery, which is about five minutes.
Command strips are the way to go. They’re surprisingly strong.
Bring at least one set of clothes you don’t care about at all. Some O-Week activities are purposefully messy and your clothes might not recover. Not sure how much I’m allowed reveal about what you’ll be doing, but definitely bring a shirt and shorts you’re fine with staining.
The O-Week coords match you to your roommate. They’re pretty good.
It’s almost stressful how many people are there to help you sign up for classes. Most classes have plenty of seats set aside for freshmen. If you’re a STEM major and need to take all those intro courses, you may have to change around sections and some specialized electives will fill up, but overall don’t worry about classes. I didn’t have any problems at all, but maybe that’s because I wanted all small social science classes. Anyway, if you have any issues, the entire advising team is there to help!
Below is something I think you’ll find useful from another post I saw you make in a different forum. BTW, my son is also an incoming Rice freshman (premed) assigned to Brown college.
Hey, so I’m actually currently at Brown, so hopefully I can elaborate on what the commenters above me have said.
Your room (a double) will have a small table with a mirror, but if you want to bring the desk mirror anyway, it may be more comfortable/convenient.
We have some pretty big bookshelves; however, for me, I thought it was a bit overkill to bring all of my favorite books, just in terms of transportation, so I just brought a few of my absolute favorites. Fondren always has a wide array of books you can check out!
The closets have doors in them. Bringing the full length mirror would be a good choice!
There's definitely a range; no one judges either way.
Brown is probably the farthest college away from most academic buildings. Like many of my fellow brownies, I still find it fine to walk from though (no matter how much other colleges complain that Brown is "basically off campus").
A bike is definitely not required--I would first see how you feel on campus. If you find a bike necessary, you can always buy/rent from Rice Bikes!
veg4n6r has got you covered here. Also: North has by far the best desserts.
Command strips are fine.
Yeah, bring at least one change of clothes you really, really don't care about. For the entirety of the week though, you'll be wearing a college O-Week shirt, so don't worry about your top.
It's great. I personally didn't like my freshmen roommate very much, but there are also resources to help with that as well.
It's a little stressful, especially for more popular classes, but the important thing is that there's a lot of support and people guiding you every step of the way. (I started with like 6 credit hours, but ended up with everything I wanted after add/drop.)
