<p>Hey, it seems like these are the emerging qualities that I’m looking for in a potential university – i’m a junior as of now. (Some of them are kinda crazy, I’ll admit, lol)</p>
<p>how does rice fit in with them?</p>
<p>(in order of importance):</p>
<li><em>Fairly</em> open curriculum – requirements are okay, but I don’t like stringent-core-like curricula</li>
<li>urban (i know Rice is in houston, but how’s its connection with the city?)</li>
<li>Small class sizes</li>
<li>Good food accessible either on campus or not [people pick on me for this requirement, but I think it’s pretty important considering that I’ve lived on my mom’s cooking my whole life and four years is a long time =) ]</li>
<li>Tolerable weather</li>
<li>Nice dorms [they don’t need to be palaces, but clean/livable/comfortable/fun conditions are preferable]</li>
<li>Awesome/Aesthetically pleasing Library (or more than one library) [people pick on me for this one too – most colleges have good libraries, but for some reason I find the big comfortable ones with an exorbitant amount of books to be so great…]</li>
</ol>
<p>thanks in advance</p>
<p>ok I'll answer the best I can:
1. The curriculum here is pretty awesome. You have to take 12 hours in 3 different groups, but for each one there are so many options that you can really take what you are interested in.<br>
2. How much you interact with the city is pretty much up to you. Students get free metro cards so it doesn't cost anything, and if you want to I'm sure you can find people to go into Houston with. But if you don't, it's also pretty easy not to leave campus and the Rice Village area.
3. Class sizes vary, but compared to other schools of the same caliber, many of which are a lot larger, the classes are pretty small. The intro classes are of course going to be large, but many classes are pretty small.
4. Food varies on campus. There are different serveries you can eat in, North having the best food and the individual college serveries having the least selection. The food is not always good but you make do. And there are good food options off campus nearby.
5. I love the weather here. I don't know where you are from, but I come from the northeast and have never had such an awesome winter. Even in the beginning of the year when it was hot, it was tolerable, and now most days are perfect for me.
6. Like the food, the dorms vary. Some are newer, some have nicer set-ups, but they are all livable and comfortable. Mine is probably one of the nastiest on campus (being renovated next year) but I still love it.
7. Fondren is pretty cool. I prefer to study in my room, but I occasionally go to the 6th floor to do some reading. Good views and there are so many different areas to work, I'm sure you could find somewhere to fit your tastes.</p>
<p>Hope this helps! You can PM if you have any more questions. I love talking about Rice!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ditto sffhgoalie. Distribution requirements mean that you just have to take your major requirements and 12 hours in each category: humanities, social sciences, and math/science/logic. Very flexible!</p></li>
<li><p>Ditto again. Metrorail is close to campus, so it's not too difficult to get into the city if you want. And as far as cities go, Houston is pretty awesome!</p></li>
<li><p>Any school you go to is going to have big intro classes. Once you get out of those, you will tend to have quite intimate classes, even if you are in a popular major.</p></li>
<li><p>Right now the food quality is suffering a bit because of the economy and post-hurricane Ike effects. Housing and Dining set their budget back in June, but food prices skyrocketed in the fall and then after Ike they had to provide a ton of free meals to off-campus students without power or water, so, since food here is buffet-style all you can eat, they have to provide the same amount of food with less funds and higher prices, so thus must cut back a bit on quality. After this year, when they can readjust their budget, things should get better. All that said, I really don't mind the food. Granted, I'm not too picky. Off-campus in Rice Village there are a TON of really awesome restaurants! There's really good Thai, Indian, Chinese, Mexican (lots of Mexican...), Italian, French, and your standard American places.</p></li>
<li><p>The weather is freaking awesome. I hadn't been considering weather at all during my college search, and I am SO GLAD I ended up here, because I can't imagine now going to school in a cold, cloudy, gray climate.</p></li>
<li><p>Dorms are definitely livable. My dorm hasn't been really renovated in quite a while, and I think it's awesome! </p></li>
<li><p>Fondren has, what, seven floors? And they are all huge. The stacks (bookshelves) are seemingly endless and labyrinthine. They are kind of legendary. Tons and tons of places to study. I don't spend much time there, since I prefer studying in my college's study lounge with a bunch of people, but it's definitely a sweet library with tons of resources.</p></li>
</ol>