Academics
A private research university in Houston, Rice University offers a top-notch “level of prestige,” that, when combined with a similar “level of support provided by the university” and the “support of the residential college system,” makes for “an ideal environment.” In addition to being a “premier research university,” Rice is an “amazing place for students because of how much professors care about teaching undergraduates.” Professors, who are “easily accessible outside the classroom” and “experts in their specific fields,” introduce students to “a number of perspectives” and “push [students] to think [more deeply] about [the] world.” The “pre-med program offers a large number of opportunities,” and “is known for its strong biochemistry and medical research,” aided by its “proximity to the Texas Medical Center.” Rice is also known for its “prestigious architecture program.” Overall, students praise the “strong curriculum” offered with “flexibility” that makes it “easy to add/ drop/change majors and minors while still graduating on time.” The college is flush with resources, but if a need arises, students are empowered to take “leadership roles” and maintain “direct contact with the administration.” good job placement rates, lots of academic planning and job preparation, many job/research/fellowship opportunities. Small class sizes foster a deep relationship with professors in every department. One grateful student says, “I have personally benefited from close working relationships with most of my professors in my major department, beginning in my freshman year.” The opportunities this affords for research and collaboration cannot be understated, and the funding for students in the humanities tends to be particularly good: small numbers of students in these areas makes each department more willing to spend a greater proportion on individual students.
Student Body
Rice has been said to have “the happiest students in the United States” and “a high quality of life.” Students count that as a major impressing factor on their decision to enroll: “I wanted my college years to be both happy and successful,” one student says, “and I found no other schools that were as prestigious, but also dedicated to ensuring the happiness of the student body.” Students describe their peers as “enthusiastic,” “helpful,” “politically liberal,” and highly involved in “civic engagement” in the form of voter registration efforts, campaigning for local leaders, and so on. The emphasis is on collaboration: students are “incredibly supportive and encouraging” and “truly care about each other’s intellectual and emotional growth,” which helps Rice “foster positivity” and “inclusivity,” “especially helpful” in an academically rigorous environment. There is “never any competition.” “When people told me that the school was collaborative,” one student says, “I never imagined that…Seniors would stay up late just to help me with things I’ve been struggling with, even when they have their own work to do.” Rice has a “culture of care,” another student reports.
Campus Life
Students are attracted to Rice’s location, in the “unique and vibrant city of Houston.” The innovative “residential college system is “truly special” because of its “ability to supply students with an immediate family after stepping foot onto campus.” Before matriculating, each of the university’s undergraduates “becomes a member of one of eleven residential colleges, which have their own dining halls, public rooms, and dorms on campus.” Each student is “randomly assigned to one of the colleges, and maintains membership in the same college throughout their undergraduate years,” and each college is assigned a “faculty magister,” who “lives in an adjacent house.” Rice students are “spoiled with opportunities [for] fun,” but students “are concerned first and foremost with their academics, and prioritize that over anything else.” That being said, “all welcome distractions from the daily routine.” “On any given night of the week there is… some kind of event” and “crawls and parties tend to be quite frequent starting Thursday night through the weekend.” Students also “support their Owls in whatever athletic contests are going on,” visit the “museum district, which is close by,” or “hang out in the commons of their residential colleges after class doing homework.”
Save School
