hokie10

would you say that rice is harsh on grading, easy, or for the most part fair (handing out a fair amount of As to the kids that study but are not necessarily geniuses)?

i am planning to transfer to rice for many reasons, but im also a premed student and it's imperative i do well. would you say the average premed there has enough time to commit to clubs and activities? i dont want to limit myself to only academics/volunteering.

some input please. it would be GREATLY appreciated.

maysixxmom

Study, seek all the available assistance Rice offers (of which there is much), go to class, do the homework, get to know your professors and their TA's. You'll definitely have to earn the grades, but isn't that why you're coming to Rice?

That being said, from D's experience, "yes", you'll have plenty of time to be involved in EC's, get a part-time job for spending $$, and still have an active social life.

While Rice is a *great* university that wants its students to succeed, it all begins and ends with you!

hokie10

thank you for such an informative answer. may i ask what year your daughter is in? how does she like the school and how does she compare it among the others of the same caliber?

Dorian_Mode

It's really hard for a Rice student to compare it to other universities unless they transferred. Most of us probably couldn't say anything more than "Rice is awesome, and, while those other schools are probably pretty cool, there's no place I'd rather be." That's what I'd say, at least.

NYSkins1

I have had only one (academic) class at Rice that I would call an easy A. You still couldn't get away with not doing the work, but it was a Postmodernism class, so all of the papers were essentially exercises in BS, but I guess that was more the nature of the class than the professor.

On the flip side, I haven't encountered any artificial grade deflation at Rice. You should never get a C that you don't deserve, and if you put in enough effort in any given class you can get an A.

As for extracurriculars, I do about a dozen different things at my college which add up to 20+ hours per week and give tours, but I still have the time to go out with friends and make decent grades.

maysixxmom

hokie10 - D's a junior pre-med biochem major, but came in with lots of AP credit so she skipped the intro science classes and most distribution requirements. However, the few academic classes she took (especially art history) were very demanding.