Visit Report by kathryn07 (Member since January 08 2006 with 316 posts) Visit Date - May 2008
Visit to Rice University in May 2008 by kathryn07 ()
Visit Activities:
Information Session:
Yes - My dad went to the info session without me, but it was very informative and they were happy to answer questions and address concerns. Campus Tour:
Yes - My tour guide was fantastic. I was suprised to find out how much history and tradition is on the campus, even though it's not even a hundred years old! Classroom Visit:
Yes - You can arrage classroom visits before you leave or the day of your visit through the admissions office. I looked up the class schedule beforehand and emailed the professor who was very helpful.
Rice University Campus:
Friendliness/Courtesy of Students: 5 - Excellent -
I ate lunch with the students in the South Servery and they were all very friendly and I enjoyed talking with them.
Friendliness/Courtesy of Staff: 4 - Very Good -
The staff in the admissions office and the professor in the class I visited were helpful and very friendly.
Appearance of Campus: 5 - Excellent -
Although Houston is hot, the campus is beautiful! It's in a wonderful part of town and feels very safe. You aren't in the middle of the city like some other big-city campuses.
Building/Facilities Maintenance/Cleanliness: 4 - Very Good -
The Admissions Office and building where I visited a class were both very clean and nice looking. The architecture at Rice is very unique and nice.
Dormitories: 4 - Very Good -
The dorms at Rice vary. I visited Hanzen, one of the older dormitories, and it seemed to be clean and in good repair. The newer dorms looked amazing, although I did not see the inside of these.
Security/Safety: 5 - Excellent -
Rice is in a great part of Houston and campus security appears to be tight. There are security posts all over the campus for emergencies. The surrounding neighborhoods seemed to be very safe.
Overall Campus Impression: 5 - Excellent -
Overall the campus was absolutely beautiful. It's small enough that you can walk from one end to another in about half an hour, and there is also a bus system that runs around the main circle.
Off-Campus:
Area Immediately Around Campus: 5 - Excellent -
The campus is in Southwest Houston and the area surrounding it is mostly old historic-looking neighborhoods. On the other side of the campus is the park and the Texas Medical Center.
City/Town/Community: 4 - Very Good -
Houston is one of the largest cities in the US and there's certainly plenty to do. Rice students have free access to public transportation.
Campus Visit Notes for Rice University:
Visit Description:
(copied from a PM sent to a parent asking my opinion on my Rice visit...)
Let's see. First of all, Rice is situated in West Houston, which is a VERY nice part of town. The surrounding area is what I would consider the "old money" neighborhoods on one side and the medical district on the other. It's a very pretty, and also very safe area unlike a lot of campuses that are in large cities. I was also very impressed with the Texas Medical Center, which we learned is the largest medical center in the world! There is also the Rice Villiage which has about anything you could possibly want and reminds me of an outdoor mall. It even had all the big name clothes stores I love like Gap. So overall my dad and I were very impressed by the surrounding area.
The streets on campus and most of the surrounding area are lined with live oaks which make a canopy over the roads and sidewalks, which helps with Houston's heat. The campus is full of these oak trees and there were lots and lots of green spaces and courtyards which made it overall very pretty. The architecture was called "spanish mediterranean" and it was absolutely gorgeous. All of the buildings were very nice and well kept. Nothing looked like it was about to fall apart like I've seen on a few campuses. It's also not too big, and it is very easy to walk anywhere you need to go on campus. From one end of campus to the other is only about a fifteen minute walk, and there is also a bus system that goes around an inner loop on campus which I suppose is nice if it is really hot or raining.
I got to see two different dorm rooms; one was a quad and the other was a double. The quad had a common room with two double rooms coming off of it. The other dorm was set up more like a hotel with doubles. The size of both settups was very nice for a dorm room, and I was told that the one's I was shown were considered to be some of the worst dorms on campus. (Worst, of course, is relative, because they were extremely nice.) As you probably already know, Rice has a college system where the students are divided into the nine different colleges. The dorm rooms I saw were in Hanzen, and I also got to see the outsides of some of the newer dorms which looked like they were very nice too. My dad and I also went and ate lunch at one of the two main serveries. The food was good and they had a fairly diverse selection.
The student center was very nice, as well as the library. There are lots of really cool stories about the history of Rice and some of the buildings. Something that I didn't know before I went on the tour was the JFK gave his "going to the moon" speech in Rice's football stadium, and Superbowl 8 was played there as well. By the way, all of Rice's athletic events are free to students, and their baseball team is REALLY good. We went to a baseball game while we were there too, which was a lot of fun. Students also get to attend concerts at the Shepherd School of Music for free, and the Shepherd School is one of the top music schools in the country and possibly in the world.
I think the only drawback to Rice, at least for me, is that students will get kicked off campus for one year because there is only housing for about 70% of the students. Freshmen are guranteed housing, and most of the colleges will "kick you off" either your sophomore or your junior year, and it's basically a lottery for who gets the availiable housing. BUT, as I said, the surrounding area is very nice and safe; we saw a lot of nice-looking appartment complexes, so it's not as bad as it sounds. Also if you can make friends with an upperclassmen you can work out a deal to room with them and stay on campus. The other thing that initially bothered my dad was that all of the dorms are co-ed, and the floors are mixed too. (The rooms and bathrooms are still seperate, of course) I was told though that it's still a very good situation though, and the have the College Masters and Residential Advisors there who are basically the "parents away from home" who are there for any problems. I met the advisors at Hanzen College, and they were extremely friendly and helpful.
Overall, I was very impressed by the campus and the surrounding area. It was absolutely beautiful and it felt very safe, which is important to me. It's definately much nicer than the other schools I've seen that are set in big cities like Houston, and there are so many internship and job oppertunites for almost anything you're interested in... especially with medicine and engineering with the Texas Medical Center and Johnson Space Center right there. Houston also has a lot of cultural and recreational venues off campus and Rice students can ride the public transportation system for free. I was also impressed by the amount of tradition and history Rice had accumulated for such a relatively young school.
Hotel/Lodging Recommendations or Comments:
The closer you are to Rice the better because traffic in Houston can be hectic. I'd recommend somewhere in the South or West side of Houston since these also seem to be the better parts of town.
Dining/Restaurant Recommendations or Comments:
Obviously Houston has a plethora of dining options. I would definately recommend checking out the Rice Village though since it's an area where a lot of students go on weekends to eat/shop.
Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):
Like I said before, Houston traffic is tough, so plan ahead so that you aren't late!
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I ate lunch with the students in the South Servery and they were all very friendly and I enjoyed talking with them.
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The staff in the admissions office and the professor in the class I visited were helpful and very friendly.