莱斯大学1892年由得克萨斯州棉花巨富威廉•马歇尔•莱斯William Marshall Rice创建的莱斯大学（Rice University），位于美国南方宁静的得克萨斯州休斯敦市郊，为美国南方最高学府，离市中心仅三里车程。 莱斯大学曾与其它两所，北卡罗来纳州的杜克大学Duke University、维吉尼亚州的维吉尼亚大学University of Virginia齐名，号称为南方哈佛The Harvard of the South。
基本简介
莱斯大学
莱斯大学多年来以工程、管理、科学、艺术、人类学闻名，以高水平的教学态度、低廉的学费，吸引了不少家庭经济条件不是很好的学子前来求学，并且提供了213个体育项目方面的奖学金，并有保障60个名额给女性同胞们，可谓是价廉物美，物超所值的一所好大学。
莱斯大学采用小班制教学，校园不大，确是美丽、和谐的，师生之间的互动良好，充满活力，其优秀的学术水 准，在全美大学排行榜时常可见，在众多的科系当中，物理、英语、历史、考古学非常受学生们欢迎，工程、医学预科的录取率极低，竞争激烈。
在莱斯大学就读的学生们，读理工方面的还是占大多数。在校园的生活十分的轻松自然、因为靠近休斯敦市，因此无论是在那一种的休闲活动上来讲，几乎都不缺，如爵士乐CLUB、艺术博物馆、自然科学博物馆，或是去墨西哥海湾的海滩，自行开车的话只需45分钟。
校徽
莱斯大学是以它的工程学院出名的，可是近年来，它致力于本科的综合教育以及专科预备生的预科教育，光是一个“优秀的工程学院”的呼称早已对它不适合了。莱斯大学建筑系是全美最好的建筑系之一，物理、英语、历史和考古学系也非常受学生们欢迎。不用说，工程系和医学预科是全校竞争最激烈的。其空间物理系与美国宇航局交往甚密，有几个共同的研究项目，美国前总统肯尼迪曾在莱斯大学就登月项目发表过演说。
位于德克萨斯州休斯敦市，以工程系闻名的莱斯大学（Rice University），以高水准的教 学质量和低廉的收费标准，不仅登上《美国新闻与世界报道》最佳大学排名榜前20名之列， 也在《金钱》杂志“最合算的大学排行榜”上荣登榜首。在美国大学学费以每年高于通货膨 胀率的速度增长、家长和学生纷
纷叫苦不迭的时候，这所美国南部实力雄厚的大学，确实有极大的号召力。
全美排名
2010年，这所有着南方哈佛美誉的世界名校莱斯大学被《美国新闻与世界报道》US.News列为全美排名第17名。世界排名从40名到70名不等。
2011年美国大学生物工程学 （Biomedical/Bioengineering） 专业本科排名 第 6
2011年美国大学生物工程学 （Biomedical/Bioengineering） 专业研究生排名 第 8
2011年美国大学原子/分子/光学（Atomic/Molecular/Optical） 专业研究生排名 第 9
2011年美国大学软件开发（Programme Language）专业研究生排名 第 9
2011年美国大学电气/电子/通讯（Electrical/electronic/communications）专业研究生排名 第 12
2011年美国大学本科录取率排名 第15
2011年美国最有价值大学本科排名 第16
2011年美国大学学生生活质量排名 第1
2011年美国大学最快乐学生
做为南部最好的学校之一，无论是声望还是实习就业都享有非常好的认可度，美国大学毕业生起薪从高到低的排名，Rice University 排名第6
学校特色
1、规模小：3279名本科生，2277名研究生
2、竞争激烈：12名申请者中只录取1人
3、资源丰富：师生比例1：5，学校捐款数额平均到每名学生$681034
4、住宿学院：建立亲密、多元的社区
5、合作的氛围：跨领域教育、教学与研究结合、本科教育与研究生教育结合
教育实力
莱斯大学Rice University便宜的收费，在美国高等院校中独树一帜，分外抢眼。在美国私立大学的学费基本上都4万出头的时候，莱斯大学的学费只要3万多。除此之外，它还给所有有需要的本科学生提供助学金和奖学金，数目从750美元到学费的半额不等，目的无他，就是为了吸引家庭经济条件不那么宽裕的优秀高中毕业生。除此之外，莱斯大学Rice University还提供种类繁多的213个体育奖学金，其中60个是专门为女生设立的。
有人说：“便宜没好货”，但莱斯大学绝对是“价廉物美，物超所值。”其优秀的学术水平，在全美大学排行榜所列举的数据中均有体现：在2010年的USNEWS美国综合大学排名中，莱斯大排名第17；在2010年普林斯顿排名中，莱斯大学在美国大学生活质量的评比中排名第一。它的本科生录取率2009年是22%，被评定为录取率最低的学校之一。它的学生中，72%在高中时都是名列前5%的优秀生。莱斯的学生，在全美考试SAT分数的中段50%（这个概念指的是：将学习好的25%和学习差的25%，都不列入计算）的分数，是阅读640-750分、数学670-780分、写作640-730分，足够与哈佛、耶鲁这些名校媲美。
莱斯大学的规模很小。2009年只有3279名本科生，2277名研究生。可是却有高达12.5亿美元的校友捐助！这就是它之所以能够提供廉价的教育的原因之一。
莱斯大学是以它的工程学院出名的，可是近年来，它致力于本科的综合教育以及专科预备生的预科教育，光是一个“优秀的工程学院”的呼称早已对它不适合了。莱斯大学建筑系是全美最好的建筑系之一，物理、英语、历史和考古学系也非常受学生们欢迎。不用说，工程系和医学预科是全校竞争最激烈的。其空间物理系与美国宇航局交往甚密，有几个共同的研究项目，美国前总统肯尼迪曾在莱斯大学就登月项目发表过演说。
莱斯大学鼓励学生们选双专业、甚至三专业，而且经常是“经济”和“艺术史”这种看起来毫不相干的领域相搭配。社科、人文、自然科学等非工程专业的学生大部分都会选双专业。
莱斯的学生对教授交口称赞，称教授对教学和学生们真正感兴趣，而且没有架子，在学生的晚会、会餐和体育活动中经常可以见到他们的身影。
学校风格
莱斯大学建于1912年，一向以工程系而著称。莱斯大学曾与其它两所，北卡罗来纳州的杜克大学、维吉尼亚州的维吉尼亚大学齐名，号称为南方哈佛。莱斯大学多年来以工程、管理、科学、艺术、人类学闻名，以高水平的教学态度、低廉的学费，吸引了不少家庭经济条件不是很好的学子前来求学，并且提供了213个体育项目方面的奖学金，并有保障60个名额给女性同胞们，可谓是价廉物美，物超所值的一所好大学。莱斯大学采用小班制教学，校园不大，确是美丽、和谐的，师生之间的互动良好，充满活力，其优秀的学术水 准，在全美大学排行榜时常可见，在众多的科系当中，物理、英语、历史、考古学非常受学生们欢迎，工程、医学预科的录取率极低，竞争激烈。
有人说，莱斯大学的确是博采众长，集“好大学”该有的特点于一身。100多年前得克萨斯棉花巨富威廉•马歇尔•莱斯（William Marshall Rice）建校时，在学术上以治学严谨的普林斯顿大学作模范；在宿舍管理系统上则是效仿英国牛津大学的“住宿学院制”；在建筑风格上，许多学生说校园内笔直参天的橡树、石子小径和西班牙地中海式的房屋，都使他们想起斯坦福大学；而在价格上，莱斯大学则更像美国的一般公立大学。
刚建校时，莱斯大学的宗旨是为了“教育得克萨斯州和休斯敦市的青年”，但今天，校园中有52%的学生从全美其他各州来。28%的学生是少数民族，还有9%是国际学生，而几乎所有新生都是从公立高中毕业的。
在政治倾向问题上，学生们声称，用得克萨斯州的标准来衡量，它属于十分开放的大学，可是跟全国的大学校园一比就保守得多，大部分学生认为校园内的政治气氛不浓。不过，上一届州长选举时，大部分学生义无反顾地支持了共和党候选人小布什，现在他已登上了总统宝座。
校园环境
在课外活动方面，因为莱斯先生不赞成校园内有太多的“精英倾向”，因此兄弟会、姐妹会这类组织都被禁止。学生社交的中心是校园内的8个住宿制学院，每个学院里有大约225个学生，学生间关系亲密，对自己的学院认同感很强。
宿舍一般不错，既大又现代化.但因为住房不够，学校用抽签的方式来决定给谁分配住房。每年有25%的学生在校外较为便宜的地区自己解决住宿问题。
莱斯的学生们的娱乐活动好像一个接着一个，一年到头，盛大的正式舞会数也数不清。莱斯校园的位置理想，休斯敦近在咫尺，是想要享受夜生活的学生们的好去处。那里有热闹的爵士乐俱乐部，各种艺术博物馆、自然科学博物馆和公园。不过，因为公共交通几乎不存在， 有辆自己的车很有必要。去墨西哥海湾中如画的海滩，开车只需45分钟就到。
专业：学校的数十种专业涉及各科学领域广泛，以理科和工程科最具特色，如太空学、天文学、计算机科学、物理学、化学、机械工程、电子工程、环境工程、材料学、统计学等。
本科专业有：建筑和环境设计、生物学、数学、计算机和信息科学、人文科学、社会科学、工程学和技术、艺术、音乐等38种。
研究生专业有：天文学、应用数学、会计学、工商行政管理学、工程和应用科学、工业和职业心理学、国际商业、哲学、经济学、语言学、建筑工程、太空科学、统计学、计算机工程、教育学、材料科学、机械工程、地质学、地球物理学、地球化学、城市设计学、历史学、土木工程、生物化学、生物和生物医学科学、生物医学工程、计算机工程、计算机科学、宗教学、法律学、人类学、电工学、环境工程。
国内声誉
在本科生教学中，莱斯大学在2008年《美国新闻与世界报告》排名中列第17位。此外，在《普林斯顿评论》2007年大学排名中，莱斯在“最佳生活质量”中排名第一，“最佳本科整体学术体验”中排名第三，同时位列前20所“学生从不停歇学习”的大学，同刊中将莱斯列为全国“众多比赛/课堂互动”的大学中位列第一。在2008年版《普林斯顿评论》中，莱斯大学在“最佳价值”私立大学中位列第一。
专业
学校的数十种专业涉及各科学领域广泛，以理科和工程科最具特色，如太空学、天文学、计算机科学、物理学、化学、机械工程、电子工程、环境工程、材料学、统计学等。
本科专业有：建筑和环境设计、生物学、数学、计算机和信息科学、人文科学、社会科学、工程学和技术、艺术、音乐等38种。
研究生专业有：天文学、应用数学、会计学、工商行政管理学、工程和应用科学、工业和职业心理学、国际商业、哲学、经济学、语言学、建筑工程、太空科学、统计学、计算机工程、教育学、材料科学、机械工程、地质学、地球物理学、地球化学、城市设计学、历史学、土木工程、生物化学、生物和生物医学科学、生物医学工程、计算机工程、计算机科学、宗教学、法律学、人类学、电工学、环境工程。
大学排名
美国排名
第17名 2010年USNEWS美国大学综合排名
第17名 2011年USNEWS美国大学综合排名
第17名 2012年USNEWS美国大学综合排名
全球排名
第78名2010 U.S.News 排名
第4名 2011-2012荷兰莱顿大学世界大学100强
第72名 2012 泰晤士报世界大学200强
其他排名
第28名 2010美国大学化学专业研究生排名
第20名 2010美国大学计算机科学专业研究生排名
第48名 2010美国大学生物学专业研究生排名
第29名 2010美国大学物理学专业研究生排名
第28名 2010美国大学数学专业(Mathematics)研究生排名
第18名 2010美国大学应用数学专业(Applied Math)研究生排名
第9名 2010美国大学原子,分子,光学物理学专业( Atomic,Molecular,Optical Physics)研究生排名
新生申请材料
申请费
通用申请-未来计划
通用申请-申请表
通用申请-推荐人信息表
推荐信
通用申请-高中学校报告
高中成绩单
初三成绩单
高中毕业证
SATI成绩单
SATII成绩单
托福成绩单
学校补充申请表
面试
通用申请-ED协议书
通用申请-期中报告
财力证明表
艺术或建筑补充材料
艺术生补充表
学费及要求
学费
本科学费/年 $32000 加生活费后 $43000
硕士学费 $26500S3
录取比 24.27%
申请要求
SAT Math 720
SAT Verbal 710
SAT总分 1430
ACT 32
入学要求
SAT 2100(阅读640-750分、数学670-780分、写作640-730分)，另需TOEFL 100分。
就业状况和相关费用
1999年度毕业生中等年薪（包括奖金）起薪$80,000。
1999年度毕业生平均年薪（包括奖金）起薪$83,630。
学费：本国学生：$34,900/年。国际学生：$34,900。
食宿费：$12,600/年。国际学生总费用$47,500/年。
2010年美国大学毕业生收入最高的50所大学中，莱斯大学（Rice University）的毕业生薪酬居第44名，大学本科毕业生中位年薪为53,600美元，大学本科毕业生职业生涯中期中位年薪为100,000美元。
排在第一名的是哈维-穆德学院 （Harvey Mudd College），大学本科毕业生中位年薪为68,900美元，大学本科毕业生职业生涯中期中位年薪为126,000美元。
English
Rice University Introduction
Established in 1912, Rice University is one of the youngest and most dynamic of America’s highly competitive universities. Although it may not boast the lengthy history of many of its peer institutions, it has taken advantage of the unique opportunity to create an ideal college environment by analyzing and emulating the successful attributes of its predecessors. Well before the first students matriculated, Rice’s founders commissioned a study of the premiere educational institutions of the world. After visiting seventy-eight institutions in fifteen countries, the traveling party returned to Texas and combined the best attributes of each into their own vision of a utopian university on the outskirts of the young city of Houston.
The Rice of today has achieved international prominence among educational institutions by adapting itself to the needs of the twenty-first century while remaining loyal to the well-crafted vision of its founders. That vision focuses on three guiding principles:
• A focus on undergraduate teaching and research led by world-class faculty.
• A commitment to making the Rice educational experience affordable to all qualified students.
• Development of a vibrant yet close-knit academic and social community based on an inclusive residential college system.
As a result, Rice students benefit from an atmosphere of learning that infuses the campus, both within and outside of the classroom, and that allows them to stimulate their intellectual curiosity while forging lifelong friendships with classmates and faculty alike. Perhaps what makes Rice most revered by its students, however, is its ability to provide a challenging and rewarding academic environment without stifling the fun-loving nature of its 3,001 undergraduates. The administration is known for being particularly tolerant of the mischief that often results from the collaboration of some of the nation’s most creative young minds.
The intensity and frivolity of the Rice experience are combined on a 300-acre wooded campus in the heart of Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city. The campus itself, which is closed to through-traffic and is bounded by an eight-foot hedge and live oak trees, is surrounded by the world’s largest medical center; an impressive museum district (offering student discounts); a city park that is home to a zoo, an outdoor amphitheater, and a public golf course; an upscale residential neighborhood; and a lively pedestrian shopping district that includes both conventional and quirky shops and a diverse array of restaurants and pubs. Though students do not have to set foot outside of the campus or the adjacent neighborhoods for learning opportunities or weekend entertainment, they do not hesitate to venture out to exciting venues throughout the lively and very navigable city of Houston. Whether students are enjoying the city’s internationally-recognized performing arts scene, internship opportunities at Fortune 500 companies, research projects in the medical center, or live music at the city’s numerous concert venues, they consider the city of Houston to be a very important partner in their Rice educational experience.
Rice students enjoy many luxuries during their undergraduate careers, including small classes, personal interactions with professors, first-rate research opportunities, an inclusive social structure, and a collaborative student environment. But what students come to appreciate most during their years at Rice is the culture of personal responsibility and self-determination that pervades the campus. The Rice administration treats its students like adults from the very first minute of orientation week through the end of graduation day. This trusting environment is evidenced throughout all aspects of student life, from the Honor Code and the flexible academic curriculum to the emphasis on student government, and the absence of hall monitors and curfews in the residential colleges. Such freedoms provide students with the ideal environment to mature and develop as intellectuals and as human beings. Although there will certainly be stumbles and challenges along the way, Rice students leave campus as some of the happiest and most self-aware, confident, and capable college graduates in the country.
Rice University Academics
The aim of the Rice education is not simply to increase students’ knowledge but to improve their capacity to learn and ability to think critically through teaching, research, testing, and experience. Whether students are studying in the schools of Engineering, Architecture, Music, Humanities, Social Sciences, or Natural Sciences, they are pushed toward this objective by accomplished faculty members who have come to Rice because they enjoy and are challenged by the exchange of ideas that takes place in its classrooms. A recent quote by Nobel Prize winner Professor Robert Curl typifies the attitude of the Rice faculty: “Teaching strengthens and nourishes research . . . [by] forcing one to think and rethink the very foundation of one’s discipline, year after year.”
The Rice Curriculum
The focus on producing well-rounded graduates who think independently is enhanced by the flexible Rice curriculum. Although students are asked to indicate a preferred area of concentration upon entrance to the university, Rice recognizes that intellectual development often leads to new ideas and new interests. Thus, the Rice education is designed to provide undergraduates with the maximum amount of flexibility to change their courses of study or pursue multiple and/or novel majors during their undergraduate careers.
Students are particularly encouraged to explore the university’s diverse course offerings during their first two years on campus. In fact, they are not required to declare a major until the spring semester of their sophomore year, and many change majors well after that time. With the exception of the Architecture and Music schools, there are no special entrance requirements, so changing majors can be as simple as submitting a form to the registrar. Even after students have declared a major, the relatively flexible degree requirements (particularly in the social sciences and humanities) allow them to continue to take classes in a broad array of disciplines or, in many cases, pursue a second or third major in other subjects. Other students find themselves intrigued by a multitude of interrelated fields and choose to pursue (or create!) an interdisciplinary major. As an added incentive to seek out academic challenges, Rice allows undergraduates to take up to four courses under the pass/fail designation. Regardless of their chosen field of study, all Rice students are required to complete at least twelve hours in each of the general disciplines of science, social science, and the humanities. Most satisfy this requirement effortlessly.
Sample Listing of Interdisciplinary Endeavors at Rice
• Nanotechnology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Asian Studies
• Chemical Physics
• Study of Women and Gender
• Medical Ethics and Health Policy
Student-Faculty Relationships
Rice’s esteemed faculty members teach ninety percent of undergraduate classes, and students benefit from a student-faculty ratio of five to one and a median class size of fourteen students. However, student-teacher interactions are certainly not limited to the classroom. The majority of professors are also affiliated with one of the residential colleges, thereby fostering more personal relationships between students and faculty. It is common to find faculty members playing on college softball teams, lunching in the college dining halls, inviting students to their homes, and bringing their children to campus on Halloween night to trick-or-treat. In addition, professors’ affiliations with the colleges facilitate academic advising for underclassmen. During orientation, freshmen are assigned to faculty members from their colleges who teach in their areas of interest and will counsel them on course selection and other scholastic matters until they declare a major at the end of their sophomore year.
Rice professors also collaborate with their students in the many research laboratories on campus. The university’s size, resources, and reputation combine to create ample opportunities for undergrads to complement their classroom experiences with firsthand research opportunities in a variety of disciplines. Professors and students alike frequently work closely with researchers from the Texas Medical Center, NASA, other governmental agencies, and numerous private companies. Because so many research opportunities exist on campus, many students find that all they have to do to get involved is volunteer.
Largely because of the factors cited above—small classes, the residential colleges, and research opportunities—the faculty are integral members of the Rice community and are uncommonly accessible. Few students leave Rice without having connected with one or more professors either through classes, the college system, or research opportunities. Thus, most students have several academic mentors to consult for advice on course selection, recommendations for graduate school, and career guidance.
The Honor Code
The Honor Code is a distinct feature of academic life at Rice. All undergraduates are schooled in the expectations of the Honor Code during orientation, and they are required to sign a pledge to refrain from giving or receiving unauthorized aid on each assignment. The success of the Honor Code provides Rice students with uncommon freedoms, including unproctored tests, take-home examinations, and self-scheduled finals. To most students, the Code is indispensable because of the trusting, accommodating environment it produces.
The success of the Honor Code depends entirely upon student enforcement of its tenets. In the rare instances when students observe others violating the Code, they are required to report the infraction to the student-led Honor Council. The Council considers all alleged violations and imposes appropriate punishments, ranging from loss of credit on an assignment to suspension from the university.
Grades
The grade inflation that has been widely reported at other universities is unknown at Rice. However, while students should enter Rice expecting to work hard, they can also expect to find every possible resource to help them succeed, including a flexible curriculum, accessible professors, and a trusting environment. In addition, students will find a network of support among their peers, for the Rice environment has always favored collaboration over competition. In the end, Rice graduates are rewarded with the admiration of top-notch graduate schools and employers who recognize that a Rice degree is a symbol of aptitude for success.
Rice University Admissions
Rice prides itself on having a student body that is diverse in every sense—from ethnic, religious, and geographic backgrounds to socioeconomic status and political tendencies to musical and athletic prowess. As a result, admissions at Rice is a very individualized process that endeavors to compile a class of unique individuals who will challenge and learn from each other during their four years at Rice and throughout their lives.
First and foremost, Rice seeks to admit students who are intellectually prepared for and eager to participate in the Rice community. Although grades and test scores can be helpful in determining a student’s likelihood of success, other factors that illustrate a student’s motivation, such as course selection, teacher recommendations, and extracurricular involvement, are equally important. In fact, in its attempts to compile a diverse but symbiotic class, the Admission Committee may forgo a technically superior candidate in favor of another qualified individual with the capacity to make a unique impact on campus life. Thus, strong academic candidates who use their applications to tell their personal stories and demonstrate commitment and perseverance within and outside of the classroom typically have the best chance for success. Nonetheless, the competition is rigorous: of the 8,968 applicants for a recent freshman class, only 2,251 (twenty-five percent) received an offer of admission.
Rice requires its applicants to submit the customary application components: SAT plus two SAT Subject Test scores, or the Act with writing: an official high school transcript, recommendations from high school teachers and counselors, the Rice application, and a $50 application fee. An interview is also recommended and can add a personal touch to an application while providing the candidate an opportunity to learn more about life as a Rice student. Applicants to the schools of Architecture and Music are also required to submit a portfolio or perform a live audition, respectively.
Rice uses the Common Application, which collects basic information, and, like many selective colleges, also requires a Common Application Supplement. The Common Application Supplement provides students with multiple opportunities to express themselves, including several short-answer questions, a thought-provoking essay, and an empty two-dimensional box that applicants are asked to fill with something that appeals to them (an excellent opportunity to make an impression on a reviewer!).
Note: Each component of the application receives a thorough review, so be sure to answer each question carefully, choose conscientious teachers to write your recommendations, and watch those typos!
Decision Plans
To help alleviate the anxiety surrounding the college admissions process, Rice offers three decision plans for its applicants.
1. Students who are confident that Rice is their first choice school and would like to complete the application process early may apply via the Early Decision Plan by November 1. While awaiting the December 15 notification date, students may continue to prepare and submit applications to other schools as long as no other early decision applications are filed. Students admitted under the Early Decision Plan are required to either commit to Rice or withdraw their applications by January 2. Nonadmitted students may be deferred for later consideration or denied admission.
1. Students using the Regular Decision Plan must postmark their applications by January 2 and will receive notification by April 1. Offers of admission must be accepted by May 1. In most years, a number of talented applicants are initially placed on the waiting list, and later, some may receive an offer of admission, filling spaces that become available in May and June. Rice/Baylor Medical Scholars Program
Each year, Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine offer a select group of students concurrent admission to an eight-year combined undergraduate and doctoral degree program. Admitted students enjoy access to special programs at Baylor during their four years at Rice and are offered automatic acceptance (i.e., no MCATs!) to Baylor College of Medicine upon their graduation. Interested students must submit the Common Application with the Rice Supplement and the Rice Baylor Medical Scholars Application by December 1.
Getting to Know Rice
One cannot fully appreciate the beauty and intimacy of the Rice campus without paying a visit to the university, so prospective students and their families are encouraged to schedule a trip to Houston if at all possible. The hospitable Admissions Office is open yearround, but visits during the school year can provide the best insight on campus life. Visitors will quickly learn that one of the biggest indications of Rice students’ love for their school is their enthusiastic participation in campus recruiting activities. Each year, hundreds of undergraduates volunteer to host prospective students on overnight visits, lead campus tours, and visit high schools to share information about Rice. In addition, students play a key role in the annual “Owl Days,” when all admitted students are invited to spend a day and night on campus to experience life as a Rice student. While you are considering Rice, these student volunteers will be one of your best sources of information, so be sure to ask the Admissions Office about these student-sponsored programs.
Financial Aid
Rice is committed to attracting and retaining talented students regardless of their financial backgrounds, and it has established a three-pronged strategy to support this aim. Rice uses its large endowment to discount tuition for all students gaining recognition on a national level as being one of the best values in higher education. Rice administers a needblind admission process so that students’ applications for admission and financial aid are considered separately. Rice meets 100 percent of a student’s demonstrated financial need through a combination of loans, grants, work-study programs, and scholarships. For families with less than $80,000 in total income, Rice meets all demonstrated need with grants and work study—no loans.
Rice University Students
The Colleges
The Rice community revolves around and is distinguished by its unique residential college system. The colleges serve as Rice’s alternative to the Greek organizations and social clubs typically found on other American campuses, which are expressly forbidden by the Rice charter.
The inclusive college system randomly assigns all new students to one of the nine colleges upon their acceptance to the university. In any given year, seventy to seventy-five percent of Rice students reside in their residential college, and the remaining students enjoy the benefits of membership despite their nonresident status. Since each college reflects the diversity of the entire student body, the system encourages friendships among students of different ages, races, backgrounds, and interests.
Each college is a separate physical structure similar to a dormitory that houses its own dining hall, computer lab, library, recreational lounges, and laundry room. In addition, a college is a self-governing body that provides opportunities for student leadership, innovation, and artistic expression through student government organizations, theatrical productions, athletic teams, social committees, and other activities.
The college system also facilitates student-faculty interaction. In addition to the nonresident faculty affiliates described above, each college has two resident associates and a college master who are members of the faculty or staff of the university. The RAs live in modified dorm rooms within the college itself, and the master, along with his or her family, lives in an adjacent house. All are present on a daily basis to enhance and participate in the college experience, not to patrol the activities of the residents.
From the minute Rice students set foot on campus during orientation week, they feel like part of their residential college family. Upperclassmen eagerly welcome their new “siblings”to Rice and coach them on their respective college traditions. The college bond continues to grow over the course of the Rice experience because members eat, study, compete, and relax together on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, the rivalries among the colleges are deeprooted and fierce. The antagonism always begins with friendly pranks (called “jacks”) that frequently occur between rival colleges during orientation week and continues through the annual spring ritual of Beer Bike, a bike-racing, beer and water (for underage competitors) chugging contest among the colleges.
Campus Clubs and Organizations
Rice is home to over 200 campus clubs and organizations, and because of the school’s size, there are endless opportunities for campus involvement. It is not at all unusual to see motivated students assuming important campus roles such as newspaper reporter, radio disc jockey, or student association representative within just weeks of enrollment. Rice students also enjoy the advantage of an administration that expects and encourages student involvement in campus decision-making processes.
Other Student Interest Groups
In addition to athletics, many campus activities revolve around traditional student interest groups such as religious and social groups, political affiliations, service organizations, and academic and artistic pursuits. However, students also busy themselves throughout the year with such off-the-wall traditions as the Marching Owl Band, the school’s satirical nonmarching marching band; Baker 13, a bimonthly campus run led by shaving cream-clad daredevils; the legendary Rally Club, the unofficial, raucous cheering squad for the Owl athletic teams; and elaborate theme parties, including the infamous Night of Decadence (“NOD”) at Halloween.
Social Activities
Social life at Rice is as varied as the students themselves. On a typical weekend, a host of activities keep students entertained without ever leaving the campus, such as a theme party thrown by one of the colleges, a theatrical production, live music at the coffeehouse, a pool tournament at the campus pub, or an Owl athletic event. One reason why social life revolves around the campus is that students of legal age are allowed to drink alcohol at Rice. Although unusual, the “wet” alcohol policy is consistent with the school’s emphasis on student responsibility and is supported by the Rice community because it discourages drunken driving. In addition, many students believe the open policy results in less peer pressure to drink.
When students do venture off campus, the dance clubs, theaters, sporting and concert venues, restaurants, and art galleries of Houston provide them with limitless choices for quality entertainment. On long weekends or special occasions, students are inclined to take road trips to the beach (less than an hour away), nearby state parks, or a college-student haven such as Austin or New Orleans.
Athletics
Athletic events are some of the most popular activities on campus for both participants and spectators. Rice has the distinction of being one of the smallest universities to compete in Division I-A athletics but remains competitive despite its size. In recent years, the baseball team has won six consecutive conference titles, made three trips to the College World Series, and won the NCAA National Championship in 2003. The women’s track team has garnered several individual national titles, and the Owls have generally finished in the top tier in Conference USA, in the sports in which they compete including basketball, cross-country, football, golf (men), track, soccer (women), swimming (women), tennis, and volleyball (women).
Rice also offers varying levels of competitive sports for nonvarsity athletes ranging from the casual competition of intramurals to intra-college contests that aggravate rivalries to the club teams that compete against other universities. Spectating remains a popular sport as well—friendships developed in the residential colleges translate into support on the field, whether for a roommate in a championship game or a neighbor in his or her first intramural match.
Alumni
After four years of hard work, students graduate from Rice with a sharpened intellect, a true sense of accomplishment, and outstanding prospects for future success. Regardless of whether they elect to pursue graduate studies, international scholarship competitions, or employment opportunities, Rice grads can be sure that their undergraduate records will be held in high regard.
Graduate Studies
Past records show that approximately forty-four percent of graduates continue their studies immediately after Rice in some of the most prestigious graduate schools in the country. Often with the help of the preprofessional advising programs at Rice, these students have compiled impressive applications for graduate admissions and completed an undergraduate course of study that will enhance their graduate experiences. In fact, in a recent study, more than seventy percent of continuing students received an offer of admission to their first-choice graduate program, and ninety-three percent of medical school applicants were accepted to at least one program. In addition, Rice students are becoming increasingly successful at winning prominent national and international scholarships such as the Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, and Watson scholarships.
Employment Opportunities
Other students choose to pursue employment opportunities after Rice, and the university helps them to be equally prepared for the demanding interview process. Each year, more than 250 companies and organizations come to the Rice campus to recruit, and hundreds more alumni volunteer to mentor graduates in their disciplines. Within months of graduation, Rice students discover that their classmates have spread across the globe to pursue their varied interests in computational engineering, nonprofit organizations, business, environmental research, and other worthwhile pursuits.
Regardless of where the road to success might take them, however, most graduates remain in contact with their beloved Rice throughout their lives.
Prominent Graduates
• Bill Archer, ’46 Congressman since 1971, Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee
• Clay Armstrong, ’56 Neurobiologist, Member of National Academy of Scientists, Albert Lasker Award for Research
• Lance Berkman, ’98 Major League Baseball Player, Houston Astros, 2001 National League All-Star Team
• Garrett Boone, ’66 CEO and Founder of the Container Store, 1999 Retail Innovator’s Award from the National Retail Federation
• William Broyles, ’66 Journalist, Screenwriter (including Planet of the Apes)
• Nancy Cole, ’64 Educator, Former President, Educational Testing Service
• Robert Curl, ’54 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
• John Doerr, ’73 Venture Capitalist
• William Maurice Ewing, ’26, ’27, ’31 Geophysicist and Oceanographer; Laid Foundation for Plate Tectonics Concept
• Marshall Gates, ’36 Chemistry Educator, First to Synthesize Morphine
• James E. Gunn, ’61 Astrophysics, National Academy of Scientists, Gold Medal from Royal Astronomical Society, Heinemann Prize from American Astronomical Society
• William P. Hobby, Jr., ’53 Lieutenant Governor of Texas (1973–1991)
• Anita Jones ’64, Former (1993–1997) U.S. Department of Defense’s Director of Defense Research and Engineering, Vice Chair of National Science Board, Member, Defense Science Board *E. Fay Jones, ’51 Architect, American Institute of Architects Gold Medal Winner; Buildings Listed on National Register of Historic Places
• Ken Kennedy, ’67 Served as cochair of the Federal Advisory Committee on High-Performance Computing and Communications, Information Technology, and the Next Generation Internet, directs the GRADS Project
• Larry McMurtry, ’60 Author of more than twenty books including Lonesome Dove (1987 Pulitzer Prize), Terms of Endearment, and The Last Picture Show
• Seth Morris, ’35 Architect, numerous public buildings including Astrodome in Houston
• Jim Newman, ’84 NASA Astronaut
• Hector Ruiz, ’73 President and CEOAdvanced Micro Devices, Fortune 500 Company in Sunnyvale, California
• Frank Ryan, ’58 NFL Quarterback (1958–1970); Former CEO of Contex Electronics; Former Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics at Case Western, Yale, and Rice
• Robert Wilson, ’57 Nobel Laureate in Physics