Rice University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Engineering Design
Student Self Identifies as: Multiracial Straight Female
Summary
I’m in student government and I work as a teaching assistant.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Multiracial
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Private school in San Antonio, TX with a graduating class of 36 people. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Engineering Design
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in student government and I work as a teaching assistant.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Student government’s been really neat because Rice is unique in that it has a residential college system and each of the colleges has their own student government, which is a really cool way to have a say in the way their college life goes. It’s been meaningful to participate in that.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
In Mechanical Engineering it really depends on the courses you’re taking that specific semester, but, in general, you have problem sets every week, most classes have two to three exams throughout the exams, and there are labs about once every two weeks which are not super intensive.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly academically?
Right now, the Mechanical Engineering department is going through the process of changing to allow for more specialization. I think that change is going to be a good one.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s super collaborative. It’s the culture to work on problem sets together and study for exams together. I’ve never felt any sense of competitiveness ever. Everyone’s always willing to help and work together, I think it’s pretty great.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
A machine design class where we learn more about the practical application of mechanical engineering that we’ve learned so far.
What has been your least favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
My least favorite class is probably a partial differential equations class. There was a bunch of theoretical math that I think I took too early on in my career to be ready for that kind of coursework.
How accessible are your professors?
It’s a smaller school and the student to faculty ratio is pretty small, so they are very accessible. I know a lot of my professors and feel comfortable going into their office even outside of office hours or sending them an email because they’re always willing to help. Sometimes they’ll come over to where we eat lunch and get lunch with us so we can have more of an everyday relationship as well as an in the classroom relationship too.
Why did you pick to your major? Are you happy with your choice?
Yes, I’m really excited I went through with Mechanical Engineering. Originally, I came in as a Bioengineering major because I wanted to design medical devices, which is still what I want to do, but I realized Mechanical Engineering might be a better road for me to get to where I want to be career-wise. I made the switch over my freshman year and I’m glad I did. I’ve really enjoyed the coursework and the department.
Reasons to Attend
1) Great academics
2) The residential college system is a really great aspect of Rice
3) Houston is a really cool city and you have access to a lot of resources here like the Texas Medical Center
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re looking for a co-op experience. People tend to graduate from here in 4-years.
2) People generally live on campus all four years, so if you don’t want that.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Rice has residential colleges where you live there. You’re randomly placed into them the summer before your freshman year. It is sort of like your family and is similar to the houses in Harry Potter. I’m in Baker College and have lived on campus for all four years.
Freshman: Baker College in a double
Sophomore: Baker College in a quad with three roommates
Junior: Baker College in a suite of two doubles that shared a bathroom
Senior: Suite of eight people living in four doubles.
How do you like the residential hall system?
I think it’s honestly the best thing about Rice. It makes sure that you have a family and a home base and it provides you an opportunity to become close with people that might not be exactly like you. Regardless of what you’re involved in, you’ll always have your friends from your residential college which I think makes for an interesting experience because you get a really diverse group of friends. Like, right now I’m living with another mechanical engineer, an English major, a History major, and a pre-med student. It’s cool to have all these experiences together and find people that you maybe wouldn’t have found otherwise.
How was transitioning from San Antonio to Houston, TX?
It was not a terrible transition. The culture of being in Texas is somewhat similar. We have a lot of state pride and I’m used to that. It wasn’t too big of a change and it was nice to be a little bit closer to home for me personally.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Rice is sort of in the middle of the city. It’s right next to the medical center in Houston and is in a fairly nice part of town. I’ve never felt super unsafe. That being said, I still take precaution to not walk that far off campus alone when it’s dark outside or something like that. Rice has a very pleasant police force on campus that will escort you from the parking lot back to your dorm if you feel unsafe and we have the blue light system. I’ve never felt unsafe on campus.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Shiv Sagar, it’s a cheap Indian place that’s vegetarian.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
I really like to go to different coffee shops around Houston. If I want to go study, I can go study at a coffee shop, or I can go and hang out and chat with friends. There are lots of good spots to find some good coffee and good conversation.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in at Rice?
I think it’s evolved since I’ve been at Rice. Now that I’m over 21, I like hanging out with my friends on campus and then going out off-campus. Rice has a pub called Willy’s Pub that’s a fun spot for people to hang out. On Wednesdays, they have a trivia night to go to and on Thursday nights it’s a classic bar scene where a lot of people go for drinks and to dance. Friday and Saturday Rice has public parties, which is a party put on by the residential college that anybody can go to and is paid for by the residential college’s money and planned by students. A lot of people go to those and they usually have different themes. Those usually happen once every two weeks. Off-campus, there are different bar scenes in Houston. Midtown is a great spot to go bar crawling, The Montrose area has a lot of cool spots, and also downtown is a lot of fun.
Can you describe a typical night for you going out freshman year when you were less socially established?
If it was a social night out, I would probably go hanging out with friends in one of our rooms or someone’s suites and then going to the Pub or one of the public parties. Freshman year I was still hanging out on campus a lot with friends. A lot of social life happens in people’s rooms or around the colleges in general.
How happy are you with the weekend activities and nightlife? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’ve been really happy with the nightlife. I think it fits my personality where I just really enjoy being with friends whatever we’re doing. I think it’s nice that there are options on campus so you don’t have to go off-campus and figure out the logistics of how you’re going to get there. You know everything’s here and you can walk home afterward. I’ve also really enjoyed that we have what we call the Culture of Care where if you choose to drink alcohol everyone around you is looking out for you and making sure that you’re not getting yourself into a bad situation.
What have been some of your favorite times at Rice?
One of my favorite experiences is something called Beer Bike. It’s a chugging and biking relay race that happens out at our bike track and all the residential colleges compete against each other. There’s also a big parade where every college makes a float and there’s a giant water balloon fight. Basically, that whole night and morning after the races is just one big party and it’s a really fun time.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friends are in my residential college. There are about 100 people per year in each residential college, so you’re able to get pretty close with those people that you’re spending a lot of time with. Staying in the same residential college means we eat all of our meals together, live in the same dorm, and study together.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Rice?
I think it’s a really caring environment in which it’s hard to not make good friends. It kind of sets you up to have a really good social experience. It’s not the classic Greek life experience that you might get at a different university, but I think you’re able to build a lot of meaningful relationships.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I think there is an opportunity for a lot of mixing because most people find their friends through their residential college no matter their sexual orientation or racial background. That being said, I think that also a lot of times people who are minorities or LGBTQ might find people who are like them through different resource groups like the Black Student Association.
How would you describe the student body?
People are relaxed, cool, and kind of nerdy. Everyone is still having fun but you’re working hard. I don’t know if there’s one way to characterize the entire student body because there is such a diverse group of people. What I think unites everyone is the fun-loving and nerdiness.
How do you like the size of Rice in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience?
I’ve really enjoyed going to a smaller school. I think it’s been neat to meet a lot of people on campus. I know faces when I’m walking around campus and it’s also allowed me to form close relationships with professors.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Rice by senior year? Do people leave loving Rice?
Yes, I think everyone loves Rice and people are very happy with their choice.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
I have reached out to alumni to talk about their experiences and their fields. Rice being a small community, there are not as many alumni compared to the larger schools. But, on the other hand, we are such a close community that when they hear from a student they get excited and are extra willing to help out.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
I’ve gone to different workshops at the office for resume review and professional communication. I’ve gone to them with specific appointments to get my resume reviewed and talk to them about negotiating a job offer and how to go do an interview professionally. They definitely have a lot of resources that I’ve tapped into. That being said, they tend to focus on some career paths more than others so I know that they’re not as helpful for others.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that have been or will be especially helpful professionally?
I’ve learned AutoCAD, SolidWorks, Excel, and MatLab.