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Rice University - Campus Housing - College ProwlerCollege Prowler5.00

Campus Housing

A+
Where does this grade come from?View all Campus Housing rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Campus Housing Grades:

Quick Stats

On-Campus Housing Available? Yes
Campus Housing Capacity 2,810
Average Housing Costs $7,880
Undergrads Living On Campus 70%
Freshmen Living On Campus 97%
Number of Dormitories 11
Best Freshman Dorms Wiess College
Best Upperclassman Dorms Brown College
Best Dorms
  • Duncan College
  • Martel College
  • McMurty College
  • Wiess College
Worst Dorms
  • Lovett
  • Will Rice College
Worst Freshman Dorms Lovett College
Worst Upperclassman Dorms Martel College

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Rice students tend to be very pleased with campus living and the residential colleges. Unlike most universities, you do not get to pick your dorm at Rice. As an incoming student, you will be randomly assigned to a college, and most students stay at this college until graduation. You will be associated with the college even while living off campus. Transferring between colleges is an option, but no more than a handful of students take this route. Students are more likely to move “deep OC (off campus)” if they are highly dissatisfied with their college.

Each residential college becomes something like a family unit, and each has a special personality, spirit, and unique set of traditions. During freshman orientation week, freshman advisers have a high success rate of thoroughly brainwashing the newbie students into believing that their college is head and shoulders above all the other colleges. The buildings themselves vary because they were built with different architectural styles and at different times.

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Rice Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Housing at Rice University

mvatcher35rice

'14

English

5.0
A+

Residential Colleges FTW

Living at Martel is literally like living at a 5-star hotel

Dec 05, 2011

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Campus Housing at Rice University

RiceOwls

'14

Computational and Applied Mathematics

4.6
A

Most of the Dorms Are Nice

The newest dorms on campus are the nicest. And they are distributed differently in different residential colleges. At Baker, freshmen have equal chances as upperclassmen at getting great rooms. And Baker is at the heart of the campus.

Jul 18, 2011

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Campus Housing at Rice University

amp3

'11

Political Science and Government

5.0
A+

Residential Colleges

Rice is very unique because of the residential college system. Similar to Hogwarts in Harry Potter, you are "sorted" into your college (or house) where you will remain all four years at Rice. Your college becomes your family and you each college is associated with different faculty members that are there to help you succeed. In very rare cases you can transfer houses, but most students have so much loyalty and pride those instances are uncommon.

Another great thing is that everyone WANTS to live on campus. You have a mix of students in all different grades, majors, countries, whatever in every college with little interference. There aren't RA's telling you when to be quiet or turn out your light. You are an adult and are treated like one.

The dorms/colleges themselves are pretty awesome. Everyone has bigger rooms than most other colleges and there are a lot of suite style rooms. In most colleges you get a single at least your senior year and sometimes when you're a junior too. Each college is set up differently so it's hard to compare.

Jun 18, 2011

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Page 1 of 7

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus housing on the following subjects

Facts

Types of Housing Offered
  • Coed dorms
  • Special housing for disabled students
Room Types
  • Doubles
  • Singles
  • Suites
Bed Types
  • Bunkable beds
  • Lofts
  • Twin extra-long
What You Get
  • Bed
  • Bookshelf
  • Cable TV
  • Desk and chair
  • Dresser
  • Internet connection
  • Lamp
Also Available
  • Rice University operates on the residential college system. Every incoming student is randomly assigned to one of the residential colleges.
  • Single-sex floors and suites are available upon request.
  • There are three apartment complexes on campus, but these are generally reserved for graduate students.

Cleaning Service

Cleaning service in all bathrooms (communal and suite) and public areas.

Did You Know? The Rice residential college experience is modeled off of the system originated in Great Britain (Oxford and Cambridge still have the residential college system). Other American universities with the residential college system include Harvard and Yale.

DormitoriesWhat's This?

Baker College
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Captain James Addison Baker, attorney for William Marsh Rice and first chair of the Rice Board of Trustees, this hall was the first of the residential colleges, and has a strong tradition of fall musicals and spring Shakespeare productions.

Brown College
Floors: 8
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal, suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, suites (singles)
Special Features: Named for Margarett Root Brown, wife of Rice benefactor Herman Brown, this hall is attached to one of the serveries, has student parking directly behind the building, and a few good parties.

Duncan College
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Charles Duncan '47, the former US Secretary of Energy, Duncan College was built to be one of the most environmentally-friendly buildings in the United States.

Hanszen College
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Harry Clay Hanszen, benefactor and former chair of the Rice Board of Trustees, this hall was the first residential college to have its own crest.

Jones College
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Mary Gibbs Jones, wife of Rice benefactor Jesse H. Jones, this hall is attached to a servery, has a strong Beer Bike and IM sports tradition, and is known for throwing some of the best private parties on campus.

Lovett College
Floors: 6
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Private, suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Doubles, suites (singles, doubles)
Special Features: Named for Edgar Odell Lovett, first president of The Rice Institute, Lovett looks like a toaster—really (it was built to be riot-proof)! Lovett has a strong tradition of fall and spring theater, formerly had the dirtiest cheers on campus, is home to The Undergrounds (a cool, cozy, free student music venue), and throws “Casino Night” every year.

Martel College
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 100–249
Bathrooms: Suite
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Suites (singles, doubles)
Special Features: This hall was named for Marian and Speros Martel, whose foundation has a tradition of philanthropy to the University.

McMurtry College
Floors: 5
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Burt and Deedee McMurtry '56, McMurtry College is a LEED Gold-rated building with a distinctively Scottish flair.

Sid Richardson College
Floors: 7
Number of Occupants: 100–249
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Sidney Williams Richardson, this dorm is the tallest building on campus and throws some of the most well-attended parties on campus ("‘80s Party" and "Tower Party").

Wiess College
Floors: 3
Number of Occupants: 100–249
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for Harry Carothers Wiess, this hall has a strong IM sports and theater tradition, prides itself in doing things differently from the other colleges (O-week and Beer Bike never have themes, only one college cheer), owns a huge flying pig, and is home to NOD (Night of Decadence).

Will Rice College
Floors: 4
Number of Occupants: 250–499
Bathrooms: Communal
Coed: Yes
Residents: Freshmen and upperclassmen
Room Types: Singles, doubles
Special Features: Named for William M. Rice, Jr., Rice benefactor and trustee and nephew of founder William Marsh Rice, Will Rice Hall has a strong Beer Bike tradition (they have taken home the men’s, women’s, and alumni race on more than one occasion, leading to the cheer “Will Rice will sweep!”), almost always wins the alumni race, and has a strong tradition of fall musicals.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Rice

Name: Eli Spector

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