New Student Checklist

Please log into Esther and click on the "Welcome to Rice" tab to begin completing your online enrollment forms. You will need your Student ID number (begins with an S) and a PIN (Personal Identification Number).

If you don't remember your PIN or need to reset it, please contact the Office of the Registrar at registrar@rice.edu or call 713-348-4999.

To set up your official Rice email account, go to https://MyNetID.rice.edu and click on "Start by activating your NetID." You'll need your Rice ID number that was in your welcome letter. Your Rice NetID is a unique identifier used in two ways: to access your Rice email account (hosted by Google off campus) and to log into campus computers and systems. Please create two separate passwords: one for your Rice Google email and the other for Rice systems.

Remember to check your official Rice email frequently; it is your primary communication channel with the university. You will also use your NetID to access campus systems for your Composition Exam, Language Placement Test, and other assignments.

Contact the Office of Information Technology's Help Desk (helpdesk@rice.edu, 713-348-4357, http://helpdesk.rice.edu) if you need assistance. For Rice tech tips and news, see http://facebook.com/RiceOIT.

The Composition Exam will be used to determine a new student's placement for the required Freshman Writing Intensive Seminar (FWIS) course.  Students who earn a satisfactory score will enroll in a FWIS course to meet the graduation requirement in writing and communication.  Students who do not meet the satisfactory score must successfully complete FWIS 100: Fundamentals of Academic Writing and Communication in the fall semester and must take an additional FWIS course in the Spring of 2019.

All new students (including freshmen, transfers, and international students) must take the Composition Exam during one of the two times it is offered. The Composition Exam closes at 1:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-6) on the last day of each round.  To take the Composition Exam, visit compexam.rice.edu. For questions, please contact compexam@rice.edu or call 713-348-4932.

You cannot register for classes without completing this form! Your college assignment will not be given until your meningitis vaccine is complete. You cannot move onto campus for O-Week without verification that you have received the meningococcal vaccination or with proof of a medical exemption. To complete the Health Data Form and Meningitis vaccine form (part of the health data form), visit https://health.rice.edu/new-students/health-data-form .

You can check the status of your holds (VA-Vaccination or ME – Health Data Form) on ESTHER. The VA hold means proof of your meningococcal meningitis vaccination has not been received. The ME means your health form has either not been received or is incomplete. Students will not be able to move onto campus, attend any O-Week activities or register for courses until the health forms are complete. If you will be under 18 when entering Rice, please also fill out the underage consent form.

Send questions to Health Services at hlsv@rice.edu or call 713-348-4966.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form.

Send questions to Wendi Schoffstall in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates at wendi@rice.edu or call 713-348-4997.

The information gathered in this questionnaire will provide academic advisors with critical information about your academic interests, academic preparedness, and educational goals. Please be thorough as it will enhance our ability to provide the best advice regarding curricular and extracurricular opportunities.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form.

Send questions to the Office of Academic Advising at aadv@rice.edu or call 713-348-4060.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form. The information that you provide will allow your College to get to know more about you and to make a more informed decision about your rooming for the year. It is important that new students complete this form honestly and completely. This form is only seen by O-Week Coordinators, College Masters, and key Rice staff.

Send questions to First Year Programs at oweek@rice.edu.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form. The information that you provide will allow your College to get to know more about you and to make a more informed decision about your rooming for the year. It is important that new students complete this form honestly and completely. This form is only seen by O-Week Coordinators, College Masters, and key Rice staff.

Send questions to First Year Programs at oweek@rice.edu.

Please log onto >a href="https://esther.rice.edu">Esther to complete this form.

Send questions to Dr. Shelah Crear in Student Success Initiatives at screar@rice.edu or call 713-348-4495.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form.

Send questions to Kelley Lash in the Office of Student Media at klash@rice.edu.

All requests for housing accommodations, including those requesting rooms without carpet due to allergies, private restrooms due to health issues, etc., must be preapproved by Disability Support Services. The Preliminary Notification of Disability-Related Needs should be completed online.

Send questions to Disability Support Services at adarice@rice.edu or call 713-348-5841.

Your fees for the fall semester can be found on Esther in the Bill Payment Suite section. From here, you can also set up Electronic Refunds for direct deposits and established authorized users for your account. Please follow the directions found here.

Send questions to the Cashier's Office at cashier@rice.edu or call 713-348-4946.

Urban Immersion is a one-week, student-led service-learning program that introduces incoming Rice students to the unique communities that make up the City of Houston while meeting and bonding with other new students. For more information and to apply, visit the Center for Civic Leadership's website and click on the link for "Urban Immersion - Participant Application." The application portal will open April 13. All submissions are due by 11:59 PM on Friday, June 3. All incoming students (freshmen, transfers, local, out-of-state, etc.) are invited to apply. To learn more, check out this video summary as well as a write-up from the Fall 2013 issue of Rice Magazine!

Program Dates: Session 1: Sunday, July 15 - Friday, July 20                      Session 2: Sunday, July 22 - Friday, July 27

Send questions to mw67@rice.edu or saf6@rice.edu

The Composition Exam will be used to determine a new student's placement for the required Freshman Writing Intensive Seminar (FWIS) course.  Students who earn a satisfactory score will enroll in a FWIS course to meet the graduation requirement in writing and communication.  Students who do not meet the satisfactory score must successfully complete FWIS 100: Fundamentals of Academic Writing and Communication in the fall semester and must take an additional FWIS course in the Spring of 2019.

All new students (including freshmen, transfers, and international students) must take the Composition Exam during one of the two times it is offered. The Composition Exam closes at 1:00 p.m. CDT (UTC-6) on the last day of each round.  To take the Composition Exam, visit compexam.rice.edu. For questions, please contact compexam@rice.edu or call 713-348-4932.

Please log onto Esther to complete this form.

Send questions to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@rice.edu or call 713-348-4999.

Students must complete the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (or Form I-9) with the Rice Payroll Office prior to the start of work or training. (This is a requirement of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and not of Rice University). Form I-9 is the form required by all U.S. employers to verify the identity and employment authorization of newly hired individuals. Students must bring original, unexpired document(s) to establish identity and employment authorization. Click here for a list of acceptable documents as defined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

For more information regarding student employment opportunities, click here. And, for more information regarding student payroll, click here.

All accepted incoming students are invited to apply for a grant, offered through the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie). The grant will give one or more exceptionally entrepreneurial Rice students in each entering class the resources to develop and implement an early stage idea or entrepreneurial undertaking in the course of their undergraduate study.

The grant winner will use the rewarded funding to support the design and growth of their project throughout their Rice undergraduate career, with the support of Lilie-connected faculty, mentors, entrepreneurship courses and programs.

This is your chance to compete for a grant that will launch your entrepreneurship education at Rice. Apply online today!

Your College Masters will provide official notification of your College assignment. These notifications are sent via U.S. Mail and cannot be provided over the phone. We ask that you please be patient as it may take some time for your assignment to reach you especially if you live out of state or internationally. Note: If you do not complete your Health Data Form (including the Meningococcal Meningitis vaccination) by June 1st, you WILL NOT receive your College assignment. You can check the status of your VA-Vaccination Hold on Esther. Questions concerning the Health Data Form should be directed to Health Services at hlsv@rice.edu or 713-348-4966. To complete the Health Data Form, visit health.rice.edu/new-students/health-data-form If you have questions concerning College assignments, please contact Wendi Schoffstall in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates at wendi@rice.edu or call 713-348-4997.Again, please do not call or email to find out your assignment.

Every degree-seeking student is required to have health insurance coverage while enrolled at Rice University. Therefore, all students must take action during the open enrollment period to elect to enroll in the Student Health Insurance Plan, administered by Aetna Student Health, OR request a waiver of the student insurance, by demonstrating comparable insurance coverage that meets Rice’s requirements.  You can find the enrollment and waiver applications on the Student Health Insurance website: http://studenthealthinsurance.rice.edu/home.

Please email studentinsurance@rice.edu with any questions.

Make sure to make your hotel reservations for I-PREP.  For more information, please visit the I-PREP Website.

Send questions to the Office of International Students and Scholars at oiss@rice.edu.

The Rice Counseling Center is an excellent resource on campus for all Rice students. If you have mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, an eating disorder, or any other condition for which you've been diagnosed or treated, please contact the Rice Counseling Center at 713-348-3311 to discuss options for continued care no later than July 15.

If students have a previous psychological history with anxiety, depression, or other mental health problems, the Rice Counseling Center will work with them to determine the nature and scope of their concerns and to help arrange the most appropriate services for them. At times, it may be decided that their needs would be better served by other resources, especially if they require long term or specialized treatment.

The Rice Counseling Center has found that early planning helps to provide students with the best continuity of care. Rice Counseling Center Staff will help you in the process of finding off campus referrals. Note: The Rice Counseling Center does not prescribe medication for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). If you have questions or concerns, please contact the Rice Counseling Center at 713-348-3311.

O-Week Information & Roommate Assignments Mailed You will receive formal notification of your roommate(s) assignment and more information about O-Week at Rice and at your college. These items are distributed via U.S. Mail, and we ask that you please be patient as it may take some time for yours to reach you especially if you live out of state or internationally. To complete the Health Data Form, visit health.rice.edu/new-students/health-data-form Note: If you do not submit proof that you have received the Meningococcal Meningitis vaccination or provide documentation of an exemption, you WILL NOT receive your College O-Week book or roommate(s) assignment. You can check the status of your VA-Vaccination Hold on Esther.

Questions concerning the Health Data Form should be directed to Health Services at hlsv@rice.edu or 713-348-4966. Send questions to your College's O-Week Coordinators or O-Week Staff at oweek@rice.edu.

First Year Programs has partnered with Residence Hall Linens to provide students with affordable and accessible essentials for their room. Since other groups are on campus during the summer, you are not able to have your items shipped to Rice. First Year Programs may be able to make special accommodations for shipping if you are living abroad. Please contact Residence Hall Linens at 1-800-957-4338 for questions about your order.

Contact First Year Programs at oweek@rice.edu to discuss international shipping accommodations.

Please check your email for information regarding the COFHE Survey of New Students.  The email’s subject heading will be Important Survey of New Students. 

Send questions to Angela Thompson in the Office of the Institutional Effectiveness at oiehelp@rice.edu.

Please log onto Esther to submit this form. Note: If you do not complete your Health Data Form (including the Meningococcal Meningitis vaccination), you WILL NOT receive your College assignment. You can check the status of your VA-Vaccination Hold on Esther.

Questions concerning the Health Data Form should be directed to Health Services at hlsv@rice.edu or 713-348-4966. Send questions to Housing and Dining at dm7@rice.edu or call 713-348-8048.

The Rice University Honor System provides the foundation for Rice’s academic expectations of students. It embodies the relationship of trust and commitment between students and faculty. In order to ensure that all students understand the Honor System, the Honor Council will provide online learning modules, as well as a mandatory online exam. These can be accessed through the Honor Council Info page on the Matriculating Class of 2018 Rice Canvas page, starting in early July.

We encourage you to think about what it means to make healthy choices, including those related to alcohol consumption.  In early July, the Student Wellbeing Office at Rice will email you log in information for the BASICS - Brief Alcohol Assessment and Intervention for College Students. This online educational, prevention-focused module provides you an opportunity to fully examine your personal values and goals regarding alcohol and drug consumption. It is important that you complete this module honestly and completely for conversations during O-Week and throughout your time at Rice. 

If you have any questions or concerns about your survey results, please contact the Student Wellbeing Office at wellbeing@rice.edu. We look forward to your arrival in August!

You will receive an email to your Rice email in early July with information about completing this survey. Send questions to Stacy Mosely at mosely@rice.edu or call 713-348-5829.

Rice’s Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication (CLIC) offers courses in 11 languages:  Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.  Before registering for a CLIC language course, you must take a placement test even if you have no prior experience with that language.   

To access a test and to check for updates, please visit the Center for Language & Intercultural Communication’s (CLIC) test site.  Tests will be available online beginning Tuesday, August 7, the week prior to O-Week, and are approximately 30 minutes in length.  We encourage you to take these placement tests as early as possible during the test period in order to receive results before registration starts.  You will be unable to register for CLIC’s language classes without the placement test results.

Please contact Heather Lazare with the Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication at CLICPlacement@rice.edu if you have any questions about the placement tests.

Your online eBill for the fall semester is available on Esther in the Bill Payment Suite. Accessing Bill Payment Suite is easy. Simply:

 

1. Log into ESTHER through the Rice website
2. Select the "Student Services & Account Information" tab
3. Click on the "Account Summary – Pay My Bill – Bill Payment Suite" link or the "Student Records" link
4. Click on the "Pay My Bill – Bill Payment Suite" button. This will open the Bill Payment Suite Home page.

If payment is not received in full by the due date or the student has not enrolled in a payment plan, a late payment fee of 1.5% of the balance due will be added to the account.

If you have any questions contact the Cashier's Office at cashier@rice.edu or call 713-348-4946.

To join The MOB (Marching Owl Band) as a musician, show assistant, or script writer, please go to bands.rice.edu and fill out the form there. A current (student) member of the team or musical section will be in contact. There will be opportunities to join during O-Week, as well. Please do not worry about having to audition. If you have a desire to entertain, or have an interest in writing for the field shows (comedy/satire), please submit the form and give it whirl. If you are interested in Rice Symphonic Band or Rice Jazz Band, please email Chuck Throckmorton, Director of Bands, at cthrock@rice.edu. Contact the Rice Bands Program at 713-348-2346 if you have questions. http://bands.rice.edu/

I-PREP (International - Preparation and Regulatory Education Program) is a required program for all new international undergraduate and exchange students. Students will review immigration regulations, complete the mandatory immigration check-in process, and have time to take care of many of the logistics of moving to a new place such as shopping for bedding, getting a cell phone, and setting up a bank account.  I-PREP will start in the Hilton Hotel on Thursday, August 9.

For more information about I-PREP, please visit http://oiss.rice.edu/iprep

Send questions to the Office of International Students and Scholars at oiss@rice.edu.

All new students (freshmen, transfers, and international) must attend all of O-Week. Visit our O-Week Schedule section for a listing of events from O-Week 2018. The schedule will be updated over the summer with information for O-Week 2016.

Note: If you do not complete your Health Data Form (including the Meningococcal Meningitis vaccination), you WILL NOT be able to live on campus for O-Week or during the 10-day waiting period after the vaccination. You can check the status of your VA-Vaccination Hold on Esther. Questions concerning the Health Data Form should be directed to Health Services at hlsv@rice.edu or 713-348-4966. To complete the Health Data Form, visit health.rice.edu/new-students/health-data-form

Send questions to your O-Week Coordinators or to O-Week Staff at oweek@rice.edu.

You will register for classes on the Friday of O-Week. Be sure to spend some time over the weekend before classes to find where the buildings and classrooms are located so you know where to go on the first day. Some students also use the first few days of classes to work out what their final schedule might be based on workload and more. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the necessary deadlines for adding and dropping classes which can be found on the Academic Calendars online.

All students who want to have a permit to park on campus must register with the Parking Office. Please log onto Esther to submit this registration as early as July 1^st each year.  Remember to print out the Temporary Permit and display it on the vehicle’s dashboard until receiving the sticker permit.  Permits will be mailed to the students’ Colleges starting on Friday, August 17th. Until then the Parking Office will hold on to permits purchased and they can be picked up in the Parking Registration Office (Central Garage, Level B1, M-F, 7 a.m.- 5 p.m.). Permits are non-refundable and non-transferrable. Parking spaces are limited, so it’s encouraged to register on July 1^st or soon after.

Send questions to the Parking Office at parking@rice.edu or call 713-348-7275.

Rice Families Weekend 2018 will be held Friday, October 12 - Sunday, October 14. Brochures will be mailed the last week of August (or sooner) via US Mail and may take a few days to reach your home. Please visit http://famweek.rice.edu for additional details.

For questions regarding Rice Families Weekend, please contact famweek@rice.edu or call 713-348-6094.

All students must complete the enrollment or waiver application by August 31st. Any student that has not enrolled in coverage, or submitted a waiver by the deadline will be automatically enrolled in annual coverage by Aetna Student Health and charged the full premium. Once enrolled in coverage, the student is unable to cancel for any reason.

If you do not enroll yourself in coverage, and you are automatically enrolled by Aetna Student Health, please note your enrollment process will be delayed. You may need to pay out of pocket for medical services until your enrollment has been processed. Once processed, you will be able to file a claim for reimbursement. The coverage will not be prorated and will be effective 08/15/18. The enrollment and waiver applications can be found on the Student Health Insurance website: http://studenthealthinsurance.rice.edu/home.

Shortly after O-Week, you will receive a survey about your experiences. Take some time to complete the survey entirely so that future students can have the best Orientation Week possible. Send questions to First Year Programs at firstyear@rice.edu.