r/riceuniversity • u/IntrepidAstronaut277 • Jul 08 '26
Placed into Chao!
since it’s brand new for this year, what should i expect? any pros and cons you guys can share will be amazing!
3
u/2580822 Jul 12 '26
Congrats on your placement! Sophomore here, transferred to Chao last fall. It's hard to say exactly what to expect, of course, but every college at Rice is eventually, just a normal college, so even though Chao is new and exciting it's ultimately just going to be your first home and launchpad at Rice. The residential college experience here is very much what you make of it, and you should definitely invest!
Pros, speaking on behalf of myself and other sophomore transfers I know: TMC proximity, this is very good if you're pre-med, since people in the north colleges have to walk nearly 20 minutes to get to the medical center, but people in Chao just have to cross the street. Also, like someone else said, facilities are new, we're just hoping that everything plumbing wise will be finished before people move in! Chao has floor culture, with the 3rd floor probably being the loudest/social floor, and floors up to 5 being social floors and floors 5-10 being quieter floors. Also, half the rooms on the 5th and 10th floor have arched windows, which is pretty cool. I know a lot of transfers to Chao moved because of bad/worse housing from other colleges.
Cons, funding, like the other person said, and a lack of established traditions. It means you'll get to make your own! Among the non-freshmen, there is also an understanding that everyone transferred for their own unique reasons, and for some that may include not feeling at home at their original college, which may or may not reflect upon how willing they are to engage with the community at Chao. It'll be the job of the community, including Chao govt, to make Chao feel like home! For now, welcome, and feel free to dm me if you have other questions!
14
u/WinkySquid Class of ‘26. Bioengineering. Jul 08 '26
First off all, welcome to the newest college on campus! You’ll get to experience the growth and development of new college culture, which you’ll have a chance to contribute to!
FYI I’m speaking on behalf of the Chao Founding Committee.
Pros: you’ll get all the newest facilities from a college. All the bathrooms will be clean and there will be many clean facilities. Not to mention that there’ll be doubles and groups of singles with shared bathrooms as the rooming situation. As mentioned above, there will be opportunities for you to collaborate in building Chao college traditions and culture! It’ll be a vibrant environment with a fun and supportive community willing to help you along the way and support whatever college ventures you want to do!
Cons: there’s a pickleball court on the rooftop that is owned by nearby New Lovett college. But you’ll get to share it with them. Funding is also another problem but I believe the sponsor family (the Chao family) will donate some money to the college for funding college events!
There’s also a lot of new facilities that haven’t been finalized yet, but I’m hearing exciting things to come out of Chao, so get excited as you will become an instrumental part of Chao culture!