Congratulations on being accepted into the Rice University Matriculating Class of 2026! We are busily preparing for your arrival on campus in January, but there are a number of things that you should be doing to prepare for becoming a new owl.
Below you will find information and links to a variety of forms to be completed and reminders of things to look into before you arrive on campus for Mid-Year Orientation, January 4th - 5th. Pay close attention to deadlines as missing some can prevent you from registering for classes, moving onto campus, or fully engaging in Orientation until they have been addressed. Also, this document will be edited during the fall semester through Winter Break, so please check back frequently for updated versions as they become available.
Please note that some deadlines or checklist items fall on the same date.
December 1st - Open Enrollment Begins for Student Health Insurance
All registered, degree-seeking students musts maintain health insurance coverage while enrolled at Rice University.
There, all students are required to take action during the open enrollment period to enroll in the Rice Student Health Insurance Plan, administered by Aetna Student Health, or complete a waiver by demonstrating comparable insurance coverage that meets Rice's requirements. Visit http:// studenthealthinsurance.rice. edu/home to Enroll or Waive Coverage. All students must take action by January 15th. Please email studentinsurance@rice. edu with any questions.
December 8th - Due to Rice - NetID and Email Account Set Up
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) offers computing services and support to students and the OIT Help Desk can answer your questions (see below).
Setting up Rice accounts
Your NetID is a combination of your initials and numbers and was emailed to you in a welcome message from OIT. Follow the steps below to set up your NetID and gain access to Rice systems including:
- Google for email, Calendar, Drive and more (https://www.google.com)
- ESTHER system that students use for registration, billing, and other information (https://esther.rice.edu)
- Logging into lab computers
Set up your NetID
Visit https://mynetid.rice.edu, and select Activate Your NetID. You will then be asked to enter your Student ID number to create a NetID password.
Set up Duo Security
You must enroll in Duo Security, an authentication tool, which provides additional security when accessing university data, personal data, and accounts. Duo offers several options for authenticating users: a mobile push notification, one-button verification of identity to a smartphone, as well as voice and SMS verification. Duo is required when logging in to several campus systems including Rice Google and Microsoft email, calendar and collaboration accounts, Esther, using VPN to access university resources from off-campus, and to access the Online Account Management System for your NetID. Learn more at: https://kb.rice.edu/82263
Checking your Rice email
After the acceptance process, all official Rice communications will only be sent to your new Rice email address so it is important to set it up and to check your email frequently. You may access your email by logging into Google with your basic Rice email address, netid@rice.edu, and your NetID password. (Learn more about setting up an email alias at https://kb.rice.edu/58397.)
Need help?
Contact the Office of Information Technology's Help Desk (helpdesk@rice.edu, 713-348-4357, http://helpdesk.rice.edu) if you need assistance or see Getting Started with IT (https://kb.rice.edu/103785).
December 8th - Due to Rice - Esther Log-in
Please log into Esther and click on the "Welcome to Rice" tab to begin completing your online enrollment forms. You will need your NetID and password.
If you don't remember your password or need to reset it, please contact the OIT Help Desk at helpdesk@help.rice.edu or call 713-348 4357.
December 11th - Health Data Form Submission Deadline
ALL new undergraduate students are required to submit a properly completed Health Data Form (HDF) to Student Health. All students under the age of 22 years, regardless of classification, must provide documentation of vaccination against meningococcal disease. Complete tuberculosis screening requirements are also listed on the student Health Data Form. If you have completed your COVID-19 vaccine, please attach a copy with your Health Data Form.
The 2023 HDF form is now available and can be found here.
Please MAIL your form to Rice Student Health as instructed on the form.
Emailed forms will not be accepted. International students may use the international student upload on the student health website. www.health.rice.edu
Please note: Your college assignment will not be given until your meningitis vaccine is complete and you will not be able to register for classes without completing this form! Additionally, 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
December 11th Due to Rice - College Information Form
Please log onto Esther to complete this form.
December 11th Due to Rice - Academic Advising Questionnaire
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.
December 11th Due to Rice - New Student Information Form
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 Magisters, and key Rice staff.
December 11th Due to Rice - Personal Roommate Matching Form
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 Magisters, and key Rice staff.
December 11th Due to Rice - Parent/Guardian Information Form
Send questions to Araceli Lopez in Student Success Initiatives at al14@rice.edu or call 713-348-4345.
December 11th - Due to Rice - Request to Withhold or Release Directory Information
Please log onto Esther to complete this form.
December 18th - College Assignments Emailed
During the week of December 18th, your College Magisters will provide official
notification of your College assignment. These notifications are sent via e-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 December 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 Patient First at
contact@patientfirstai.com.
ALL new undergraduate students are required to sign up and submit a completed Health Data
Form (HDF) using the Patient First VacTrack application. Download the application to become
compliant:
● For Iphone users - Download Patient First.AI VacTrack on the App Store (apple.com)
● For Android users - Download Patient First.AI VacTrack - Apps on Google Play
● For Other users - Download https://patientfirstai.com/rice_university/vactrack/
Any other questions concerning college assignments should be directed to the Office of
the Dean of Undergraduates at ugdean@rice.edu or call 713-348-4996. Again, please
do not call or email to find out your assignment
December 20th - Rice Student ID Card Photo Submission
In order to obtain your Rice Student ID card during O-Week, we requested you to electronically submit a photo for use on your Rice University Student ID Card. I received reports that many of you have not completed this. Failure to submit your photo will mean you will lose access to your residential college building as everyone will soon need to swipe their cards to enter the building.
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO TO THE LINK PROVIDED BELOW ASAP.
The photo must meet the following requirements: (The photo submitted should be passport-style and meet the requirements below. All photos are reviewed before approval. Please note that this is currently a manual process and approval time is necessary.)
Take photo with a uniformed light-colored backgroundIDPhoto Have camera at eye level Illuminate the photo with light and avoid shadows
If your photo is approved, your Student ID Card will be prepared prior to your arrival on campus and distributed by an appointed contact in your respective College during O-Week.
Please email access control at ACCESSCONTROL@RICE.EDU for any troubleshooting.
Tuition and fees can be found in Esther, under Student Services – Payment Suite. From here, you can review monthly billing statements, set up Electronic Refunds, and establish authorized users with Payment Suite access. Additional details can be found here.
Please note that some deadlines or checklist items fall on the same date.
January 2nd - Due to Rice - Honor Code Confirmation Module
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 Mid-Year Orientation Rice Canvas page, starting in early December.
January 4th- New Students Move-in to College
More specific information about how to get to your College will be sent to you over the winter break.
We hope your winter break is going well and you’re looking forward to starting your journey at Rice. Our students, staff, and faculty are hard at work preparing for your arrival and for the various presentations and activities for Orientation. If you have immediate questions, reach out to oweek@rice.edu .
January 4th - Due To Rice - Notification of Mental Health Concerns
January 4th-5th - Orientation
All new students (freshmen, transfers, and international) must attend all of the Mid-Year Orientation.
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 Orientation 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 Orientation Staff at oweek@rice.edu.
January 7th - Due to Rice - Complete Your OwlNest Profile
OwlNest (OwlNest.rice.edu) is Rice’s student engagement platform, where you can discover organizations and events that match your interests and track your activities outside of the classroom through a personalized involvement resume. With over 300 clubs across eleven different genres , is it easier than ever to find community on campus by exploring student clubs, departments, and events through OwlNest!
How Can I Get Connected as a New Student?
If you are not sure where to begin, fill out an OwlNest Consultation Request Form to meet with one of our OwlNest Student Engagement Consultants or email owlnest@rice.edu . We also have a variety of training videos available to help you maximize your OwlNest experience.
If you don’t find a club that matches your interests, you can also create a new club by following the steps to complete club registration through the Student Activities Office . If you have questions about this process, please email clubregistration@rice.edu .
January 7th - Due to Rice - Housing Agreement
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.
January 8th - Classes Begin
You will register for classes on the Friday of Orientation. 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.
January 12th - Due to Rice - Alcohol Education Module
The Student Wellbeing Office at Rice will email you login information for eCHECKUP TO GO an Alcohol Education Module that provides awareness training, alcohol abuse prevention, and safe drinking tips for college students. We encourage you to think about what it means to make healthy choices, including those related to alcohol consumption. It is important that you complete this module honestly and completely for conversations 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.
January 15th - Open Enrollment Deadline - Student Health Insurance
All students must enroll or waive the Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan by January 15th. Any student who does not take action to enroll in coverage or submit a waiver by the deadline will be auto enrolled in annual coverage and be responsible for paying the entire premium. Once you are enrolled, the plan cannot be canceled for any reason. Please note that the automatic enrollment process does require additional processing time. You may have 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. Please submit your enrollment application as early as possible to avoid this inconvenience. The coverage will not be prorated, and an effective date will be retroactive to 01/01/23. Please visit https:// studenthealthinsurance.rice. edu to take action or for more information regarding the student insurance plan.
January 17th - Online Language Placement Tests Available
Rice's Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication (CLIC) offers courses in 10 languages: Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, 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. The placement test is not required for 300 and 400 level courses in French and German nor for Spanish courses with the SPPO course code.
To access the test, please visit the Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication's (CLIC) test site (http://clic.rice.edu/placement-test). Click on the link to access a brief survey about your prior knowledge of the languages we teach. Before starting the survey, make sure that you know your student ID number and your net ID. If you mark that you have no prior knowledge of a specific language, you will be able to register for the first-semester course in that language.
If you indicate that you have prior knowledge of any of the languages, you will receive an email with a link to the full placement test in Canvas for those languages. Complete the placement tests in Canvas for the languages you are interested in studying by January 18. The tests are not timed but do take approximately 30 minutes.
We encourage you to take the placement tests during the winter break in order to receive your placement results before arriving on campus for orientation. You will be unable to register for CLIC's language classes without the placement test result. Your placement result will be valid for four years, so take the test now and you will not need to think about it again.
Please contact Heather Lazare with the Center for Languages & Intercultural Communication at CLICPlacement@rice.edu if you have any questions about the placement tests.
Please note that some deadlines or checklist items fall on the same date.
February 9th - Due to Rice - Spring 2024 Tuition and Fees Payment
Monthly billing statements are emailed to the student’s Rice email address and any authorized users that have been given access to the Payment Suite. To view your billing statement online:
Log into ESTHER. Select "Student Services & Account Information".
If you have any questions, please email the Cashier's Office at cashier@rice.edu .
Please note that some deadlines or checklist items fall on the same date.
June - Composition Exam
The Composition Exam is 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 in the fall of 2024. Students who do not meet the satisfactory score must successfully complete FWIS 100: Fundamentals of Academic Writing and Communication in the spring semester and must take an additional FWIS course in the fall of 2024.
All new students (including freshmen, transfers, and international students) must take the Composition Exam. The Composition Exam will be offered June, dates. tobe determined later. To take the Composition Exam, visit https://compexam.rice.edu/.
For questions, please contact compexam@rice.edu or call 713-348-4932.
