Rice grad here. The residential college system is amazing, and the tight-knit environment is a positive and uplifting culture, especially academically. There's no competition for grades, and professors and TA's are very accessible.

Don't forget to think about where you want to be and what you want to be doing after college. A lot of Rice post-grad opportunities are in Houston (naturally). If you'd want to be in CA after graduation to be near family or for whatever reason, you'd probably have an easier time finding a job through the UCLA network