Rice University Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Julia

The reality: A lot of Rice students come off as socially awkward because they'd really and truly rather be studying. Most of us are here to explore our academic passions, and those passions shape the people we are. Whether our homework is monitoring petri dishes in the lab, watching 1920s cinema, composing electronica, reading Faust, or building 3D models of condos in Guam, we tend to enjoy it. We get into it, and we're generally going to blow off invitations to dinner or keggers if we have deadlines to meet. Which is not to say we don't relax: there IS a lot of drinking at Rice. On campus. Underage. In dorm rooms. As long as you're smart and partake in moderation, you can get away with it if you want to. The college system is intriguing to most new students, and it operates like a more inclusive type of fraternity life. But a lot of students get disenchanted with it and find their own social niches outside of or in addition to the colleges. The campus is in the heart of Houston, and that means good theater, professional sports, concerts -- and crime. I've had 2 bikes stolen in as many years, and countless laptops go missing every semester. People feel very safe in the campus bubble, and Rice Police works hard to protect that feeling, but if you leave your first-floor dorm room unlocked and your laptop in plain sight when you go out of town for the weekend, you have to realize you're setting yourself up for trouble. A few people care about varsity sports, especially baseball, and basketball and football are trying to grow their fan bases. We're not the worst team in our conference, but we're not exactly in the Big Ten.

Harper

Yes, in general. However, as a Rice girl, I can vouch for the fact that the girls are NOT ugly.