<p>Jipper! (Disapproving mom expression here!) Chill a little... It looks like Seefoxrun's kid did not find his people, and hit a pocket of heavy drinkers/smokers at Rice. (Maybe prospies? maybe hosts?) He didn't find what he was looking for at Rice, which does NOT make him "shielded from college reality" or needing a monastery! Seefoxrun - my daughter has met so many wonderful people at Rice, some who drink, some who drink very rarely, some who never drink. It's a terrific school! There is lots to do, and no pressure to partake. That said, your son didn't choose Rice, and saw a slice of Rice that he didn't like. I don't think that that slice is representative of the college experience at Rice for most kids. Best wishes for your son at the school he chose. :)</p>
<p>haha Jipper is great. He's spicing up the Rice board a bit. I like it.</p>
<p>A dry pre-frosh weekend seems a little weird to me. I mean, they're not showing you reality; they're showing you what you want to see. And of course the exact same stuff that Seefoxrun's S saw goes on at other schools... it would be ignorant to think otherwise. I think it's impossible to appraise a school on one visit, but you can't very well live at each campus for a few weeks. Like it or not, impression is the only thing you can go on. On one hand it's nice that at least Rice is being honest about what goes on, but maybe a little overhaul (or false advertising a la MIT) is needed in order to not scare off prospective students?</p>
<p>yes mary, i guess some people prefer to order a la carte, a long with a la MIT.
It might taste well now, but it will lead to the same indigestion for your son later. i recommend some alkasetzer, they sell some with a new ingredient--- C5H6Ill (chill).</p>
<p>One thing I love about this place - people express themselves pretty freely. (well, some of us do, anyway - I often just "listen...")</p>
<p>My three cents:</p>
<p>I think it's fine (even admirable) that people want to defend Rice. (For the record, I think it's a great school & I'm happy my son will be attending.) </p>
<p>I also think that it's unnecessary to try to convince people they're making a wrong decision (even if it isn't based on what I may consider to be the best information), unless input has been requested. After all, the path each of us takes is individual and no one can predict what impact our decisions will have. Someone chooses to go to MIT (or Duke or anywhere else) rather than Rice. That person will have a different experience there and no one will ever know whether it would have been better or worse at Rice.</p>
<p>Besides, Rice doesn't need students who wish they were somewhere else, already convinced that whatever problems they perceive at Rice wouldn't be found at that other institution. Experience shapes attitudes & attitudes shape experiences. Perhaps the experiences these students had at Owl Weekend were exactly what they needed to make their "right" decisions. How a person perceives a school probably will make more of a difference in the student's experience than any particular hard fact.</p>
<p>go supermom</p>