<p>And -- are the dorms air conditioned --
classes, etc. How much do temps vary by season?</p>
<p>Sounds like a terrific school!</p>
<p>Extremely.....during the summer at least. The first few weeks of school tend to be hot/humid (check out the yearly averages for Houston for actual numbers). Spring is usually not too bad - the day I left was the first really warm day (90s, high humidity). However, you don't have to spend summer at Rice. The school year, when you're actually there, is pretty nice - you get a lot of great 70 degree and sunny days in mid-winter.</p>
<p>And every building on campus is air conditioned (along with practically every building in Houston).</p>
<p>HTown is absolutely insane during the Summer. Every other season, it's pretty nice though.</p>
<p>If the dorms at Rice weren't air-conditioned, there would probably be student deaths during the summer. No joke.</p>
<p>I totally look forward to spending my first warm winter in Houston. I am absolutely tired (and too sensitive) to the chilling frost in NYC. However, I think I'll miss the moderate temperature in NYC when I'm burning/tanning like crazy in Houston.</p>
<p>Yea... if the dorms weren't air-conditioned, I would be a heat death victim.</p>
<p>Most of the year, the weather is surprisingly mild. There were maybe four weeks this year that were unbearable--the first three and the last--but the rest of the year is incredible, staying mostly in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Also, every building and college is air-conditioned, which is way more than a lot of schools (even in similar climates) can say. I'd rather sit through 90-degree weather with air-conditioning than 80-degree weather without.</p>
<p>Seconding what everyone else says... It's sweltering, for sure. Newbie band members (band members wear three-piece wool suits, even at high noon in August) would consistently play halftime shows, walk off the field, hand their trombones and tubas to the nearest flute player, and pass out. (Soon after, they would learn about 'hydration'.) Nobody sane goes outside during the summer, though, opting to stay indoors where it's delightfully air conditioned year-round.</p>
<p>Be forewarned that everyone thinks Houston's going to be... like... seventy degrees all winter (Redenbacher's...!). My old roommate, who was from Utah, didn't pack any sweatshirts or anything her first year and was surprised at the occasional bouts of thirty five/ forty-degree weather. It definitely doesn't suck like the northern states, and you're not going to get snow, but don't forget to pack a jacket.</p>
<p>Also an umbrella. Gotta love monsoon season.</p>
<p>There goes my big dream of a warm warm winter. :D However, 35 - 40 degree weather doesn't sound bad at all! :D</p>
<p>Yes, but we also have 70 degree weather in February. We might have a day or two in the 40's or 50's, but then it becomes moderate quickly.</p>
<p>You can check out the average temps on weather.com:
<a href="http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/77005?from=36hr_bottomnav_wedding%5B/url%5D">http://www.weather.com/outlook/events/weddings/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/77005?from=36hr_bottomnav_wedding</a></p>