Hello all, so this is my situation:
I am a rising junior in high school and have started my college search. I know I still have time to iron out my list, however I think in the next year or so I should start taking tours. One school that I am really interested in is Rice University. The problem is that I am a very liberal person with a very liberal family, and every time I bring up Rice as a place I am interested in, my parents refuse to look into it because it is in Texas and we live in New Hampshire (if you get my drift). I have done lots of research and think that this would be a perfect reach school for me, and I know that Rice and Houston are liberal places. The problem is that Texas is right-leaning and they think that means everywhere in the state is like that. I have tried to tell them that this is not the case but they will not accept it. Rice students/alumni/parents/anyone with knowledge of Rice, how can I convince them to at least let me see the school? (we are taking a road trip soon to the south so it isn’t too far out of the way)
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It might help to let your parents read the several pages on Rice University in the Fiske Guide To Colleges. The opening paragraph:
“One of the few private colleges that keeps tuition relatively affordable. Rice is outstanding in engineering,architecture,the sciences, and music,and it is a national leader in entrepreneurship studies. …In lieu of frats, Rice has a residential college system like Yale and Princeton.”
Google a map of Texas which shows which areas are red (conservative) versus blue (liberal) in the last two election periods. Houston should be blue.
One negative regarding attending college in Houston is that you will miss out on the spectacular fall colors which you have experienced in New England.
P.S. Overlap schools with Rice (those who apply to Rice also apply to): Stanford,Duke, University of Chicago, Cornell, Vanderbilt,Harvard, Yale, & MIT.
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I told my rising junior and sophomore that Texas was out of the picture, not for political reasons, but because of that infrastructure issues that were on display this past year (no heat for important part of the winter, no A/C for part of very hot summer).
There are plenty of amazing schools in Texas, no doubt - but those aren’t the issues I want to be wondering about when I send my child off to college. There are still plenty of amazing schools throughout areas of the country that haven’t neglected essential infrastructure.
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Thank you, I will try to show them statistical data that they can’t dispute 
I also agree that I will miss the fun parts of the northeast. I love living here and will probably end up going to school around here but I wanted to have options farther away and in warmer climates, and Rice fits that as of now.
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@beebee3 Thank you, and I understand that. I certainly need to do more research and the majority of my list is in the northeast and close to home, however I would like to expand my options beyond the area I’ve lived in my whole life. Are those infrastructure problems specifically at Rice or is that just the state as a whole?
You might try the mom and dad I’m going to be an adult.
I will need your help financially and of course what you say matters. Give me a budget and let me decide what schools are right for me.
Rice is elite. Anyone would be proud. You will have all viewpoints, especially at such a rigorous school. Can you find club lists or activities to show them to help their opinion ? Rice might have literature too. Or even a regional rep who can allay their concern. They are seeking to grow their base.
Finally you can do everything on line. Visit. Interview etc. maybe you say let me apply. It’s a lot of work I’m willing to do. The. If you get in, you can visit.
Rice is not cheap if full pay so I’d have the money talk first. Run some NPCs. After you learn what you can afford or what your parents want to afford, make a list.
Rice is generous with many, but not all.
Finally show them the niche rankings. They have so many impressive ones. And are rated one of the top 12% of LIBERAL colleges in America l, a claim many NE colleges cannot make. College is about learning, not about settling into an ideology. Higher than Yale since they were mentioned.
Mainly your just need to educate them on facts.
Good luck
https://www.niche.com/colleges/rice-university/rankings/
Ps Rice is expanding facility wise. Texas and Houston have over extended infrastructure but you won’t have serious issues at Rice. It invests heavily.
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Statewide infrastructure issue, all of Texas is out for us because of that. Not particular to Rice at all (great school!).
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@tsbna44 Thank you so much, this was a very helpful reply. I will share the rankings with them and try the techniques you mentioned. I’m hoping the link you attached will help.
Also I wanted to add that the cost of travel back and forth will not be an issue
Also Google niche most liberal colleges. Look up schools in the NE. You will find stellar schools, like Yale, below.
Frankly, not to talk politics but it’s usually conservative families that are most closed minded to location, not liberal. And I would hope both types of families would want their child to experience balance and growth.
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@tsbna44 Exactly. Also it’s not that my parents are anti-conservative people but they think that I would not be comfortable in that setting (which I think is false) but it doesn’t matter anyways since I would not find that at Rice. I think a very religious school (like BYU) would not be a good match for me, but even if I went to a school that was more heavily leaning conservative, I would not mind. My area is liberal as well and I am ready to go out into the world and experience new views.
In my experience, both liberal & conservative families can have strong preferences regarding location.
Texas seems to strike an emotional response in a wide variety of non-Texans.
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@Publisher Yes that seems to be true. There is certainly a stigma against TX, especially in my area where no one has connections with that state. I’m not sure if my parents have had bad experiences there or with Texans, but either way it seems irrational to judge a book by its cover.
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Hopefully most are reasonable. Since the far majority of our top institutions would be deemed left of center, top kids from families of all beliefs are participating.
We line up left of center, my wife very much so my son goes to a conservative school…Bama…never an issue. In many ways I assume that stuff is vastly overplayed. If he were political he could find a campus group to meet his needs.
What do you plan to study ?
North Carolina & Virginia both offer excellent colleges & universities in beautiful,natural settings. The University of Virginia, Duke, Davidson College, College of William & Mary, & UNC, are all great schools academically.
I love Rice University, but you might want to present more target schools to your parents in an effort to get them to give you more say as to which schools you apply.
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@tsbna44 That’s nice to hear, and that is something I’ve tried to articulate: that even if a school is conservative, there will always be groups of people that share my views. I have someone in my group of friends that is very republican/a Trump supporter and obviously we are very good friends. We just avoid politics and have never had a problem. Unfortunately, my parents seem to think that this is because we are still in high school and that in “the real world” it’s not so friendly…
Maybe you can start a new trend of the person not politics matter…like when I was a kid :). The last decade or so has gotten vile. We need kids like you.
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@Publisher Right now I am interested in engineering, specifically environmental or civil. I am not the highest level in math (taking PreCalc as a junior) but I enjoy it. I’m also taking physics this year so that will be the determining factor. William and Mary is also on the list and my parents are actually taking me there on a tour and think it’s great, not sure how it’s much different from Rice, they are from the DC area though. Some other schools on my list are UVM, UNH, UDelaware, McGill, Franklin and Marshall, and Skidmore. I also like Oberlin and Whitman for their 3+2 engineering programs. For reference, my weighted GPA is 4.3, unweighted is 3.8, took AP Euro in 10th grade and got a 3, and I haven’t taken the SAT or PSAT yet because of Covid, although practice tests show not great results so I’m hoping schools remain test optional through 2023. Either way, I do have safeties and targets, but Rice is my top reach school at the moment.
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@tsbna44 That’s the goal, I agree that my generation has become so political and honestly who the heck cares. Believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want, and everyone needs to accept that it’s part of society to have conflicting views
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W&m a reach too. It won’t fit your majors but if you change your interests Miami Ohio is a big W&M and an easy admit but well respected. They have a minor in environmental engineering.
Good luck. You are quite impressive a young man. And good for our future.
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