Thank you!! And I’ll look into Miami, my friend’s mom went there and she said she enjoyed it.
What I can contribute is primarily anecdotal, but it strikes me that I would probably have the same concerns as your parents if I had not had the opportunity to visit Texas and a couple of Texas schools, including Rice, in 2018 and 2019. I live in Asia but am originally from the Northeast. I became interested in Texas for a couple of reasons. I have cousins in the San Antonio area, also originally from the Northeast and definitely very liberal, both of whom are very happy in San Antonio. And another cousin’s son was a Ph.D. candidate in Classics at Rice and a TA at Texas Austin. I also found that I really liked some of my colleagues who lived and worked in Houston. And I guess I had some hesitancy about sending my Asian son into the Northeast LAC environment, which can be pretty close-minded in its own way. So anyway, we visited Texas a couple of times and toured both Trinity University in San Antonio and Rice in Houston. I will admit that, even after getting a little soft on Texas, I really did not expect to like Houston, but it was actually great, very diverse and international. (Your parents might take comfort from the fact that Houston was recently named America’s most diverse city - Houston named nation’s most diverse city, report says). Rice has a beautiful campus with lots of green spaces, but it is right in the middle of things and close to an area called the Museum District where we found wonderful restaurants. I was also impressed by Rice’s residential college system. The school’s overall “feel” was very attractive, very academic but not at all exclusive, and proud of the fact it is able to keep its tuition down. In the end it was too big for my son, and he did not apply, but of all the schools we visited, Rice was probably my personal favorite. And Texas is a big fascinating place, full of good people and bad people, liberal people and conservative people, like most other places. I hope you can convince your parents to visit.
4 Likes
Parent of a current Rice student here. We are from the Bay Area of California - as progressive as it gets. Our student had concerns about Texas in general so there were a lot of discussions in our family about all of this when they were applying. In fact, Rice was the only school they applied to in a conservative state. As others have pointed out, Rice itself is very progressive. After attending Rice for several years, our student would say that it is as progressive as any of the colleges they applied to in the Northeast. That applies to students, admin, and professors. Of course, that doesn’t mean every single person is progressive, nor would that be a good thing. But it is the prevailing view.
In terms of going to college in Texas, some things you can say to your parents: (1) you can vote in Texas and (try) to make a difference - something that can’t be said if you attend a school in the NE (aside from Pennsylvania) or California; (2) outside of Rice, although Houston is more progressive than most of Texas, the opinions and politics are more mixed - and this is a good thing if you’ve grown up in a progressive bubble (i.e., your understanding of your position and ability to argue in favor of it will benefit from knowing/hearing from people who feel differently; (3) re the infrastructure issues in Texas - very much an issue but Rice never lost power during the winter storm this past year and also managed Harvey very well; and (4) college is a great chance to spend four years somewhere that will add to your life experience even if it not a place you would choose to live once you start your career.
As a parent, I am sure your parents are coming at this from a good place. But picking a college is a big deal and one of the first you will make based primarily on what you think is best for you. So definitely start the discussion with them now. Maybe they have other concerns they aren’t voicing (e.g., not wanting you to be far away). Maybe visiting Rice would help them see what you see. Think of this as an opportunity to engage your parents in a discussion about something that you feel strongly about even while wanting their input. You have time to work with them to get them to understand where you are coming from. Good luck!
5 Likes
Thanks for your help!! All of those things you mentioned are what draw me to the school, so I agree that I need to have my parents see it.
@192226 Thank you! Those are all very helpful and persuasive points. I think that my parents do have other concerns and they have brought up the fact that they do not want me to go far away, however I feel like no matter where I go to school it will feel far from home. My hometown doesn’t have a university for at least 200 miles in any direction.
New Hampshire has its own political reputation and stereotypes (libertarians).
1 Like
But make sure that you know what the voting regulations there, since Texas has a reputation for having voting rules that make it more difficult to vote, or more difficult for some people compared to others based on presumed political party associated with the affected demographic (e.g. college students, handgun license holders, etc.).
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/elj.2020.0666
https://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/need-id.html
1 Like
@ucbalumnus Exactly. I was getting at the fact that we are liberal from a liberal area and the college I’m interested in is in a republican state. I know stereotypes aren’t always true, and it’s my parents that need to be convinced about that.
@ucbalumnus Hmm, it does look like there are lots of restrictions and accessibility is a problem:(
Deleted
Stereotyping of any area is provincial and closeminded, to be blunt. I left the Midwest to attend college in the Northeast, and then graduate school in California. I feel a decent chunk of my education was experiencing different geographic areas, and their cultures.
I wanted my kids to experience different cultures/parts of the country when they went to college. We live in the rural Northeast, and one went to college in Dallas, one in Atlanta, and one’s going to Virginia.
4 Likes
My son is a student at Rice. We live in what is considered one of the most liberal cities/towns in MA. He found that Rice (students, faculty, and administrators) generally more liberal than his liberal high school but also so much more diverse. He chose Rice because of this diversity (ethnic and economic), size and the residential college system. He registered to vote and has voted in Texas without any issues, as a large percentage of Rice students do. Rice does have its own infrastructure - they had power and water during the winter storms and allowed offcampus students without power and water to move to campus. Despite being in Texas, they were very successful in having students on campus during COVID without any major outbreaks. I certainly was hesitant to send my son to Texas during the middle of a pandemic but couldn’t be happier with the experience he has had there so far. He can’t wait to go back.
9 Likes
A great way to get an overview of politics on campus is to take a look at the student newspaper. (https://www.ricethresher.org/) and how active student run political organizations are on campus. As Rice attracts students from all over the country/world, I don’t think you can assume it’s politics will mirror those of the geographical area it is in.
On a personal note, a friend who is now a professor did her undergrad and grad at Rice and has always been quite progressive. She speaks of Rice fondly.
I would say it is the South as a whole. I live in NC and I see that all the time on here— “Suggest colleges for me anywhere but in the South.” And they’re not talking about the weather. It’s an amazingly narrow-minded attitude.
I think Rice is a great reach for you. You may not get in, but you’ll never know unless you try. I think maybe you could take that tack with your parents. Just tell them you want to apply and if you get in you can talk about it more and if you don’t get in then it doesn’t become an issue. Do you think they would go visit for an admitted students day if you were accepted? Once they visited their attitudes might change.
3 Likes
Great advice about the substantive points to make. I am going to address approach.
Since you are early on in your process, and the issue isn’t “let me go” so much as “I want you to investigate this school with me”, how about something like:
Pick a time/day to approach them about it - when they are both relaxed - not exhausted after work, rushed, etc
“Mom, Dad, I love you very much and really respect your opinions about big life decisions. I very much want your input about colleges.
My worry is that there may be some schools, like Rice, that I am going to be excited about that you don’t like.
At this stage I feel like it is too early to reject any school. I want to be able to talk to you about the pros and cons, even if the school doesn’t end up on my final list. Just talking about a school is helpful for me figuring out what is a fit. I understand why with a school like Rice you have strong opinions. But no place is all good or bad. There is no perfect school.
We are going to like different schools. This process is going to be super stressful. Can we design a way to have no school be off limits for discussion, at this stage?”
One suggestion, because you are at the beginning, is to ask them what their school priorities are. Prompt them with Niche rankings topics, or other sources, for categories, especially ones Rice is high on. “How about happiest students?” “How about best engineering”, etc. Tell them you will find rankings that address those priorities. Offer to go through those rankings with them, next time you talk. They will feel like they are part of the process, and you will get to talk about Rice’s strengths. And you find other schools, too.
The goal is not to have them let you go if you get in, or even to let you apply. Right now the goal is to get them to discuss it, and maybe watch a virtual tour. Baby steps.
5 Likes
Love this approach @CateCAParent!
I am a very liberal parent who never in a million years thought my child would go to school in Texas. After visiting recently, I believe Rice is a very special school that prides itself on diversity of people, values, and ideas. To lump Rice into the Texas pot doesn’t make sense once you get past the location. Best of luck 
2 Likes
Our student votes in Texas. You just need a passport as your form of ID. It does take a little advance work because Texas makes it hard. It was one of our student’s top priorities when they started school in Texas. They have since voted multiple times and even volunteered at the polls.
3 Likes
Respectfully, it isn’t a great idea to pick schools based on whether they ideologically conform to you, but rather whether they foster respectful dialogue across all points of view. Rice does that.
If that isn’t enough, because you (and/or your loved ones) see your point of view as better and are hesitant to engage those with whom you disagree, Rice honestly isn’t going to be a good choice for you.
Deleted
1 Like
Note that there is a subtle difference between politics and quality of life issues related to actions based on political views, although they are related.
For many political issues, you can argue about them, then put the politics away and enjoy the rest of your life. However, some political issues may directly affect you if a large portion of the surrounding population holds a particular viewpoint and acts on it, or that viewpoint is reflected in state or local law that applies to you, so that you cannot put the politics away.
Note that just because some politics of this nature exists does not mean that is prevalent enough that it is acted on in a way that would affect your quality of life. But also note that just because you do not see much politics of this nature does not mean that there are not attitudes being acted on that would reduce your qualify of life there.
3 Likes