@cinnamon1212 Yes and I think that is a great idea and another point to bring up to my parents.
@interested3 This is great to hear, Iām glad your son found his calling. All of these points make the school sound even more appealing.
@vwlizard Thank you for the resource, itās very helpful 
@Sweetgum Yes I do think that if I applied, which I hopefully will do once I get to see the school and verify that I like it, they would take me to the admitted students day. I know once they saw the school for themselves their opinions could be changed, the problem is getting them there in the first place
@CateCAParent These are all great ideas and I think that these help me with a more respectful approach. I can certainly have them see a virtual tour but every time I discuss that itās one of my top choices, they reject it.
@Search2022 Thank you!! Itās good to know that other parents feel the same way as mine and that there is hope that they will open their minds.
@ricegrad I 100% agree that you shouldnāt pick a school based in ideologies and that is not my approach to this, but rather my parentsā. I donāt see my pov as the ābetterā one and like I said in a previous comment, I have a friend that has the opposite views as me and it doesnāt bother me in the slightest.
@ucbalumnus I understand this and think that the state politics will be a good learning curve for someone who has lived in the same town their entire life.
3 Likes
My daughter graduated from Rice last year, and I live in Houston. She is very progressive as are most of the students at Rice. The state of Texas is āredā and all of the statewide elected officials are Republican. The rural areas of the state are āred,ā but most of the large metropolitan areas including Houston are 'blue." The inner loop area of Houston where Rice is located is very blue. Houston has gone āblueā in the last few elections. We have a Democrat mayor, and the majority of our county commissioners are Democrats. Almost all the judges in the Houston area are Democrats. The far flung suburbs of Houston and surrounding counties are āred.ā Please visit Rice and see for yourself before you write it off.
2 Likes
@Houston1021 Thank you!! I think you may have misunderstood the situation - I want to visit and have no plans of writing it off, Iām trying to convince my parents to let me tour the school. Those statistics will definitely help.
1 Like
Update: thank you all who helped me out, my parents have agreed to add Rice to our college road trip!!
15 Likes
Congrats
Keep in mind Rice is extremely well prepared for weather issues. When the area around Rice has water or power issues, Rice does not. Most kids live on campus and when the power goes out (which is pretty rare) the off campus kids are invited to stay on campus if needed since the dorms and important buildings have generators. The kids are very well taken care of during weather emergencies.
3 Likes
Excellent news! You might want to see if you can find some statistics about how the Rice precinct and others around it voted in the last election. I think your parents would be surprised. We are from the midwest and my daughter was expecting a very āsouthernā feel at Rice, and it does not have that at all. Itās a very diverse city.
1 Like
Great! So glad to hear it.
1 Like
Rice has its own power plant and did not lose power during the February freeze.
3 Likes
Lurker here - would you report back on this thread after youāve visited Rice? Iām curious to know what you and your parents think about it after visiting. I hope it goes well.
3 Likes
Definitely, thank you 
2 Likes
If your parents consider themselves liberal you could appeal to their sense of liberalism and accept that this is a decision on YOUR adult life, where you should have a say.
How can they expect you to make good decisions while away, if you canāt be trusted in the choice of college.
So, they should welcome you to make your case, lay out all the documented facts you researched, and invite them to list their specific concerns on the other side of the board. Then take emotions out of it and work together to reconcile those concerns with the facts.
This is a very adult decision and topic and you should ask them to talk it over like adults, even if youāre not quite yet.
Texas resident and Rice parentā¦other than the debacle this year with historical lows we have no issues with heat or AC.
1 Like