<p>International application from Shanghai here.</p>
<p>Rice looks like a great uni - super smart students, fantastic weather, happiest students.</p>
<p>But Houston/Texas still has this racist stigma. For some reason, though, Rice scores very high on Princeton Review's 'cross-race interaction'...but maybe this is because local Texans aren't used to ANY cross-race interactions.</p>
<p>Anyway - and don't give me answers like 'you'll find racism anywhere' - is racism going to be a particular problem if I go to Rice?</p>
<p>Racism is DEFINITELY not a problem here. I have a more diverse group of friends at Rice than I have probably ever come across in my entire life. The entire Houston area is also incredibly multicultural, as Antarius said. We definitely deserve our spot as one of the schools with the most race/class interaction.</p>
<p>I have never encountered or heard of any racism at Rice. Almost all of my friends are non-white (I am white myself). Race is not an issue at all at Rice.</p>
<p>I live in Houston. Our mayor is gay. We have a ton of african americans, hispanics, and all sorts of asians. Indeed an ill-placed stigma. Rural Texas may be racist, but its larger cities are far from it.</p>
<p>Having lived in and among elite eastern universities and university towns, I would suggest that Houston and Rice are more diverse, and far more tolerant of different views.</p>
<p>The Residential College system here at Rice creates a social dynamic that effectively eliminates racism. If you go to Rice, you’ll be surrounded by people from all different backgrounds. My current freshman class has no one group in majority. You will be completely comfortable at Rice as an international student.</p>
<p>Yeah, I also saw that you are from Shanghai. Let me just say that there are many, many Chinese international students here, as well as a significant amount of Asian Americans. Rice is racially diverse.</p>
<p>“but maybe this is because local Texans aren’t used to ANY cross-race interactions.”</p>
<p>Maybe you should do some research before making these sweeping claims. Texas is not some rowdy, Confederate-loving cowboy state that mainstream media depicts - it’s incredibly diverse and I’m sure you’ll find your niche.</p>
<p>Houston isn’t really a racist city and is more liberal/accepting then you would expect. Plenty of African Americans, Hispanics, and (yes) Asians. Rice is actually known for having tons of Asians so I don’t think you’ll be going it alone or anything.</p>
<p>Only someone from Shanghai without a clue can raise this question.</p>
<p>Houston is a minority majority city, which means the general public comprising of african americans, hispanics and asians add upto more than 50% of the city. The election ballots come in three languages, English, Spanish and Vietnamese.</p>