<p>It can get quite hot in the summer, but my problem with the weather is the sporadic rain.</p>
<p>Jym -</p>
<p>Hahahahaha the lasertag game! Best story in the Thresher all year!</p>
<p>Basically, a bunch of kids had been staying in the library after closing several times to play laser tag. (I'm not sure how they were leaving the library after their game...). One night, someone saw the lights through the windows and called Rice Police. The police came and the kids got in a little trouble. Something like 10 hours of community service.
The funny part was a quote from a Rice Police officer about how it was a dangerous situation because there were students who were pointing gun-shaped objects at the officer on the scene and at each other, when the officer actually was armed. He said some thing like "Luckily the officer on the scene figured out was was going on very quickly, and none of the students were put in danger."
I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny.</p>
<p>Hey, if you don't know where a book is in the library, bring the call number and ask the people at the reference desk to tell you.</p>
<p>And yesterday's weather was pretty nice, I thought.</p>
<p>Is it so hot? My country is usually at boiling tempt in the summer (I still remember doing labs with the drop of sweat all over my body). What do you think about air-conditioning there?</p>
<p>EVERY building in Houston is airconditioned, pretty much. If you will be here during the summer, bring a sweater because sometimes there is too much a/c. </p>
<p>I really don't think the weather here is bad at all. 50s and 60s during the winter, 70s and 80s in fall and spring, and then you aren't here for the summer, usually. The houston heat reputation is worse than the reality.</p>
<p>well i dont mean to discourage people from houston but for the school year, temperatures in september and may, even october and april, can be in the 90s.
plus, the combination of heat and humidity can be killer for some.
of course, houston does have its fair share of nice weather during the school year</p>
<p>When we visited Williams the spring of my s's junior year, it was 4 below zero, and the car doorlocks and gas cap lock froze. I'll take the Houston temps any day... And as others have said, the times when it is hot and/or humid are in the summer months when you aren't there. </p>
<p>I went to college in the NE. School started after Labor day. Sept and Oct were lovely. So were April and May. But the middle 5 of the 9 mos were cold, snowy, rainy and dreary. In the spring, being able to hold class oustside was a special treat. At Rice you have lots and lots of opportunities. C'mon folks. So your hair might frizz a little. The weather is great. But, when it rains, it RAINS! Brief, monsoon-like downpours, then clears. Like Florida.</p>
<p>I've lived in Houston for six years, and I've gotten used to the fact that you just don't go outside in the summer. See, I don't like hot weather, so when it's 100 degrees and humid (most of the summer), I stay inside. When I go someplace, I take a sweater because everyplace over air-conditions. I suppose that's not much of a worry for people who are going to college there, but it can be hot through September and October. When I moved here, the thing I remember most is that it was really, really bright outside. It does rain and flood some areas sometimes, particularly from hurricanes. The weather right now is really nice, but I know it won't stay that way for long. Don't expect to see the seasons change; I think all the leaves turned brown one day in late December and fell off the trees the next day. Mayflies come in late February, and June bugs are here right now.</p>
<p>Wow, valecollegorian, I simply cannot imagine the idea of a building in Houston without air conditioning. In fact, for most of my life I thought all buildings had air conditioning.</p>
<p>Houston's weather can get pretty bad in late August, early September, and even into October (in fact, in December when I visited the campus, it was about 80 degrees and very humid. I laughed inwardly at how surprised people from up north must have been). Late spring starts to get bad, too. The problem with Houston's weather is the humidity- I've gone through deserts in New Mexico when the temperature was in the lower 90's, and with the wind blowing, it felt much, much cooler than some Houston summer days. After it rains and the, it feels like a rainforest or a pressure cooker. With 100% humidity, shade really doesn't help much at all. However, this is certainly not all of the time. Houston's weather is famous for it volatility (if you don't like Houston's weather, just wait- it'll change). However, the volatilty can be pretty annoying. I just visited California, and I was actually surprised that I could wear jeans and a coat all day long. Several times, I've gone to school on cold winter mornings in jeans and a coat and come out at 2:30 finding that it feels like a summer day. Cold fronts fubar our weather- I remember once having a waterballon fight around noon, going shopping with my mom, and coming back around four- the temperature dropped from about 80 to 50, and a waterballoon I had left on my porch actually shriveled because of the cold.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, Houston's weather is just about perfect in mid-to-late fall, early-to-mid spring, and is a nice temperature although usually pretty dreary in the winter. And, despite what everyone says about the unbearable summer heat, oddly, I love it (though I don't meet many people down here that do). It really wouldn't feel like summer to me if it were any cooler.</p>
<p>Haha, I WAS surprised went it was ~80 in the winter. I took a picture of myself one day in January in shorts, and sent it to all my friends back north. :)</p>
<p>The heat does not bother me so much, except for the fact that I always dress inappropriately for the climate, ie. jacket during summer and short sleeve during winter; what annoys me is the rain!</p>
<p>I really think you guys are making the weather a bigger deal than it is. I went from the NE to grad school in Fla, where the weather was quite similar. Yes, it got hot and it got humid, but it wasn't that big a deal in the scheme of things. At least I never had to dig my car out of the snow or spin out on an ice patch. Now mind you, I love the cold weather too and just got back from Colorado, but the warm, and occasionally hot weather just isn't that terrible. I live in the South. You just handle it. Same as anywhere. I cant imagine cloistering myself indoors for the entire summer. Houston's weather is considered tropical. This isn't a bad thing...</p>
<p>The day we moved s. onto college at Rice this year-- mid August, was a gorgeous day- temps in the 70s, low humidity. It was no problem. Parents weekend in October was similar, but a little cooler (wore a sweater in the mornings). We thought this was an anomoly but the House Masters said the weather was similar the year before (I asked this on move-in day).</p>
<p>As folks said-- everything is air conditioned. Duke, Cal Tech and Harvey Mudd do not have air conditioned dorms. Rice does. As Jenskate said, it can get pretty cold in the bldgs. My s. uses his heavier blanket to sleep because the a/c is strong (thre is a knob to adjust it, but we think it is just for show-- doesnt really do much).</p>
<p>I really hope this thread doesnt deter poeple from applying to Rice becacuse of the weather. That would be a shame.</p>
<p>Forgot to mention-
One day last month my s. got caught in a rainstorm on his way to an exam.. and his unbrella broke. He was riding in an elevator (rather wet)with a faculty member he didn't know. She gave him her umbrella to keep- said she had plenty more. That's what I like about Rice.</p>
<p>jym--Did you notice the plastic bags they have in the student center to put your wet umbrellas in? What a great idea! Coming from New England, I know my son has definately enjoyed the warm weather...and I think his complexion has actually improved!</p>
<p>I had to comment on the lasertag in the Library. My son was one of those who were caught. It was actually his first (and only, to my knowledge) time doing this "activity." When he emailed us one day about being "arrested," I almost had a heartattack. Actually, he only had to do 15 hours of community service, which I think turned out to be a good thing as he had the opportunity to get involved in activities that he might not of otherwise. Working security at NOD was a hi-lite...kinda funny that someone caught by campus security in a building after hours gets to do security at an event :)</p>
<p>peariceparent-
No, actually I don't remember noticing the plastic umbrella bags, but then again it didnt rain a drop during any of my visits, so I probably didn't look for them.
Oh, please tell us more about the lasertag incident. I heard it was pretty funny. And the fact that they took some kids who messed with security in the library (they must have hidden in the bathrooms until after the library closed- yes? Anyway, giving them security jobs as NOD is a clever idea. Let them be at NOD without "attending" if you know what I mean, ans it is like hiring the excon bank robber to review bank security (well, thats a bit of an exaggeration)/</p>
<p>Yes, your son and his friends are lucky that the security cop figured out they had toy "guns" or it could have been ugly. But in the scheme of things, it sounds like a typical college prank. </p>
<p>I also found the "protests" of some of the students to the new president's inauguration after he fired the very popular Dean of Students funny, though a bit disgusting. Shall we say they "anointed" the stage, podiums and chairs that were set up at the Sallyport. Ahhh, students.... what will they do next.....</p>
<p>I was at Rice today with my new, very pretty digital camera, so I took lots of random pictures of the campus. If anyone wants me to upload them somewhere, ask, and I will do so and post a link.</p>
<p>i'd like to! Even though I live here, i still like to see pretty pictures :)
Maybe upload them to photobucket?</p>
<p>Sure, I'll do it tomorrow. And there was this really cute squirrel...</p>
<p>Yes, pics please!</p>
<p>Rice is sooo pretty. The greenery and stuff is just gorgeous. I really liked the story about why the hedges are kinda beat up. Apparently its a tradition for seniors to jump (or at least try to jump) the hedges when they graduate, so the hedges have notches in them. </p>
<p>It was pretty hot on Friday. My parents left me there alone because they had to go the Chinese embassy in Houston, and after I took the tour, I ended up totally lost. I was trying to find the Shephard School, which wasn't marked as such on the map, so I ended up walking to Shephard Street. I walked right past the building (didn't recognize it from the side) at least twice in my forty minute wandering around in the noon-time Texas heat. I was incredibly sweaty by the time I finally found the lecture I was trying to catch and snuck in thirty minutes late. But despite that, I still enjoyed my visit.</p>
<p>Aw, I'm sorry. Next time- the building near the football stadium. :)</p>