Rice - I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SCHOOL EXCEPT.....

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>It seems like there is only like 5 attractive people in the entire school??? And I know that sounds shallow and arrogant, but it really seems like people who care about keeping themselves well maintained and well-groomed are in the minority. Also, I'm relatively attractive and I've dated since middle school and it's a lot of fun.... if I'm an assertive girl would you say there are guys I could date? -- NOT just for random play, but for non-getting-married type relationships that also don't only last a couple hours while youre drunk at a party. And are there any ACTUALLY attractive boys at rice? Not like 'rice attractive' or whatever it's called, or 'attractive once you get to know them'... like, actually cute/handsome. ALSO I don't drink at all, and I went to owl days and there were 3 parties at once where almost everyoneeee there was drunk or drinking.... are there fun and parties outside of that scene? Like substantial ones? I'm eclectic and crazy and fun-loving and love parties.... but not ones where everyone just stands around drinking.... also, i've heard that there's 'not time for relationships' because of alot of homework, but wouldnt this make it so it's hard to have fun in general? is this so?????? otherwise.... i love everything about rice univ... but i'm not sure if these are deal breakers or not... my other option is UVA and it has attractive boys, but isn't as quirky or pretty or out of state. And I'll be visiting USC soon, so I have no idea if it's on my list yet. (I've been accepted to all three)</p>

<p>educate and help me pleeeease!</p>

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<p>Such a shallow post… I choose to ignore.</p>

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<p>I do think you will find plenty of good-looking/handsome/cute guys on campus. I’m a guy, but I’m also heterosexual, so I don’t know if I can be much help. However, at first, I found the Rice population average in looks at best, but there are plenty of attractive people on campus. The difference is we aren’t preppy; we don’t think it is important to dress up and all, and frankly its nice that people here don’t judge you for not wearing Lacoste/Polo/JCrew.</p>

<p>Owl Days is definitely not representative of the drinking culture on campus. When I was a prospective student, I was a nondrinker myself, and I was shocked with all the parties going on during Owl Days. I got the impression that Rice was a party school after I visited, and I almost decided not to attend Rice because of all the drinking I saw during Owl Days. However, there is plenty to do if you don’t drink at Rice (go to Rice Village, go to concerts, see plays, etc.)… almost every Saturday night, there is a campus performance/event going on. The Owl Day hosts are trying to act cool and show their prospies a good time… however, i think many of them forget that a lot of prospective students are nondrinkers and are turned off by the drinking events that happen that night. During the year, however, most people only drink on Saturday nights and sometimes Friday nights… at most other schools, people drink on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and maybe Wednesday nights too. There is no pressure to drink… no one is going to judge you for not drinking.</p>

<p>In my opinion, there is just as much, if not more, drinking that goes on at UVA and USC. Don’t let the drinking parties that occurred during Owl Days turn you off from Rice… there are plenty of nondrinkers at Rice (the percentage that doesn’t drink is about 30-40%, which is fairly significant).</p>

<p>There are a lot of people who are in relationships… of course, they are in the minority. Keep in mind that almost every single university (except religiously affiliated schools) has more of a hookup scene than dating scene. This doesn’t mean you can’t date… you can still find plenty of good looking people to date at Rice. Rice is what you make out of it.</p>

<p>Good luck… hope you choose Rice.</p>

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<p>In short, you’re wrong.</p>

<p>Long form: see slik nik’s post.</p>

<p>Come to Rice.</p>

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<p>To begin, I definitely think this is a fair question, because dating/relationships are a very large part of college and life in general. Just like everyone else, people here tend to date people on their level of attractiveness; the attractive guys here tend to pair up with the attractive girls. If you think you’re attractive you should be able to get what you’re looking for.
There are very few guys here who I’m attracted to. But I’m picky, and I don’t think I’ve lowered my standards due to the small available pool.</p>

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<p>thanks slik nik and silentsailor!!!</p>

<p>thanks so much for not judging me and actually answering my questions : )</p>

<p>sorry if i appear shallow or ignorant… i’m really not, i was just trying to be as honest as possible about my concerns because I want to make the best decision possible and don’t want to keep what was bothering me to myself and make incorrect assumptions…</p>

<p>i did really love owl days otherwise</p>

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<p>My S also just returned from Owl Days and had the same reaction to the drinking as did the OP. He is a non-drinker and he was really discouraged by the “party hopping” he was shown.</p>

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<p>@ momof3sons: Please see my post above regarding drinking at Rice. I am a nondrinker myself and I don’t feel drinking at Rice is any more than at other universities. It is just more visible than at other universities. The excessive amount of drinking during Owl Days is not representative of the drinking that goes on during the year. 30-40% of Rice students do not drink at all. I assure you that he can still have an awesome time at Rice without drinking.</p>

<p>@jojoismojo: The good thing about Rice students in general is that they are usually down-to-earth, chill, and not stuck-up. Most of the attractive people at Rice are the same way too. However, I feel this isn’t the case at most universities… attractive people know that they are attractive and tend to be arrogant.</p>

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<p>I definitely got the impression drinking is huge on campus - that was pretty much all my host talked about. Some of it was just crazy - like College days (everyone goes to class drunk). But if that’s the experience you’re looking for, rice certainly seems like it has a lot to offer lol</p>

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<p>With all due respect, PandoraHearts, you cannot get a true impression of a school within a day and a half. The impression that I go of drinking at Rice during Owl Days was totally different than the impression I have of Rice now. Rice doesn’t seem as party-heavy as it did when I visited during Owl Days a year ago. I pretty much decided not to attend Rice a few days after I visited, but luckily, a friend of mine who is a Rice student convinced me that drinking isn’t as big of the atmosphere as I thought. I agree that college days are silly, but you can still have fun during college days without drinking.</p>

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<p>I will add to what slik nik says. I hosted a couple of prospies and while I did show them to a couple of parties, my night ended up being me and four other freshmen hanging out in my room with an equal number of prospies just talking about what we wanted to do with our college careers. Whether or not you drink is completely up to you. Whether or not you go out to these parties is completely up to you. </p>

<p>And no, Owl Days is not representative of a typical Thursday night. Rice just likes to show off a bit for the incoming freshmen ;)</p>

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<p>luckily, i was paired up with a studious host who wasn’t into drinking/partying. although i know it went on, i didn’t see any drinking/huge parties at duncan!</p>

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<p>OK, schee410,
Why do you think that all the parties the prospies were shown would be seen as “showing off” Rice in a positive manner? My son described one incredibly awkward dance party where it was obvious that everyone was getting as drunk as possible so that they would feel less inhibited about dancing. He went to the a cappella concert as well as the improv show and then went back to the residential college where his host lived. He said he wasn’t there for two minutes before the first drinking game started. All I’m saying is that Rice obviously has great academics and wonderful research opportunities, and all it takes is a night like this to make people start to question whether or not to attend.</p>

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<p>momof3sons:</p>

<p>A lot of the hosts like to drink and assume that their prospies will as well. Not all of them are so sensitive to their prospies’ likes and dislikes. </p>

<p>Owl Days is definitely a full view of Rice, but it’s like a week’s worth of activities crammed into a day. You’ll get your academics from all the panels, classes, and discussions. You’ll experience the ECs by going to all the shows or watching a game. And yes, you can experience what a Rice weekend can be like.</p>

<p>I said “showing off” not specifically in reference to the drinking, but to all the activities that happened that day and night. While there is plenty to do during the week, we don’t normally have four shows, a symphonic band performance, twenty club meetings, and a hundred parties going on every night.</p>

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<p>@ momof3sons: The fact of the matter is drinking is going to occur at any college your son attends (unless BYU is on his list). I wish your son was paired with a better host, and I think your son wouldn’t have as negative of an impression of Rice. I will concede that Rice students tend to be more introverted and there are a lot of socially awkward kids that drink in order to feel comfortable around others. However, almost all top schools (Ivies, Hopkins, WashU, Emory, Duke, etc.) are full of socially awkward kids that drink in order to overcome their shyness. It is sad that such people have to rely on alcohol to socialize. I can be socially awkward myself sometimes, but I have come to learn to socialize without drinking. And, again, at every residential college, there is always a group of people that chill out on Friday or Saturday nights by playing video games, watching movies, and just talking. There is a lot for nondrinkers to do. I have never felt pressured to drink or party on Saturday nights.</p>

<p>Most of the admitted student overnight stays have a lot of drinking. I read about lots of drinking and parties that occur during Yale’s Bulldog Days, for example. If your son didn’t like the people here (who I have found to be nice, down-to-earth, chill, and laid-back, although some are introverted), the campus, or the program he’s interested in, that’s fine. But I think he shouldn’t completely eliminate Rice from his list because he thinks there is an “excessive drinking.” Because the fact of the matter is, this excessive drinking is going to be found on any college campus (Rice is just more open about it than other campuses).</p>

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<p>slik nik,
Thanks for your response. He knows that there will be drinking at any school he attends, but this was just more prevalent than what he has seen at other school visits. He’s not totally turned off to Rice, but the social life he saw during Owl Days has given him pause.</p>

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<p>I agree with ALL of slik nik’s posts. Another major factor is that many of the people who volunteer to host are simply the people who are more “social/outgoing”, which often translates to people who drink, whether accurate or not. They may not always have what’s best for the prospies in mind.
Also, last week was one of our “hell weeks” . I absolutely would have volunteered to host had I not had two fifteen minute presentations the next day (and I drink!), so I feel like many potential hosts who may have been “calmer” refrained from volunteering due to academic pressures.</p>

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<p>Wow, this thread is something of a turn off for me… I’m not as concerned about drinking–which is likely to occur on any campus and something that students can hopefully opt out of–as I am with the comments about introverted/inhibited/awkward kids. S couldn’t be talked into seriously considering Case Western–despite the fact that they offered him a substantial scholarship–mostly because many of the students he interacted with during his two visits seemed, well, introverted/inhibited/awkward. Can any of the current students describe the campus vibe for those of us who couldn’t attend Owl Days?</p>

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<p>The problem with this forum is that it paints with broad brushes. Yes, there are those socially backward introverts here, but they are by far the minority. Yes there are people who drink here, but fully 30 to 40% of students never drink and a significant percentage only drink socially. The average Rice student then, is a completely normal, well adjusted, bright and eager student who most likely enjoys a few drinks every now and then.</p>

<p>I can’t explain how campus feels to me, it just feels like home. I don’t get the feeling that people are walking on the other side of the path because they don’t like being around people, I don’t get the feeling that passersby are judging me. I don’t get the feeling that I have to be drinking or that I shouldn’t be drinking according to the people I’m with. I know I’m surrounded by a large number of incredibly smart people with a diverse range of interests. I know I’m surrounded by people who are willing to help me out when I need it and are genuinely interested in my well being. If you become a student here, this place will feel like home, there’s no other way to describe it.</p>

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<p>

Totally - my son was spending hour 13 on an untimed take-home exam, according to his facebook page, and did not volunteer to host (also because he is off-campus this year.) Hosts tend to be more gregarious and out-going, and may be trying to show students that it’s not all hard work and studying. But DS will be an O-week advisor again, which is a whole week of completely alcohol-free fun and bonding and advising that helps new Rice students get acclimated to the school.</p>

<p>Re: socially awkward… I’ve hosted both my kids club sport teams (and they’ve stayed with us for tournaments) over the last 6 years, and I’ve been on campus many times. I’m always impressed with the interesting, active, polite, appreciative, confident, motivated, out-going and dedicated young adults I’ve met. I have not noticed socially awkward, but if I had I would not consider it necessarily a downside.</p>

<p>High school is NOT kind to a lot of kids who are very intelligent and have unique perspectives and interests and “march to their own drummer”. For some of the “popular” kids, these attributes lead them to label these kids “losers” and individuals not worth knowing. Wonderfully, college is often where these kids finally get a chance to break away from the confines of high school and meet other interesting kids who share their interests and passions and they become leaders in their areas of interest. In the best of worlds, the “popular” kids and the kids not part of the popular group grow in wisdom and understanding in college and learn to appreciate individuals they used to dismiss. Rice has a wide and diverse group of students, and, as I think has been mentioned before, there is an acceptance there that allows all sorts of kids to be appreciated and embraced. </p>

<p>Rice isn’t a school of party-hearty drunks, or social nerds, or Christian evangelicals, or awkward science geeks, or athletic workout jocks, or 10-hour-a-day practicing violinists, or radical lesbian advocates or dj announcers, or shallow make-up princesses, or goths, or dreamy classics majors, or Republican right-winger, or rabid pre-med student,or what ever classification of people you wish to make… it’s a melting pot of lots of interesting kids with very different world views who get to be themselves in an accepting and welcoming world.</p>