<p>As part of the application process, we are beginning a search of universities. Rice popped up as a great school, with a small student body and good facilities. In asking around, a friend commented that Rice "is full of rich Texans, particularly from Houston." While this one-off comment is inherently unfair, would anyone like to comment? Was this true in the past? Why such a high percentage of Texans at a private university? Is there a high percentage of legacies? Comments appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Rice is in a very unique situation, and it's often overlooked that Stanford has a very similar situation indeed. Both schools are in the two largest states in the country, so many many students from in state who are more likely to hear of the school first apply. For Texas especially, students from the north seem to have a great distrust of Texas and write it off for that reason. It is hard to recruit intelligent and open minded students when so much of the country is far from open minded.</p>
<p>Two of the four of us living in our apartment are on a lot of financial aid. It has been my experience that there is good diversity in income at Rice. And the fact that Rice is relatively cheap compared to similar schools takes away the need for rich students even more.</p>
<p>As for the students from Houston, there are a good number. But once again, the same problem that exists for Texas exists for Houston, just on a smaller scale. Also, the school has only increased its number of out-of-state students over the years.</p>
<p>About legacies, I actually cannot think of a single legacy that I know, although I have one friend who is the son of a former grad student.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, there is a reason that Rice is ranked as high as it is. It is an amazing institution and you should apply!</p>
<p>misterme is correct -- Rice holds a very unique position. Think about it ... Texas is a HUGE state. If you have the top students from Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Harlingen, etc. etc. applying to schools, and if they didn't want to go to a school like UT that has 52,000 students, they'll ALL apply to Rice. It's the best school of its size for thousands of miles.</p>
<p>This is not the northeast, where there are a multitude of top tier schools within a 4-hour drive. So there are a large number of exceptionally qualified students from Texas who apply to Rice. And because of some not very open-minded people's perception of Texas and Houston from other parts of the country, there are not nearly as many highly qualified people who apply from out of state. This accounts for the large percentage of Texas students. Because Rice is seeking geographic diversity of its students, it is significantly more difficult to get into Rice if you're from Texas (especially Houston) than if you're from out of state.</p>
<p>I think the word is finally getting out to those around the country what an exceptional school it is.</p>
<p>as a nigerian applicant, I cannot agree with misterme and blackeyed more!! I just heard about Rice some 5-6 months ago....I noticed a true gem. It made me wonder why people never talked about it. Now you guys have broken it down, it is so clear...</p>
<p>I too agree that Rice is a true gem and is underrated by US News. It has excellent facilities and can be compared with any of the ivies or other elite universities. </p>
<p>As mentioned above it is because of the location of Rice that it suffers in the overall reputation and respect it deserves.</p>
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Because Rice is seeking geographic diversity of its students, it is significantly more difficult to get into Rice if you're from Texas (especially Houston) than if you're from out of state.
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<p>Wellll...I'd like to mention that my school is stupid. I'm sorry that there isn't a more graceful way to put that. My school is one of the poorest schools in our district let alone the Houston area.</p>
<p>But every year about 10 students get accepted to Rice. I guess that's not much considering how many people from my school apply there. (Probably around everyone in the top 10%)</p>
<p>So you'd be surprised. Hopefully, it'll be the same this year for us haha :]</p>
<p>About the rich aspect.. Rice has the worlds largest endowment per person and they are generous on aid. Many of my friends are on aid/scholarships, as am I</p>
<p>As for international people, this year there are many international students. 2 of my suitemates (out of the 4 of us) are International students</p>
<p>Thanks for the comments. That's a good point about Stanford. The observation on "close-mindedness" is also very true - I have found most New Englanders to be very close-minded in their attitude towards schools in other areas. An observation - the Rice threads on College Confidential tend to be very polite and helpful. We look forward to visiting to campus!</p>
<p>Rice has been about 50% out-of-state and half-instate for a very long time. This has not changed.</p>
<p>Enjoy your visit. Be sure to check out Rice Village -- an area filled with shops and restaurants nearby. <a href="http://www.ricevillageonline.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.ricevillageonline.com/</a></p>
<p>And as mentioned above.. there arent many legacies here at Rice</p>
<p>I'm from the Northeast, and I visited Rice last month. I'd never visited Texas before and, while I had the usual vague notions of the state being huge, and the people being friendly, I don't think I harbored any firmly preconceived ideas about either the state or the university. After a two-night stay, however, I can say, without reservation, that I LOVED both Rice and Houston.
The Rice Admissions Office arranged for me to stay overnight with an undergraduate (something I had also done at Duke), so I had time to visit a few classes, check out the campus and dorms, have fun at a dorm party, walk to Rice Village, and see a bit of Houston (O.K., I'll be honest, the Galleria Mall!). My host and her suite-mate were incredibly friendly and accommodating; the profs. at the classes I attended were very approachable and welcoming (and the lectures themselves were great); the campus was gorgeous -- safe, spotlessly clean, and lush; Rice Village had some worthwhile restaurants/cafes and stores; and the Galleria Mall did NOT disappoint! But, other than the professors and the classes I attended, what perhaps impressed me the most was the friendliness of the students. I never sensed any pretension or condescension, and I certainly didn't detect any divisions based on class, race or ethnicity, or region of origin! To try to draw some comparisons: I guess the Rice students reminded me most of the down-to-earth, straight-forwardness of MIT students. They were certainly very different from the Duke students I'd met -- many of whom were either distinctly unfriendly and stand-offish, or obviously marginalized. My only regret was that I was unable to stay longer -- I really wanted to check out some of Houston's museums and visit Galveston!
I would obviously recommend that elgordo visit Rice and Houston</p>
<p>I believe that Rice is currently ranked #1 for "positive class/race interactions" (and at least a couple other categories) by Princeton Review.</p>
<p>yep it is.. along with Best UG experience aand Best standard of living</p>
<p>Wait, i knew about the standard of living but they're best UG experience too? Like #1 or just somewhere on the list? Cuz i heard Chicago was #1.</p>
<p>D went to Duke. S went to Rice. My advice? Go to Rice.</p>
<p>Nope.. Chicago isnt #1...</p>
<p>you must be very proud of your D & S wobudong....I know I'll be if my two kids got into really good/competitive schools. (random coment)</p>
<p>I just had to clear something up that was made in an earlier post</p>
<p>"Both schools are in the two largest states in the country"</p>
<p>Not entirely true. Alaska is the largest state in the country. In fact AK is more than twice the size of TX. </p>
<p>Sorry for being so picky :)</p>
<p>the two largest states in the country are in fact California and Texas respectively</p>
<p>In terms of population</p>