<p>I've heard about the residential college system that's unique to rice. but how random is the selection into colleges, and what are the personalities of each? Are certain ones more social than others? Also, how are the guys and girls here? Is dating nonexistent, and what are the general stereotypes about guys and girls at rice? I'm a girl who's had long term relationships all through hs and I hope that I won't be disappointed by the guys at rice. Ps I know I can't really make generalizations about alll the guys at rice but I'm trying to get a feel for the dating scene here. Thanks!:)</p>
<p>You should post on the Rice forum. I believe assignment to the colleges is fairly random, but if you aren’t in Hansen you are missing out (only kidding). There is plenty of dating, hanging out in groups, etc.</p>
<p>You should definitely post this in the Rice subforum, but I’ll lend what perspective I can while I’m here. College placement is entirely random, with a few exceptions. Students who have a legacy at one college have the option to choose that college or alternately say that they would like to be randomly placed into one of the others. I believe architecture students, varsity athletes, and music students are also distributed approximately evenly between all the colleges. All other assignments are completely random.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about the personalities of the individual colleges, at least not until college placement has taken place. The fact is that all colleges have a similar distribution of students, even if there are some subtle personality differences stemming from the history of the college.</p>
<p>I’ll leave someone else to tackle your dating scene questions.</p>
<p>I really want to point out that not everybody who goes to Rice is completely obsessed by their college. It’s just something we do as a crowd. For example, what major you choose obviously also has a huge impact on who you meet, as does what extracurriculars you decide to commit yourself to. Sometimes, people make a lot of friends at a particular college which isn’t the one they were placed in, and then manage to convince the college masters to let them switch colleges. As for dating, I think most of the time when people complain, they’re just locked into the nerd stereotype or only looking within their social clique. Rice is relatively small, but it’s pretty diverse.</p>
<p>Hi glight77! I responded to your PM (sorry for the delay), but in response to your question on dating:</p>
<p>Dating seems to be a mix of hookups and long-term relationships. Casual dating happens too. You can really find what you’re looking for if you look. Rice is incredibly diverse so generalizing the dating scene at Rice is honestly hard beyond the acknowledgment I made above (which I understand doesn’t provide much information haha). And I would hope you wouldn’t be turned away by us Rice guys. 
hahaha</p>
<p>Also, on a different note, what koker said is right. People are fiercely loyal to their residential colleges, but not so much that it ACTUALLY clouds their view of other colleges. Most people have a favorite college other than their own and recognize that the other colleges are amazing too. The whole “X College is the best college and all the others suck” is all in good fun. To most Rice students, being at Rice matters more than being at a specific residential college in the end. And some people do indeed change residential colleges. I know a few myself.</p>
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MOWC- Its Hanszen!!! You know that :D</p>
<p>IIRC, if you are a legacy or have/had a sib attend Rice, I believe you can ask either specifically to be or not to be in that College. But they are all great. Really.</p>