Hi, just wondering what people think of Rice students? I’ve heard that they are very weird, and I’m a white male and I see that many of their student organizations revolve around asian culture. I just wanted to know if there are cool people who are very social and attend sports games like football and basketball. I’m on varsity lacrosse at my school but still have 4.0, so just wondering if many people at Rice will be like me or no. All responses greatly appreciated.
I don’t know what you mean by “very weird,” but the general consensus is that they’re diverse. That’s one of the reasons why there are a lot of organizations revolving around the Asian culture; Asians make up 25% or so of the school’s racial demographics. You’ll find organizations of all sorts, not limited to just one culture, or any culture at all.
To answer your inquiry, yes, there are people who attend sports games. There is even a club (Rally Club) dedicated to increasing school spirit at different sporting events (not just football and basketball). However, I have to admit that overall, the school spirit is nothing compared to your typical Division 1 schools (e.g., SEC, Big 10, Big 10 schools). Rice focuses much more on academia and because Rice is extremely small, it inevitably contributes to smaller school spirit. If you want to attend a school for the sports games, you might want to consider a public school. With your academic credentials, maybe an honors program too so you can continue to challenge yourself academically.
As to whether people at Rice will like you, well that depends on your outlook on things. You asked for opinions and, given your labeling of people as “weird” or “cool” in your question, my opinion is that, if you want people to like you at Rice, you shouldn’t sound as pretentious as you do in your question. I’m sure you didn’t mean to give off that impression, but most Rice students are open-minded and are rubbed off by people who try to label others without first getting to know them. Maybe that’s “weird” by the standards of today’s society.
My son is a freshman at Rice and is loving it. He is very active in his residential college and serves on a student governing council. He is very social and very academically oriented. He is not a drinker but enjoys outings with friends of which he has made many. He has no interest in sports (other than jogging) but has several friends who actively participate. He is a WASP but several of his closest friends are of different races and religions. The tight knit residential college system, he tells me, has been wonderful for mixing students up of various backgrounds. He really loves this aspect of Rice. My impression of the school based on what I’ve seen, read, and what my son tells me is that it attracts all types (jocks and non-jocks, religious and non-religious, partiers and non-partiers,etc.) with a common theme being that all are high academic achievers that take their studies seriously (of course some more than others). As noted, the school is comparatively small and does not have the sports scene and spirit of your typical large public universities. It is not for everyone, but it certainly has been for my son.