<p>Rice is in a very nice, affluent part of Houston. There is one direction from campus where you need to be careful, but you won’t go there anyway. Everything you need is available and it is very safe. I think Rice offers one of the truly excellent college experiences. My daughter was a music performance major there and is a MDiv grad student at a top university now. Feel free to ask any questions. Rice has all the advantages of a larger university but also a very nurturing environment with a residential college system. That said, admission to a performance degree program is extremely competitive. However, there are performance opportunities for non-majors.</p>