<p>I'm a junior considering applying to Rice next year. I know from the stats on the website that Rice is around 40-50% Texans. I don't have anything against Texans per se, I'm just worried about "culture shock." I know Texas is very different from the culture of the West Coast, and I'm wondering about the influence of Texas culture/Texas students on the overall feel of the university. For out of staters... was it hard to adjust?</p>
<p>Also, it'd be great if anyone could give me any input into the humanities... specifically the English, History, Classics or Linguistics departments. What are the professors like? Is there a good selection of courses?</p>
<p>Finally, I know this is kind of trivial but how hot does it get during the school year? Because I don't do super well in heat.... I like the rain!</p>
<p>I’m from Ohio, and I didn’t experience any culture shock. Houston is a fairly cosmopolitan, American city. </p>
<p>It might be pretty hot in August/September and in May (can get into the 90s), but other than that, weather in Houston is generally nice (except when it rains).</p>
<p>This question has been asked many times before, so if you search through this forum and read lots of the old threads it should answer your concerns. The short answer is that, no, you probably won’t feel much culture shock. Texas is HUGE and very diverse, and Rice is a accepting and welcoming of students of all sorts and persuasions. It would probably be more exciting if there was a lot of “culture shock,” but unfortunately, you will not find many ex-rodeo cowboys who spit chewing tobacco and stroll around in boots on Rice campus… that’s a Texas that exists mostly in the movies. ;)</p>
<p>I live in a suburb of New York and I’ve learned that the who NY metropolitan area has an air of unkindness and coldness. Perhaps Texas may unnerve me, too.</p>
<p>I don’t think there should be much of a culture shock, if any. I’ve lived in Texas for a long time and I know the stereotypes, of course there are people who fit them, in certain places. I certainly don’t, though, and neither do any of the people whom I know that are going to Rice. Also, in my experience most people in big cities like Houston are fairly cosmopolitan.</p>
<p>there are some elements of Texas culture (chicken fried chicken) that make their way into Rice culture, but nothing extreme or too divisive. People are pretty open-minded and I had absolutely no problem adjusting. In fact, I actually thought it was a cool cultural experience. Plus my friends had fun teaching me about things like the Rodeo or Texas Toast.</p>
<p>I lived in Texas the first half of my life, then moved to New England. In my experience, Texans in general are MUCH friendlier than people in the northeast. I don’t miss the heat, but I miss the people!</p>
<p>I do agree that Texans are very friendly. I’m so glad I didn’t go to school in the Northeast… frankly, i think the South/Southwest should be the college destination for high-achieving students, not the Northeast.</p>
<p>In Texas, and in abundance at Rice, you will find something that is in short supply in other areas of the country, particularly on college campuses: respect for all points of view.</p>
<p>I think if you’re not Christian you might experience a small dose of culture shock. Not like you would at a Christian-affiliated university, of course, but depending on your background you might find that there are more devout Christian students than you were surrounded by at your high school. That was certainly the case for my daughter. As Wobudong said, though, respect for all points of view does seem to be the norm.</p>