<p>@ slik nik</p>
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I know what you mean about the south, but I hadn’t heard that about the southwest. What colleges are you thinking of?</p>
<p>Really, BerkeleyMom? I found it to be the opposite. Or maybe there are more devout Christians, but there are also more secularists, and secularism is definitely more of a dominant culture than it was in my high school.</p>
<p>BerkeleyMom, I totally respect your view, but I think you and your daughter might have been a little affected by where you all are coming from…I am from Florida and my roommate this year was from the Bay Area. She told me a lot about how liberal it was, etc. which may account for your daughter’s culture shock when coming here. I’m from a small town so I was totally used to devout Christians, and in fact I found that Rice seemed a lot less religious than where I was coming from.</p>
<p>I only know a few people who are super super religious and they’ve never tried to convert me or anything like that. I think (like most college campuses) students run on the less-religious side in general, or at least they don’t flaunt it that much. There are a ton of spiritual and religious resources available but I’ve never felt like Christianity was dominant at all, nor did I feel like there was even an abundance of devout Christians on campus. Most people don’t even talk about religion except among their close friends and the environment here on campus is one that’s very open and accepting of all faiths/beliefs.</p>
<p>Well, where we live (Berkeley), if your friends are devoutly anything (which in itself would put you in the minority), they’re as likely to be Buddhist as Christian, so my daughter’s experience may not have been the norm.</p>
<p>look, if you’re a scaredy-cat afraid of texas, then you might want to stay in your home state… don’t be a baby, grow up, it’s college man. how are you going to travel outside of the u.s. if schooling in texas strikes terror in your heart?</p>
<p>@BerkeleyMom: thanks for the comments. I actually do live in the Bay Area so while your daughter’s background might not be applicable to many people, it is to me!</p>
<p>@RiceStudent: I don’t think you need to be so rude. I never said I was “afraid of texas.” I actually have been to Texas and I have traveled outside of the US on several occasions; but it’s one thing to travel somewhere and another to live there for four years. I never meant to imply that I think poorly of Texas, and I’m sorry if you took this thread to indicate that I look down on TX. I feel my concerns about culture shock are legitimate. I’m not being a baby for wanting to consider all factors about a school, including how comfortable I would feel in its culture, before applying. Maybe you should “grow up” if you spend your time posting offensive comments on CC to someone interested in the school you attend.</p>
<p>if you’ve visited texas and are still unsure, i’d rather you not come. THANKS PEACE OUT CALI</p>
<p>I have lived half my life (the former half) in Houston and half my life in the ultraliberal San Francisco Bay Area, and I have to say that Houston is not filled with the stereotypical hillbilly, cowboy hat wearing, horse riding Southerner. Houston is very diverse and has a broad variety of people from different backgrounds, races, economic status, and political ideologies. Houstonians on average are also very nice, also a plus :). However, I have never personally visited Rice.</p>
<p>The only aspect of Houston I do not like are the muggy summers. But other than that, Houston is pretty awesome!</p>
<p>I have lived in Texas all my life, I am Asian. Texas as a whole and the city of Houston is nothing like what you think it to be, it’s a completely normal place. Houston is the 4th largest city in the US. The mayor is openly gay, really don’t be scared of Texas it’s a common misconception.</p>
<p>For some reason, I think Texas really gets a bad rap on the West Coast. Whenever my friends discover I am from Houston, the first thing they ask is “Did you ride your horse to school??”
“No, I didn’t. Do you ride your surfboard to school?”</p>
<p>Also I don’t think there will be “culture shock”. You’re not going to be going to a Deep South rural town, you’re going to one of the top Universities in the nation.</p>
<p>Oh yeah regarding the weather-- the winters are very mild and dry, similar to the Bay Area’s winters. The rest of the year is hot, humid, and rainy. At least from what I can recall. Also floods are pretty common, but usually in the summer.</p>
<p>I hope RiceStudent is not typical of Rice students. To the OP, I appreciate your question. Given recent news about Texas’ decision on textbooks, it’s very appropriate and fair to ask questions about culture.</p>
<p>^^what bay area do you live in? i thought the winter was the rainy season! lol.</p>
<p>thanks lamere. I certainly hope RiceStudent is not a typical RiceStudent either.</p>
<p>I know people in Houston don’t ride to school on horses. I’m not super ignorant and I like to consider myself fairly unprejudiced about Texas. I’m not implying that Texans are all fundamentalist conservative cowboys or something. But vvs said, “Houstonians on average are also very nice, also a plus,” and I’m sure there are many other differences as well. I’m not saying I don’t like people to be nice but maybe you can understand how it would be weird for me, when I’m used to people being rather brusque, if not rude, if suddenly everyone’s saying hello on the streets and stuff. This is a pretty minor example, but all these cultural distinctions taken as a whole mean that Texas is very different from California. I don’t think anyone would dispute that.</p>
<p>With this thread, I was just trying to determine in what ways Texas was different, and how difficult it would be for me to adjust. My sense was that while the East Coast and West Coast are different as well, they share more in common than the West Coast with the South/Texas. I’m willing to adapt, but not if it would be a considerable difficulty.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who has tried to help and given intelligent, thoughtful comments.</p>
<p>Haha I’m from the Bay and I don’t think you’ll get any culture shock from people being overly friendly. It’s pretty great. My friends who went to the East Coast had waaaayyyy more of a culture shock than I did, with all the kids from prep schools and just having a more distant East Coast demeanor. People at Rice are more down-to-earth and, in part because there a lot of kids from Texas, more had Rice as their top choice when applying to college - which I think really contributes to the school’s atmosphere. Even at the top East Coast schools, there are a lot of kids who are bitter they didn’t get into an Ivy, or at least that’s what my friends have told me.
Yeah I had initial reservations about coming to Texas, but like people have said before, Rice isn’t some hick town… It’s a top 20 university in one of the country’s biggest and most diverse cities.
Also remember that Texas is huge, the size of many East Coast states, so the percentage of students coming from the “same area” seems larger than it is in comparison to other schools’ statistics.</p>
<p>I was worried about Texas initially. It being Houston and all I’ve heard had convinced me otherwise (I’m not actually a straight-up liberal, more of a libertarian, so I was concerned about the socially conservative side of Texas). In a large city like Houston, though, I doubt my initial fears were legitimate. ^_^</p>
<p>Texas as a WHOLE is conservative and comprised of many, many people who are devout in their Christian faith. (They don’t call it the Bible Belt for nothing after all.) However, there are pockets of the state that are much more liberal. With the growing immigrant population and ever-changing demographics, who knows…the state that has always been red might change. Certain cities like Austin, for example, tend to be more open to alternative viewpoints. Rice itself is a pretty liberal school as far as Texas is concerned. In fact, unlike BerekelyMom, my daughter actually took Rice off her list on 12/30 last year because she was seeking a more conservative environment that wasn’t “as hot and muggy” as she put it. For her, it simply wasn’t a good fit. For the money, OP, Rice can’t be beat. It’s a great school (and a great value) that encourages students who are intellectually curious. I have lived here most of my life and proudly say Rice is our little jewel. I would encourage you to make your own assessment to see if it’s right for you. Good luck!</p>