<p>Also to answer your questions in your earlier post, the visit is more for the students to check out the school. I hate to talk in definites, but if one has received a Visions invitation, they are in, unless their grades drop drastically or they have a run-in with the law. Since Rice has taken away Interim Decision, a lot more of the Visions invitees will be from the RD pool. With ED candidates, they don't need to persuade them to come to the school, since they attend under binding circumstances. </p>
<p>BTW, if you were wondering why my posts are so late in the night, I have lots of homework that I procrastinated on this weekend. Getting up for class tomorrow will not be fun. : (</p>
<p>Houston traffic can be unpredictable, especially around rush hours 4 P.M. & up...Going from Bush IAH to Rice means traveling from north to (near) southwest part of Houston. From IAH to downtown you might have light traffic, from downtown to Rice, you'll encounter a lot of commuters going home. </p>
<p>If the scheduled arrival time is 4 P.M., I would plan on actually leaving the airport 4:30 P.M. assuming there's no delay. 9 out of 10 times when I pick up my husband from IAH, the flights are delayed. I actually do not remember the last time he arrived early. I also do not remember seeing any metro buses at IAH. Even if there are metro buses, it will possibly take a good few hours to get to Rice.</p>
<p>From Hobby to Rice, the best route to avoid traffic might be to take I-45-->610, exit Kirby. Hobby to Rice is a much shorter distance.</p>
<p>P.S. it takes forever to get luggage from the baggage claims area, better not check in the bags, that also means no fluid (???) in your carryon.</p>
<p>A decent way to go is to take one of the many shuttles that depart from the baggage claims. Look for the signs around the baggage claims. They range from $22-26, much cheaper than a taxi, and much quicker than a bus. Tell them you want to go to Rice University, and if they stare at you, say the Med Center. Most of the shuttles don't go directly to Rice but the drivers will drop people off there if you tell them where to go.</p>
<p>I'm just a kid in the Houston area, so take my advice worth a grain of salt, but...</p>
<p>In my opinion, IAH (George Bush) is way cleaner/prettier/newer than Hobby, so it would make for a better first impression of Houston, etc... it's farther distance-wise, but it's location time-wise is not that big of a deal. IAH to Rice is about 30 minutes (or less, if no traffic) by car, but as for public transportation I couldn't tell you.</p>
<p>Rush hour is tricky downtown, but most commuters are taking the freeways OUT of the city, while your son would be going IN to the city... I don't think it'll be a problem at all.</p>
<p>so only those who are most likely accepted get the invitation? or is it only minorities who are most likely accepted? because i didn't get an invitation yet and im indian (the asian kind of indian) so does that mean my chances of getting in arent that great?</p>
<p>Rice is supposed to have shuttles running (like it said on the invite), but does anyone know where these shuttles will be leaving from? I've been to IAH quite a few times, but it was only when connecting international flights so I don't know anything about actually getting out of the airport.</p>
<p>Last year my son attended Owl weekend for accepted students. They had shuttles running (we flew into Bush). When we arrived downstairs in the baggage claim area, there were huge signs that said "Rice University". All the kids met there. </p>
<p>You might want to call the admissions office and find out where to meeting the shuttles. My guess would be baggage claim area, but check with the school.</p>
<p>i got invited! i just got it today. i'm a minory rd applicant. i might go... do we not take our parents with us? we get to stay in a dorm room?
i've never heard of this before... i'm excited though actually. a good reason to skip school for a few days...</p>
<p>kcb452: Congrats!! From what I've learned by researching Vision 2008, it is a good thing! Your chances at being excepted are huge, and if you are excepted, this is your chance to vistit and learn about Rice as well as them meeting you.(on their dime!!) It will help in the decision process if you receive multiple offers. As far as I know, it is NOT for your parents. I do believe you will stay in the dorm with a host. My son is excited. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Question: When Rice says to wear your "Sunday best" for the alumni/faculty dinner, what does that entail? I'm not really a church person, so I kind of stupid about these things.</p>
<p>I would think that means nice slacks/khaki's, dress shirts, women dresses/skirts if you want - or nice pants, etc. No flip-flops, old jeans and tshirts.</p>
<p>When I went to a faculty dinner at the University of Arizona a couple weeks ago, they told us to wear slack/khaki's and a dress shirt, so that's what I'm gonna wear on Monday.</p>