Anonymous wrote:To parents whose kids are already in Rice.

Could you please share your thoughts on 1)Residential Schools
2) Learning environment
3) Dorms

DD got in from WA and appreciate your feedback.

Congrats to your daughter! My kid is a first year student and Rice and really enjoying it. The residential college system has been very welcoming. I would recommend, if you're able, going to visit. TBH, Rice wasn't super high on my kid's list, but she really fell in love with it last April and chose it over one of the WASP schools.

A bunch of folks dump on the Houston weather, and yes, summers are awful, but the rest of the year is essentially flip-flop and shorts weather. The residential colleges all have their own dedicated outdoor spaces, so if you go you'll see communal hammocks, bbq pits, sundecks, etc.

The college promotes what they call a culture of caring, which sounds kind of bs-y, but I think actually is a thing. Academics are rigorous. My kid is working hard. But she appreciates being around a bunch of smart fun people. Good luck with your decision.

Thank you so much!

Anonymous wrote:
To parents whose kids are already in Rice.

Could you please share your thoughts on 1)Residential Schools
2) Learning environment
3) Dorms

DD got in from WA and appreciate your feedback.

Not my kid personally, but know a ton of alums and current students, and they have all loved it (and speak highly of these factors). Any particular questions?

I'll also note that Rice is fantastic and in a great location (beautiful leafy, green campus that doesn't feel urban and neighbors a residential community and lively shopping hub on one side and Hermann park on the other, while still being walking distance to the Med Center, Museum district and light rail access to downtown.) And while Houston's overall climate is ... sub-optimal, it lines up pretty perfectly with the Academic Calendar, minus the heat that lingers into the Fall. For someone from WA it's actually an amazing balance - Houston's best weather tends to be Feb-April, exactly when WA is in the long dark, and then go home to the PNW for the glorious summer months when Houston turns into the surface of the sun.

We moved to Houston a while ago and that was the ONE (insurmountable) knock against Rice for our kid - it was just too close to home for what she wanted out of a college experience. If we lived literally anywhere else - including just an hour further out - it would have been at the top of her list.