Rice University Top Questions

They are very smart and apply themselves.

They are pretty much as I expected.

Rice students are friendly and helpful to one another, and they're always fun to be around.

Generally speaking, Rice students are quirky and laid back. There isn't a cut-throat competitive environment here. It's much more collaborative, which is quite refreshing.

The students at Rice are nonjudgemental and really nice.

The student body at Rice is one of the most diverse of any university in the country. Students come from all over the world and each and every one has unique experiences and characteristics that have shaped Rice's culture into one like no other. Financially, they're all across the spectrum as Rice is indeed expensive but also has a very good financial aid program. Racially, there's a group for every denomination possible and while this helps many retain their culture and share it with the rest of the student body, it is in no way dividing as this diversity has created a very strong culture of acceptance. There are some cliques within campus, however the majority of students have a group of friends that accurately reflects the diversity of the entire campus. Most importantly, nobody can ever feel out of place at Rice. There's a extremely similar friend for everybody and an extremely dissimilar friend that you would never think you would get along with for everybody as well.

The student population is quite diverse starting off with having people from all over the world and having different cultures. While most people outside of the university hold the common stereotype that most people who attend are rich this is false and due to the great financial aid there are people from different socio-economic statuses. Most students dress casually for class and have casual interactions with one another. Different types of students interact with one another which is great for intellectual conversation where you can gain different perspectives on issues.

Students at Rice are awesome! Some might describe them as a unique bunch. Most of us have a unique passion, hobby, or talent. We're okay describing ourself as a little weird...it's normal on campus. Rice students can be serious when they need to (midterms) and crazy when they want to be. The best way to get a feel for the type of students that come here is to come visit. Do it! If you're a senior, stay overnight in a residential college and experience a day in the life of a Rice student. I promise you'll understand what it'll all about afterwards.

Everyone at Rice (even the athletes which have an unfair reputation of being, let's just say, less intelligent than the rest of the student body) is unbelievably smart and has worked their butt off to get where they are. Discussions in classes are robust, and the diverse student body (we've got kids from China to Italy and everywhere in between)ensures that there will be an interesting perspective on issues. Kids here turned down offers from the best schools in the country (common rejected schools include Vanderbilt and Northwestern but some Rice students turned down the Harvards and Stanfords which is a testament to how great Rice really is), and its really cool to study among some of the smartest kids in the world. You can find any group you want on campus. Every religious group, every skin color, every socio-economic group can be found at Rice. It's really that diverse. No one would feel uncomfortable at Rice. Although Rice is so diverse, some groups segregate themselves together. Asians (especially those from China) have a group to themselves and can be seen speaking only Chinese on campus. Athletes stick together. Blacks gravitate towards each other. I can't fault anyone for this (you hang out who you are comfortable with), but what I just wrote is a generalization. Students of all different backgrounds hang out, study, eat, etc with each other. No matter what color, ethnicity, religion, whatever you are, you can fit in at Rice. About 50{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of Rice students are from Texas but every state in the United States is represented here. We also have kids from China, Thailand, Spain, the UAE, and even the Virgin Islands. Students don't dress up to class. It's 1000X more likely for the girls to be in pajamas than in dresses. There is the Ralph Lauren, Sperry-wearing set but they are highly underrepresented. No one cares about your brand of clothes. If they are clean (and even if they aren't), they are good enough for most Rice students. Like I said above, most Rice kids are solidly middle-class (the ones who have some financial aid but not all). While they are not poor, most students don't have money to spend on expensive clothes or restaurants. In fact on Saturday night (where all of Rice's serveries close to encourage students to explore Houston), it can be a challenge to find people to out to a restaurant other than Smashburger or Chick Fil-A. Your parents money doesn't matter all that much at Rice. People don't judge you if your poor or rich. Rice students are so insular (aka they never leave campus!) and poorly dressed that it can almost be hard to distinguish the rich from the not. Many students need extra spending money and hold on-campus jobs (which are guaranteed for students on financial aid). I've heard that having a job at Rice is hard because of the continual barrage of homework we receive. As a Political Science major (and a conservative), I can accurately say the majority of Rice University students have left-of-center political beliefs. Nearly all students are politically apathetic though and you have to question them to gauge their political beliefs. Rice is nowhere near as liberal as the Northeastern schools (we are in Texas after all), but Rice is definitely more left-wing than its Southern location would suggest and even more left-wing than its Democratic-leaning Houston location.

I think they are smart and warm-hearted people.

My classmates are generally very accepting of everyone they encounter; they are inviting and well-meaning but occasionally can be inconsiderate if they don't know someone's situation outside of school, although they don't mean to be.

People at Rice are so different in their interests, cultures, personalities, talents, etc, but everyone has a venue to express/enjoy themselves, from college sports to acapella music groups, cultural festivals to crazy campus traditions (think, world record largest water balloon fight), and everyone is 'smart,' we all came from the top of our highschool classes, but at Rice everyone sort of fans out into their particular nitche.

Students here range from artsy and academically indifferent (minority of students) to academically intense and career-driven (majority of students).

People who are incredibly bright, friendly, humble, and hilarious all rolled up into one.

Peole I'm grateful to have met.

Rice students are very studious and serious about their work. That said, many are too serious about partying too. Orientation week can be an opportunity to meet friends that you will have for your entire life, but if you are placed into the wrong orientation group or you don't like the social atmosphere at your "college," you may find yourself feeling isolated and be left without the resources to meet others and make new friends.

We are not the typical nerds. We are definitely nerdy but we also keep our cool about us. We are fun out going and easy to get along with. Everyone is open to do new and interesting things and everyone is willing to get to help each other out with studying and learning.

Everyone is very sociable and concerned in your future.

Rice students are absolutely unique: conversations can drift from politics to repairing hard drives to Super Smash Brothers to a local indie band in a span of 3 minutes. We are all incredibly driven, talented, and curious individuals. Everyone at Rice is also incredibly friendly! There's a fair mix of people, and you can probably find all types if you look. Some examples of large people-groups on campus are: gamers, the environmentally conscious, religiously affiliated, technophiles, motivated sign-up-for-everything "doers", nerds, and partiers. None of these groups is mutually exclusive, and this yields some amazing people.

My classmates are brilliant, motivated, engaged and social individuals.