Rice University Student Reviews

Student Body

So far I have found everyone I've met to be extremely accepting of any and all differences. We run the gamut of all socio-economic classes, are gender balanced, have people from all races (though white, Indian, and asian predominate). I personally have friends from pretty much every "social group" I can think of. Different "types" of students mix all the time. Probably the most cliqueish of students are the athletes, but I've found that if you go over and sit with them they are more than happy to have you. There is a good mix of political activism and apathy at Rice. I think alot of students are too busy with homework to spend much time watching the news, but people who are passionate about an issue often stand up and address everyone in the commons at meals and invite them to come to events that showcase those issues. As for politics, like America in general Rice is fairly polarized, with most people either ascribing to the Neo-conservative, ultra-religious, God-fearing right or the Neo-feminist, ultra-socialist, God-ignoring left. As a very-nearly dead-center moderate, I fit with neither group, but can say first hand that both groups accept each other completely--there are neither fist-fights nor artillery duels in the academic quad. I just wish there were more moderates to hang out with. Alot of people at Rice are religious, it is a school in the Bible-belt portion of Texas after all. That said the religious and non-religious get together essentially perfectly: they like the atheists and get along with them find even though they are going straight to hell. For example, I live in a six-man suite, with 4 roommates who are members of perhaps the most arch-conservative protestant group on campus, and one atheist,and myself (a conscientious objector to the religion debate), and I'm equally close to each of them.