<p>You have to consider the sheer, massive size of Texas in all its glory.</p>
<p>It’s probably a little smaller or a little bigger than California as one of the biggest states.</p>
<p>Moreover, since Rice is most famous in Texas, you will certainly see tons more TX applicants than, say, Massachusetts or Connecticut or Wyoming, etc.</p>
<p>Those two things alone will by itself generate a huge Texas applicant pool. It’s not that Rice favors TX applicants or doesn’t favor them, but the fact of the matter is the majority of applicants for Rice right now are TX residents so that’s how almost half the student body are Texans.</p>
<p>Thus, you have tons more competition regionally speaking, than if you were from North Dakota.</p>
<p>Rice is trying to break away from its Texas-majority association and thus trying to diversify itself and branch out more to reach out to the rest of the country and to spread its name as well; it is by no means discriminating against TX applicants, however. You’ll just be up against a lot more competition, and talented and driven competition at that.</p>