<p>John - Good luck to you and your daughter with the visits. What I would suggest is your daughter research the webistes of each dept for basic info - and questions she wants to follow up on. I would also have her write down a number of the questions she has (whether from Slithey’s list or elsewhere) - and then at the meeting, pull out her notebook to take notes of some of the answers as well as refer to some of the questions she has. Having them written will help her with the confidence factor - and coming across as prepared is never a bad thing.</p>
<p>Hmmm, their outrageous indignation and overthetop responses at having Rice be identified as being in the inner city and being pompous and extravagant in some aspects didn’t give you a hint of this?</p>
<p>No kidding!! It reminds me not so much of a reality show as a show like Twin Peaks. And now I have to go back and re-read from the beginning just to be sure I actually understood all the “clues” and “allusions”</p>
<p>Where I live not trust fund kids but genius science types go to Rice. Wait— are we in a loop here?</p>
<p>It took many many posts from many, many posters for the OP to, <em>maybe</em>, understand that the term “inner city” is not only a mischaracterization of the campus and its location, but also, as was explained multiple times, has a derogatory connotation. A simple “oops, my error” would have been fine, but the adament insistence that he was right and all of us were wrong is what was antagonistic, pompous and indignant, indeed. But enough about that already. Water under the bridge. No need to play rough again, bb, unless thats what you like ;)</p>
<p>Rice is very generous with its scholarship money. The “bored trust fund kids” crack was not only a purposeful, mean-spirited smack, it was wrong. Sure, there are some wealthy kids there. Why not? Wealthy kids are everywhere. As was noted earlier. Oh, and the need to insult the school for having gorgeous grounds, facilities, resources and decor, thats just ridiculous. Oh wait, thats what the OP was proud of when he went back to visit his alma mater. Hypocritical ,much?</p>
<p>Jym and MOWC, Rice was our first college tour as we were about to move from Houston to Dallas at the end of d’s soph year. I <em>made</em> her go (“I don’t want to go to college in Houston!” “We’ll never have as convenient a tour” - Rice was practically in our backyard).</p>
<p>Well. We left the info session and d commented “That was great! Small classes all taught by professors!” She <em>never</em> wavered from that sentiment and only applied at very small LACs. Nor did she waver from her desire to go somewhere other than Houston :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Did I mention an interview anywhere? Hmmm. Nope. I don’t recall that…</p>
<p>No “interviews” tommorrow. And I would NEVER consider sitting in on an interview, or a class with my daughter. No way. </p>
<p>“OMG am I the only person on this thread that didn’t realize your kids are Rice grads?..”</p>
<p>Alh, Honestly? It was practically shoved down our throats on a thread about… (wait for it…) TSU…</p>
<p>I think my approach toward helping her is similar to what you described… Sounds reasonable, considering the child I’m dealing with at the moment…</p>
<p>“I don’t want to go to college in Houston!” </p>
<p>Pretty much my daughter’s opinion as well. I tried to point out what a great reputation the school had, the “owl” band that I thought would appeal to her, and the relatively small size. And the fact that it was only an hour from home. </p>
<p>Nope. She couldn’t see past the crowded big city conditions. Guess either it bothers you or it doesn’t. It definitely bothered her. </p>
<p>Personally I thought that campus in Houston was nice, considering how busy the city around us was… But then, so is the U of H Clear Lake campus… Doesn’t “feel” like you’re in a big city at all. </p>
<p>My personal opinions of the school were both good and bad. That is, until I was force-fed by some of the parents here. Now it’s mostly bad…</p>
<p>Thats exactly what it is all about, Highlandmom! My s’s visited local and state schools to get a feel for big,small,urban, rural (college town) University, LAC, etc, to get an idea of what they wanted in a college. As many have wisely said, the academics are certainly important, but only a part of the complete college experience. Both of my kids REFUSED to apply to the big, pretty well respected, CHEAP flagship U. Older s applied to the well respected flagship Tech school as his safety, but the program he was initially interested in (applied physics) wasn’t their strong point. Now, since we know kids change their minds, he ended up becoming a mechanical engineer, and in retrospect wondered if he should have considered the flagship tech school. At the time, though, Rice was (and IMO still is) the best fit for him. Would he have done fine at the tech school, made friends, gotten a great education, etc? Sure. Would we have saved a lot of $$? Sure. Am I still convinced that he made the absolute right choice for himself in choosing Rice? Absolutely! One bases their decision on the information available to them at the time. This is probably true for the OPs dau as well. Sounds like, whatever her reasons are, she wants to go to TSU. Fine. Might she change her mind or reflect back and rethink her decision later? Sure. Thats pretty normal. Might she transfer? Maybe yes, maybe no. No matter. We all do truly wish her well and hope that she has a great college experience. What was perplexing to some of us was for the OP to feel the need to kick the dog as he walked by. JMO</p>
<p>Many of us were ones to point the OP to look at Rice, and in fact, I was one who suggested he look at their band program (the MOB). That was a few mos back, in another thread. If his dau is turned off or frightened by walking past homeless people in Houston, as he posted somewhere, fine. Whatever. There have been many,many threads over the years about kids who arrived at a school and wouldn’t get out of the car!! LOL. Those “drive-by campus visit” stories have been told without the need to insult the school, its students or the parents of the students.</p>
<p>** As an aside, my s was very active in organizing students and personally helping the homeless people/Katrina victims that were relocated to Houston in 2005. We have incredible photos of the people and the acrivities that went on to care for them at Reliant stadium. An extraordinarily rewarding experience for him.</p>
<p>That was an amazing time to live in Houston. Bill White did a fabulous job of mobilizing and energizing people, and people just rolled up their sleeves and pitched in.</p>
<p>Yes, absolutely correct HighlandMom. It was an incredible experience. Did you live there then too? The photos my s sent of the people, the rows and rows of cots, makeshift health clinics, the pallets of water bottles, huge, MASSIVE containers of bluejeans packaged together with strapping like they were put in some huge compresser (I dont know how to describe it, but ther must have been hunderds of prs of jeans compressed and strapped together and delivered, huge quantites of stuffed animals, etc. etc. What an experience to be a part of. So while there are things peple do not like about attending a school in a large city, there are certainly incredible opportunities as well.</p>
<p>No, I think people are just dicusssing Houston. As a long time resident of Dallas, I would observe that few people are indifferent to Houston. Of course, we in Dallas think we’re superior and would never dream of living in Houston and vice versa for Houston residents.</p>
<p>My daughter (and her church group) did a lot of work with the Katrina victims at Reliant, too. It was quite a learning experience and certainly gave all these “bored trust fund kids” a different view of the world. </p>
<p>But just think- if you go to Texas State you can float down the river on a tube dragging a 6 pack of beer behind you! (I’m not knocking it…) My PhD friend who is a Texas State grad worked as an underwater clown while he was in college. Maybe your daughter could look into that, John.</p>
<p>I spent a lot of my childhood in Texas, and I always got the impression that folks saw Dallas as somehow more “upscale” and Houston as more “industrial.” I think those descriptions fit, more or less. I know Houston has a certain “odor” to it that I don’t care for… And my wife and I were both born there!</p>
<p>Personally, I’m of the opinion that I don’t really see why anyone would want to live in a huge metro area like that if they don’t have to. When I chose my college and my major, it was with that idea in mind. That I would never have to work and live in a place like Dallas or Houston if I didn’t want to. And I don’t. So all is good :D</p>
<p>missypie- As a Dallas resident, I certainly felt that way. Surprisingly, my daughter hated Dallas and really grew to love Houston and even misses many things about it. She felt that Houston offered more culturally (I think Dallas has improved a lot in the last 6 years or so) and was more diverse. I will also note that she only spent one summer in Houston, and that’s the worst time to be there.</p>
<p>Unfortunately John it is true. Apparantly some folks can’t help themselves in continuing to bloviate about Rice. I guess they feel the need to pat themselves on the back and convince themselves that their child made the right decision to attend there. It is indeed pathetic behavior if you ask me. I am not sure why they feel such a need to defend their choice and to hijack this thread but apparantly they do. Perhaps insecurity does that to you.</p>
<p>Anyway, all the best with your visits to TSU and UT. I doubt anyone will talk about Rice there</p>