<p>What is the weather like in Rice? I live in NJ, so all that comes to mind when I think of Texas is blistering hot weather. Will there ever be a time when long pants and sweaters are necessary? </p>
<p>I visit New york city often, and i love the city, and I am glad that Houston is right next to Rice. Although Houston may not have as many attractions as NYC, i’m sure theres more than enough to satisfy a college student. However, clothes, food, and other commodities are quite expensive in NYC. Are clothes, food, etc expensive in Houston? For example, a plain hot dog costs 2 or 3 dollars in NYC. Are a lot of things overpriced in Houston as well?</p>
<p>Do you think the admissions officers will care if I don’t play basketball and lacrosse during my senior year because I will be getting a job? I love the two sports, but I believe that getting a job will be more beneficial to me. Besides, I play basketball with my friends almost every night anyway.</p>
<p>Weather:
Yeah, the winters here are mild, but enough to warrant long sleeves, long pants, and for a few weeks, a medium jacket. It rarely snows here, but it rains pretty often, especially in the early summer. And in the summer, when the heat is sweltering, you might still want long sleeves when you go indoors to freezing air-conditioning!</p>
<p>Cost:
Depends where you go. There are always expensive places in the medical center (across the street from Rice - one sandwich shop charges like $8 for a sandwich, ick) and in the Rice Village (opposite end of campus from the medical center). However, there are inexpensive places to be found if you look for them. The few places on the Rice campus for food are decent in price - you can get a big sandwich at 13th Street for $4-5 or cheese fries at Sammy’s for under $2. You can go out to some places in the Rice village and spend less than $10 for your dinner. Keep in mind that if you live on campus, you’re required to buy the full meal plan.</p>
<p>Sports:
I’m not in the habit of giving anyone admissions advice. It’s up to you - do what will work best for you this year.</p>
<p>Cost:
I spent $2500 last year. I had prepared for $4000, so I guess your answer is that Houston isn’t all that expensive. Most students spend somewhere between $1000 and $1750 a semester, which isn’t a ridiculous amount.</p>
<p>WEATHER:
Lol, a phrase you’ll hear often in this area of TX (it’s a running joke): “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity!”… and it is TRUE!
For example, if it’s say, 102 F outside but with 80% humidity, the ‘heat index’ (what is feels like) will be oh, idk, around 108! This is during summer though, when you won’t be on campus.
I agree, winters are mild, but it does get down to about 30 F for a few weeks in Dec/Jan… Almost never any snow. Ever. At least not in Houston. We had a few feet (like, 1-2) in winter of 2003 and it was like a Christmas miracle. So say goodbye to white winters for awhile if you go to Rice.</p>
<p>COST:
Houston and the surrounding area is actually considered one of the most affordable places in the country. Btw, Rice isn’t next to Houston, it’s IN Houston! lol. Rice is in a pretty up-scale area of downtown, so there will be expensive boutiques and restaurants, but really, it’s not that bad. I agree with emilia… It’s all about where you go… It won’t be any more expensive than NYC, and will be far less expensive the farther out of the city you travel.</p>
<p>SPORTS:
I can’t tell you what they’ll think. If you are worried, send them a letter explaining the situation or something.</p>
<p>Rice is IN Houston, not next to it. It is fairly close to downtown, but in a really pretty area with expensive homes and upscale shopping. There are lots of trees on and around campus.<br>
It is hot and humid for the summer and early fall months. It starts warming up again in April, but the winters are pretty mild. There is lots of rain- bring boots and umbrellas.</p>
<p>Speaking of rain, we got soaked by a tropical depression today, and I got three emails, a call, a voicemail, and two text messages from the Rice Emergency Weather notification about it, lol. To “weather,” you might want to add “tropical disturbances” - I’m currently keeping my eye on Hurricane Dean, which looks to be headed into the Gulf. If it doesn’t significantly weaken after hitting the Caribbean islands and the Mexican coast and still remains in the Gulf, we might be in for a LOT of rain (or worse) at the end of next week, right when students are coming back on campus.</p>
<p>You’ll find all the usual national chain clothing stores in Houston like the Gap and Macys, Nordstroms, Dillards etc. Clothing prices are definitely reasonable.</p>
<p>In terms of the sports, don’t quit man. Sports are one of the greatest things in the world. Theres nothing like playing on a basketball team or a lax team. I thought last year about quitting my basketball team because of school and I didn’t and I am so glad that I didn’t. You need balance in your life. Exercise is good for the mind and good for the body. If your in shape, you will feel good and you will look good. Playing a sport will also relieve stress. I know you play basketball with your friends, but nothing compares to playing on the school team. I’m not sure about your school, but at mine, about 100 freshman try out for the two freshman teams, and ~30 people make them. Then at JV, the number is ~15. Then when you get to varsity its ~5-7 per seniors. If you play varsity basketball, you have a special talent and you would be doing a disservice to anyone whose spot you took by quitting. I’m sure the same goes for lax. Please don’t stop playing sports because of school reasons…it’s just not worth it. Study hard and play hard at the same time.</p>
<p>there is no race tolerance. people tell me to build railraods all day. but really its cool and if you dont feel you fit in, Houston has a giant China/Korea/Viet/Etc-Town.</p>
<p>I have no idea how many Korean students Rice has, but Rice’s diverse student body does include a lot of Asian students. Racial interaction at Rice is really great (I think we were ranked number one for race/class interaction a few years ago). There are various groups on campus that focus on and celebrate different cultures, but Rice’s small size and college system really forces people to get to know students from demographics other than their own, so there aren’t really cliques on campus.</p>