<p>@ FallenAngel9: It does give a socially skilled person an advantage I think. But at the same time, socially skilled people would probably prefer to be around other socially skilled individuals. I’m not claiming that I’m socially skilled; I am socially awkward many times. While I probably fit in more as the typical Rice student versus the typical Duke student, I think it is sometimes good to go to a school that will push you to be different in a positive way. I think after coming to Duke, my social skills have improved, whereas they stayed somewhat stagnant at Rice for me. Being around other somewhat socially awkward people gives me less motivation to improve my social skills, which are very necessary for networking/later life success.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, I want to make it clear that not everyone at Rice is socially awkward. There are many socially adept people there, but I would say I felt the presence of the social awkwardness my freshman year at Rice. However, I think the residential college system does a good job in turning a initially group of socially awkward students into more socially refined adults. Plus, being socially awkward is not necessarily bad thing… I much prefer feeling the presence of social awkwardness in a student body versus feeling the presence of snobs in a student body (which I sometimes feel about the Duke student body… but again, the snobs are in the minority here because I also met some of the most down-to-earth people here). I will say that Rice students are among the friendliest, most down-to-earth students you will ever meet though… that is true for the majority of Rice students.</p>