<p>Rice is ds's no. 1 choice. Initially, I was thinking he can't apply ED because we need financial aid. However, we are below that $80K threshold where Rice guarantees financial aid. Does that mean he SHOULD apply ED to increase his chances of getting in?</p>
<p>Also, does anyone have any info about Questbridge and whether there would be an advantage to applying to Rice that way?</p>
<p>TIA</p>
<p>I would be really hesitant to apply ED if you need financial aid, because Rice has a slighty screwed up way to determine your financial need. It has it’s own internal formula, that often comes out higher than your FAFSA EFC and can leave quite a chunk of change that you have to pay for.</p>
<p>That said, I think Questbridge is an amazingly awesome way to get noticed by schools as someone a little different and offsets the effects of not applying ED. I myself am a Questbridge Non-matched Finalist that got into Rice RD with a really big package coming to me. If you meet the qualifications for Questbridge, absolutely do it. There is nothing to lose in this program, and absolutely everything to gain (plus you get free Applications at the least!).</p>
<p>I applied ED this year and was given the full scholarship (tuition + room + boarding). So was pyles…</p>
<p>But then again my parents make less than 30k a year so it was a guarantee… How much do you make in a year? If it is 60k or less then I suggest you apply ED instead of QuestBrige. If it is >60k then I suggest you apply for QB. The biggest risk with QB is that the number of acceptances for QB is just extremely low compared to ED. From what I’ve seen in my school, the percentage drops drastically if you do QB… It seems like ED = around 30% acceptance while QB would probably be 5-10 students TOTAL for Rice… RD decreases your chances a good portion (possibly 5 points, and more depending if you are OOS or not) so I suggest that if Rice is your #1 choice and you have a fairly good chance of getting a full ride (you make less than 60k) then I suggest you just apply ED</p>
<p>Yhanks for the responses.</p>
<p>Yes, we are under that threshold. So Rice does honor the no-loan financial aid for ED?</p>
<p>I’ve got to research your stats now to see whether he has a shot! ;)</p>
<p>I haven’t heard a case where they did not honor the 80k threshold…</p>
<p>And just pm me if you want to know my stats… I won’t post it on the forum</p>
<p>Here are Tomackze’s stats; I assume he doesn’t feel like wasting the time of typing out all of his stats again.</p>
<p>(yeah, I am actually going to UVA but I am really really ****ed because like Rice fifty times more but my parents are being like, oh we don’t want to spend a lot of money. I am still mourning how I will not be able to attend Rice : ( )</p>
<ul>
<li>School applied to: Humanities</li>
<li>SAT Verbal: 620</li>
<li>SAT Math: 720</li>
<li>SAT Writing: 670</li>
<li>SAT Total: 1340/2010</li>
<li>SAT II: Math IIC: 720; Chem: 680</li>
<li>ACT: n/a</li>
<li>AP/IB taken/scores: APUSH:4; US:5</li>
<li>GPA weighted: n/a</li>
<li>GPA unweighted: 94.46</li>
<li>Rank or % estimate: Not ranked</li>
<li>HS: Top 30 Public</li>
</ul>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<ul>
<li>Essays: (rather not say)</li>
<li>Teacher Recs: Decent</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: Decent</li>
<li>Supplemental Rec(s): n/a</li>
<li>Hook (if any): OOS, (want to major in classical studies…pretty uncommon)</li>
<li>Interview?: Phenomenal</li>
</ul>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<ul>
<li>State or Country: NY</li>
<li>School Type: Public</li>
<li>Ethnicity: Chinese-American</li>
<li>Gender: Male</li>
<li>Financial Aid?(Y/N): Yes</li>
<li>Legacy Yes/No: No</li>
<li>Recruited Yes/No: No</li>
<li>Important ECs: Arista, Animal Room Squad Captain, Camp Interactive, Latin Honors Society</li>
</ul>
<p>Other Factors weaknesses, strengths, etc.): Strength: Essays
Weakness: SATs</p>
<p>General Comments/Congratulations/etc: I went above and beyond on the essays, emailed professors in the classics field, met with Dean Tamara, etc.</p>
<p>I got in ED and I had expected some aid since my parents make less than $60k, but I received none… Apparently, we did not qualify for financial aid because of our assets, so we’re still trying to figure out a way to pay the tuition. I have read other posts in which people have lamented their ineligibility for aid despite being under the $80k threshold.</p>
<p>oh yeah the assets part is a pain…</p>
<p>Rice uses the Institutional Method and the College Profile to determine need. If you make under $80,000 but you have a lot of assets (rental properties, trust funds, big bank accounts etc.) they will take those into account. But if you make less than $80,000 and you have no large assets except house and moderate amount of money (I think the asset protection allowance is around $35-40,000 dollars,), you should receive a substantial amount of financial aid, and a no-loan package. As tomackze says, the assets part is a pain… :)</p>
<p>Ooooooh. Well, we have the house that we’re paying off, and thanks to the stock market we have a lot less in the 401K. Maybe he’ll stick with QB.</p>
<p>You can apply ED to Rice using your Questbridge App if your not matched with them as a finalist. Especially if you rank them, all you have to fill out the verification form and let them know that you want to apply ED.</p>
<p>Your then in the ED pile of application using your Questbridge Application, which I still think is a pretty large advantage. I think the application provides you with an even better opportunity to describe yourself and let the admissions staff get to know you than the normal common application.</p>
<p>The best part might be that Rice waives your fees if you use the Questbridge Application, whether or not you end up being named a scholarship finalist.</p>
<p>Everything you need to know about the requirements to apply through QB can be found on this page: [QuestBridge</a> National College Match - Regular Decision Table](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/students/post_match.html]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/students/post_match.html)</p>
<p>Thanks, fastball. The issue with using QB for ED would still be that ED is binding. We can’t afford to get in that situation without the guarantee of the financial aid that, at first look, we’d qualify for.</p>
<p>Why not apply through QB and list Rice as first (and only) choice. If your S get matched to Rice, it’s a full ride. If not, just have QB put the app through to RD and take your chances with FA.</p>
<p>If your son has other QB colleges that he’d like to try to be matched with, then he should go ahead and list them, but if he gets matched with one, it’s binding. So if he’d be disappointed if it wasn’t Rice, he shouldn’t list any others.</p>
<p>That’s the reason I sat out the ED period of Questbridge after not being matched in the scholarship round. I wanted to weigh my financial aid offers from the schools before I could commit to going to one and had to see the offers before I could rule any out.</p>
<p>It really is a great program and can offer absolutely nothing negative that I can see. If you fall within the qualifications (income is by far the most important) then there really is no downside to at least applying for the program.</p>
<p>Slightly off topic, but I wonder how many kids list only one school for QB. Rice is the one we know he wants, but I’m sure he’d consider others if he had a chance to visit them. However, we can’t afford to fly all over the country looking at schools, and I doubt he’d do something binding sight unseen.</p>
<p>QB is a guarantee full ride and also a binding contract too if accepted…</p>
<p>That is the beauty of QB vs ED. Because in ED you can be screwed over due to assets… in QB I don’t think you can. The worst thing for QB is that you aren’t a finalist or you aren’t accepted… that’s it.</p>
<p>and @youdon’tsay A LOT of people list only 1 or 2 schools for QB because it is like ED, you must go. And if you never visit these schools… you might not want to go to them, even with a full ride… That is also why people tend to apply to Yale, Columbia, Stanford, etc. on QB because they are not binding for full ride if accepted. Look into it and tell your son to apply to the non bonding QB also. That is my advice. I planned to do QB for Rice, Williams, and Emory but I found that it was binding for all 3 (meaning if you are not accepted to Rice but to Williams you go to Williams)… And I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Williams or Emory so I ended up not doing QB</p>