<p>i hate being an annoying sophomore poster who's not even going through the college process yet, but i stumbled upon rice and absolutely fell in love with it. i know that it's an extremely selective school, so i'm a little worried about my future chances. i go to a very small, girls' college prep private school. freshman year, i took one honors class (i think it's all that was available), but it wasn't right for me, and i didn't do that well. i think coming into the school was a tad overwhelming, especially coming from an easy grade school. anyway, my freshman weighted gpa is 3.5. this year, though, i'm doing much better and currently have a gpa in the 4.2 range out of 4.33 with no honors classes (my school's gpa scale is different than most, i assume). next year, i'll definitely be taking 4 or 5 honors classes. still...my weighted gpa will, at nearly the highest, end up in the 4.1-4.2 range :/ is that too low for rice? and will the fact i haven't taken any honors classes soph year hurt me? will my upward trend somewhat make up for that? </p>
<p>also, my school has only 2 or 3, and i think they're only offered senior year. </p>
<p>i know that admissions don't rely solely on gpa and that there are many other factors, but i was hoping that my gpa hasn't already broken me. i'm not a slacker by any means; it's just that freshman year was extremely difficult for me.</p>
<p>All you can do is keep working hard, study for the SAT/ACT, get involved in extracurriculars that you love and will eventually hope to get leadership positions in. I get that you fell in love with Rice, but I suggest that you keep looking and find other schools that you love as well. IMO, you should never have your heart set on one school, especially as a sophomore when you still have a long way to go before you apply to college. There are a ton of great colleges and universities out there. Rice is super-competitive and nobody (regardless of grades, SATs etc) is guaranteed admission to the school. Good luck.</p>
Yes, Rice is unique in that it’s so small but still a major research U. But you still need to find other schools. Think of which 5 aspects are most appealing about Rice and look for schools with 3 - 4 of those qualities. No matter what your grades are, you can’t depend on going there. Good luck!</p>
<p>also, in my original post, i meant that my school only offers 2 or 3 APs. i checked, and there’s only ap statistics and ap (or advanced? can’t remember) calc IB. they’re both on the honors math track, which i dropped after freshman year, so there’s no way i can get into any of those…just in case that matters.</p>
<p>I admire your determination but please do not fall into the trap of falling in love with a single college this early. Rice may end up being the perfect place for you but just keep an open mind when looking at other schools. My DD fell in love with the first college we looked at when she was a Junior. I made her keep looking and during that time she found others that she loved just as much. By the time she sent her applications in, the first school she fell in love with did not make her top 5. Good luck to you and enjoy high school while you still can!</p>