chances for rd applicant

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Hey guys! I'm a rising senior applying regular decision to Rice University's School of Natural Sciences and was wondering if I even had a chance. </p>

<p>Major-wise, I'll be tentatively going in the environmental science direction, so I'll probably major in their interdepartmental environmental sciences (but could anyone elaborate on the whole, it's only a double major thing? would I have to major in earth science or something and then in environmental science too?). </p>

<p>Any helpful hints? tips? advice? Thanks!</p>

<p>Info
-white female
-above average ny public school
-4.1-4.2ish gpa
-class rank: top 5%...barely</p>

<p>SAT:
-SAT I - 2050
-SAT II - USH (740), Bio (710)</p>

<p>ACT: 32 (I think I'm going to take them again in Sept. just because of reading)
-r:28...ouch
-e:32
-s:33
-m:34</p>

<p>since i didn't do too well on SATs, should I just send in ACT and SAT II (since at least they're decent)?</p>

<p>Courseload/APs
-AP USH (5)
-AP Gov (5)
-AP Spanish (3)...I could just not show them this score, right?
-IB Biology
-senior year: AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Physics B, AP Calc BC, IB Biology (2nd half)</p>

<p>EC's and Awards
-varsity crew/rowing team - coxswain
-church missions trips to peru and philly
-hospice volunteer
-NHS - VP
-Human Rights Club - secretary
-Cultural Club - secretary
-Math magazine - editor
-freshmen mentor
-Interact
-Science Honors Society
-Math Honors Society
-English Honors Society
-Foreign Language Honors Society
-Social Studies Honors Society</p>

<p>Work
-summer job at law office
-Internship/research on environmental science at a small institution in nyc</p>

<p>Essays and Recs:
- i think both will be pretty solid</p>

<p>Also, would the fact that I dropped out of AP Physics C look really bad?</p>

2

<p>oh, and my sat breakdown was math 720, writing 660, reading 670</p>

3

<p>You might want to retake the SATs because you can’t send in only the SATIIs (unless they changed that policy from last year)</p>

<p>besides that, your app looks good and you should definitely apply. Dropping out of Physics C probably won’t kill you, as long as your other math/science grades are strong</p>

4

<p>Our stats are almost the same and I got in ED. All you can do is apply.</p>

5

<p>Your chances are good. I would recommend that you retake your SAT I and maybe your ACT. Your GPA and class rank are great (hopefully, your unweighted GPA is close to 4.0 or at 4.0). Extracurriculars look good, but make sure you demonstrate in your applications your commitment to 3-4 activities… you do not want a laundry list on your application. I would devote your application to the most important activities to YOU.</p>

<p>Also, being from NY will also help your cause as well… Rice is in the midst of trying to add geographical diversity. Good luck! I’m hoping Rice is one of your top choices because it is truly a phenomenal school that, in my opinion, rivals the Ivies.</p>

6

<p>I wouldn’t submit the sat scores, just use the act scores.</p>

<p>Chances are decent…a higher act score would increase them…make sure you don’t fall out of top 5 percent, class rank is very important to rice, I read somewhere that around 60 percent of rice students were in the top 5 percent of their high school class…</p>

7

<p>According to score choice, you can choose to send in only your SAT II scores.</p>

8

<p>hmm, your chances are decent even just with your current SAT scores.
However, now that the SAT policy has changed dramatically, students have opportunities to retake SATs over and over again without needing to let the college know. In other words, the average accepted candidates for 2010 may very well have scores much higher than those accepted in 2009. (you know, there ARE some freaks who will be willing to retake their SATs even when they already have 23xx.) But the bottom line is, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that SAT is everything, that’s why, I am saying, even with what you have right now, your chances are decent. Just don’t let senioritis overtake you too quickly.</p>

9

<p>With the score choice though, does Rice allow it? Almost every elite school that I know of has explicitly said that using the score choice isn’t gonna fly when students apply there. So, I would bet that Rice isn’t “pro-score choice.” Oddly though, these are all the same schools that say that they will just look at your highest subscores or highest overall score…curious. </p>

<p>Your chances are good. I would say Rice is a very low reach for you. So, while I would not heavily expect to be accepted into Rice, I would bet that you get in.</p>

10

<p>Right. Rice still requires all scores to be sent (see last sentence below):</p>

<p>“Rice uses the highest scores from any sitting on the SAT in order to consider each applicant’s most positive test results. Recognizing that this policy could disadvantage those students who cannot afford repeated testing or expensive test prep coaching, we believe a comprehensive testing history provides us with the appropriate context required for making a fair judgment of what the test scores mean in a holistic admission process. Therefore, we require all applicants submitting the SAT to submit all scores to Rice.”</p>

11

<p>Do they want all ACT scores too? I took them twice already (30 the first time and 32 the second). I don’t want them to see that I took it so many times because I’m trying to better my score by taking the september test (i’m unsure that i’ll even top the previous score).</p>