Chances for Rice RD? Will chance back!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Demographics:
Gender+Ethnicity: Asian Female
School Type: Competitive Public
State of Residence: CA
Income Bracket: ~$280k may go up, but this is it for now.
Financial Aid?: Noperoni (I have talked about this with my parents several times, we do not need any sort of FA)

Numbers:
UW/W GPA: 3.75/4.1
Rank: Definitely in top third of class, unsure if top 30% or top 25%. rank currently unreleased, but based on UW GPA deciles.
SAT: retaking in October
Oct 2014: 2140 (690CR/800M/650W/9E)
Jan 2015: 2210 (680 CR/800M/730W/10E)
SAT 2s: retaking both in November
Math 2 (Jun 2015) and Chem (Jun 2014)- 770s
ACT: taking next week
AP Scores: 5 on APUSH, Chem, Chinese. 4 on APLAC (self study)

Courseload: 8 honors (4 languages) and 15 APs offered at my school (1st sem UW GPA/2nd sem UW GPA)
Freshman (3.857/4.0): Bio, Gym, Lit (all required, no accelerated/advanced), Chinese 4H (via placement test), Geometry, Microecon (no AP), Orchestra
Sophomore (3.417, 3.523): Sophomore Lit and World History (both required, no advanced or AP), Alg 2/Trig, Chem H (only science honors), Marketing, AP Chinese, Dance (for PE creds)
Junior (3.667, 4.0): APUSH, AP Chem, Honors Lit (only honors lit course), Pre-Calc H (only math honors), Lab Assistant for a Bio teacher, International Business.
Junior Year summer: Physics class at local CC, received a B, but does not go on my school transcript.
Senior (in progress/planned): AP Macro (IP, semester only), AP Calc BC (IP), AP Gov (PL, semester only), AP Lit (IP), AP Physics 1 (IP), Lab Assistant for my AP Chem teacher.

I got B’s in: 1st sem. Microecon, 1st sem, World History, Sophomore lit, both semesters of Chem H and Alg 2/Trig, 2nd semester AP Chinese (finals gdi), 1st sem APUSH and Pre-Calc H.

ECs:

DECA(1 year): won 1 6th place awards at regionals 2013, state competitor 2013
Volunteering(all years): have around 55 hours, will get close to 100 by the time apps are turned in. Volunteered for school and community fundraisers, the local library, and a sports camp for disabled children at a nearby university.
Science Olympiad(2 years): Have 3 gold medals (both regionals and invitationals) and 1 silver medal (state level). One of the most successful members in the team. VP of Events (basically in charge of comps and teams) the coming year.
Chemistry Olympiad (2 years): was top 2 in my school, but couldn’t go on because of conflicts with SciOly States and regional cutoffs. Plan to take it again next year.
Music (10 years): Nothing special, but I did play three instruments.
Self-Employed tutor for chem kids, write tests and help out. ~40 undocumented hours
JV Track, Tennis, and XC (I’m not a sports person. I did it for fun)
AP Scholar with Honor

Intended Major: Chemistry/Undeclared (which one do you guys think I should do?)
Also, I know my GPA and class are bad. One of my family members died two days before my sophomore year, and it sent me reeling. I’m trying to prove that I am so much more than the number on my transcript, and that I am so much better than that. Will the “upward” trend help?

Ok lots of thanks for reading through my giant wall of text! I know that Rice will be a reach for me, so I prefer you give me a PERCENT chance, not a “reach” thing.

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*class rank oops. bump.

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Bump

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Your test scores are solid but your SAT is kinda low. Your ECs are plentiful but none of them really stand out. Also you’ve only done most of them for a year or two which really doesn’t show passion. Your “upward” trend isn’t really upward since your GPA fell significantly from Freshmen year to Sophomore year. Maybe let your counselor know about the circumstances that affected your grade so colleges can take that into account. All in all, I think you would have a ~10% chance. Good luck!

Chance me: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1807174-chances-at-hypsm-ivy-league-for-computer-science.html#latest

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I think your sat scores are solid, but your gpa might affect your chances. I would suggest mentioning something in the common app regarding why your grades might have dropped. Also, try to get amazing letter of recommendations that show that even with low grades, you never gave up in class.
Chance back?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1807444-johns-hopkins-ed-chances-please.html#latest

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@DyrannosaurusRex Thanks! I put the word “upward” in quotation marks because I know it dipped, and then it rose again. I should’ve worded that differently. Also, my school’s science olympiad team was literally created 1.5 years ago, and we were one of the first teams to ever make it to states that fast. My old counselor (who knew about my troubles) left after sophomore year, and I just got a new counselor. I need to talk to him soon. Thanks again!

@SATsRuinLife Thanks! Haha, I’ve never encountered a school in which people never said “your gpa might affect your chances”, it’s a common thing. I do have two great recommenders in mind, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

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bump. Forgot to add: I plan to get straight A’s this semester, which will increase my GPA to 3.78 UW and 4.18 W.

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i’m applying to rice as well!

i would say to apply as a chemistry major because the rice writing supplement asks you why you’re applying to your intended field of study. it’ll be hard to answer that if you don’t have a field of study :stuck_out_tongue:
there are definitely going to be a lot of people who apply with way worse stats/ECs than you. keep in mind that thousands of kids from Houston ALONE apply, and very very few of them are actually qualified or actually have experience in their academic interest like you do. i’d put your chances more in the 35-45% range. make sure and mention your difficulties sophomore year (either have your counselor mention it in your counselor rec, or put it in the Additional Info section). and definitely work hard on your essays–personal character is a huge factor for rice. showing interest via interviews, email correspondence, or campus visits (if possible) will boost your chances too.

here’s my chances thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1808459-chance-me-for-emory-northwestern-uchicago-and-some-schools-in-the-northeast-will-chance-back.html#latest

best of luck!

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I think a 2210 is sufficient while the GPA is a little on the lower side (mine is pretty similar to yours). However, if you show your passion for chemistry and list it as your major and write a kickass essay, I think Rice is definitely feasible and you have a great shot. I’m not familiar with Rice, but I know it is pretty selective. I’d say 30% maybe?

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I think your SAT and school scores could be improved. But you still have time! I think you really need to polish up your essay to make yourself stand out despite your grades. Your EC looks pretty good with the awards you’ve won. Don’t downplay your achievements, three instruments (if taken seriously) is a great achievement!
Overall I’d say 25%.

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Bump

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Your SATs are good. I encourage you to improve your gpa and do something in your ECs that stand out. But your ECs are overall alright. Do update on your ACT score and subject SAT scores once you get em. Overall, Rice is a good school. I feel like you have a 20 percent chance or around there…

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@shadyconcepts @gshreyash19999 @carbonthong Thanks for your inputs guys!

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@basedchem would be great if you could chance me back ^^

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@carbonthong link?

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http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18778637

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Hi, I’m a college freshman that graduated high school last year and applied to Rice as well. I’d say you have around a 25-30% chance of admission based on what I know, but I found Rice a bit peculiar in my application cycle. I think they are, despite being holistic in their admissions, very interested and motivated by numbers (test scores/GPA). I had test scores in their upper-quartile and got waitlisted. I admit that my scores weren’t perfect (people had scores higher, the same, and lower than me that got accepted), but retrospectively Rice was probably my 2nd best interview (behind Yale) and my favorite/my counselor’s favorite essays. With this in mind, I got into 4 Ivy Leagues and schools where my essays/interviews weren’t as good in my opinion, so I can’t really say what happened other than my quantitative measures affecting me. Your EC’s are solid (especially in connection with chemistry, see PS below, which will help!) and I’m sure your essays will be as well, but your scores/GPA/ranking are a little worrisome just based on my experience with Rice. Take all this as a grain of salt as it is all just “ex past facto” speculation; no one can tell you your chances of getting in until you actually find out the decision! Best of luck to you!

P.S. Apply for Chemistry imo. Undecided won’t hurt/help you, but I think applying for Chem can/will help.

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chance me too @basedchem
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1808777-ed-to-upenn-cas-chances.html#latest

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bump

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@bsb4389 Thanks so much for your input! It’s nice to know from an actual applicant. Hopefully, the gender discontinuity will help me a little…