Chances for Rice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Basically, I'm wondering if Rice is a good fit, low reach, or high reach for me. Please help if you can.</p>

<p>Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Hispanic
State of Residency: Louisiana</p>

<p>Academics
Rank - 2/85
GPA - 3.94 Unweighted, 4.18 Weighted
SAT - 2180 Composite (800 W, 690 CR, 690 M)
ACT - 33 Composite (36 E, 32 CR, 32 M, 31 Science)
SAT Subject Tests - Literature: 720, U.S. History: 680, Biology: 650
AP Exam Scores - English Language & Comp. - 5, U.S. History - 4, Biology - 4</p>

<p>EC's
Debate & Speech (9, 10, 11, 12) - Captain<em>, State Runner-Up
Varsity Swimming (9, 10, 11, 12) - Captain</em>, Conference Champions
Varsity Tennis (9, 10, 11, 12) - Conference Champions
Future Business Leaders of America (10, 11, 12) - President<em>, National Qualifier
Spanish Club (9, 10, 11, 12) - Vice-President</em>
Habitat for Humanity (10, 11, 12)
City Youth Council <a href="10,%2011,%2012">Community Service</a>
NHS, Quill & Scroll, and some other honor societies</p>

<ul>
<li>= leadership</li>
</ul>

<p>So, with the given information, do I have a pretty good shot at Rice?</p>

2

<p>Yes, for sure. Go for it; good luck!</p>

3

<p>I would say that you have very good chances. One thing that I noticed is that your ECs seem somewhat generic, so try to make your essays and other parts of your application compelling. Also, frankly, your race will help.</p>

4

<p>You shouldn’t have a problem getting accepted. When I applied, I thought it was a bit of a safety for me personally, but what I have since learned is that it does entertain a broad spectrum of students. It seems that it would be a pretty good fit for you. </p>

<p>One great thing about Rice is that it caters to students with an eclectic set of interests. You seem to fit in this category, and I think you would be wise to select this as - if not your primary - one of your main applications.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

5

<p>Thanks to all of you for the help!
kaekae - Haha yeah, I don’t really have any unusual or unheard-of EC’s. I guess it’ll have to do. I’m a good writer though, as my SAT writing score shows, so I think they essays will help considerably.
computergeek173 - Thanks. This is a big relief haha. I didn’t consider Rice a safety, rather a good fit. I’m also applying to Yale, Brown, Stanford, and my state flagship school as a safety. But to be honest, I’m most likely going to get turned down by all schools but my state flagship and Rice, so Rice will probably be my school of choice.</p>

<p>Thanks again, everyone!</p>

6

<p>Well, I’m sure you’ll do fine wherever you end up :slight_smile: I was rejected at Stanford when I applied there (as well as a number of other notables), eventually picked up by UF, Rice, and UC Berkeley. Rice was not necessarily THE best college choice I had, but it has a really unique and enjoyable feel, I think. In addition, the financial aid is really rather good, so it’s affordable and is amazingly good given it’s (relatively) high admission rate.</p>

7

<p>Yeah, I’ve only heard positive things about it thus far.
Realistically, I’ll probably be rejected by Stanford, Yale, and Brown. If I’m somehow accepted into one of them… I dunno, I’ll see what happens haha. But otherwise I’m most likely going to Rice.
I’m glad its unique though, everyone’s said it’s a good fit, so I think I’ll enjoy it there.</p>

8

<p>

lol, not exactly the kind of writing we’re looking for</p>

9

<p>Have to agree with kaekae… SAT writing is not truly indicative of ability. I wrote an 8 on the essay (ended up with a 720 overall), and I could knock the socks off almost every 750+ that I’ve personally met :slight_smile: Not that it’s inversely dictated, but rather that it’s simply not extremely accurate at times. If you say you’re a good writer, I would take your word on it, though!</p>

10

<p>Sorry, I didn’t really know how else to prove I was good at writing haha. Yeah I guess you’re right, it’s mainly grammar structure and what not, not related the type of writing done on college essays. Really though, I am a good writer. English is my strongest class, and I help my friends write all their essays.</p>

11

<p>ahhh im hoping to get in too!!</p>

12

<p>You’re SAT will be your biggest problem, tho you have great grades. I think you’ll get W/L-ed</p>

13

<p>I would take everything said with a grain of salt, myself included. I’m just going to speak from my own experiences. Nothing is a sure thing when holistic review and Top 20 schools are involved. GPA, Class Rank, Standardized Test scores, and EC hours are just numbers, and trust me that in the admission office there will be plenty of other applicants with numbers that match or exceed your own. Also, the admissions committee will only view your application if two separate readers within the admissions office give your application the green light. In order to make yourself stand out within the sea of numbers, it all comes down to how you present yourself. I would recommend scheduling an interview with Rice in addition to devoting a majority of your time to writing your essays. Those are the areas in which you can rise above the sea of numbers and give the admissions team a reason to WANT you at Rice.</p>

<p>Edit: After you’ve finished your essays and scheduled you interview, I’d recommend just avoiding chance threads altogether, they only lead to stress or overconfidence. None of us really have a true idea of your “chances” because none of us are admissions personnel.</p>

14

<p>Fromen - Although you’re right that no one here can tell me my true chances, I think what the more experienced posters are saying is somewhat accurate.</p>

<p>I’m dying to get into Rice. I’ve visited the campus, I’ve worked really hard in high school. I’m an exceptional creative writer, I’ve written stories and poems since I was five. My essays will definitely be the best part of my application. Bascially, I thought that my URM status coupled with my on-par stats and good writing skills would guarantee me admission. I now realize that I was naive with that assertion. I don’t really know what to believe anymore… Haha, this whole process is just becoming more confusing by the day.</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>The ACT looks just fine</p>

16

<p>decrescendo - I’m only trying to stress the fact that nothing is guaranteed in this process, and I have seen people scrambling to apply to other places after an unfavorable admissions decision was made. Your confusion is the entire reason I give the advice to avoid chance threads altogether. If it makes you feel better, I was also a Hispanic applicant with a 33 on the ACT, but I am personally convinced that my acceptance was determined primarily by my interview and my essays. I wish you the best of luck in applying, but trust me, once your application has been sent in you are going to want to avoid chance threads and contemplating this process. It will save you a lot of sleep.</p>