Chances of Transferring to Rice University?

<p>All my forms and papers are sent in; however, I'm uncertain about my chances. All websites seem to indicate a 20%-25% acceptance rate for transfers. I talked to a woman from the admission office who disagreed with the stat of 105 accept/491 applied, indicating it was a lower rate. So I have no idea of what the expect. I hope someone can give me an educated conjunction on my chances of transferring. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>SAT: Math 620 / Reading 700 / Writing 740</p>

<p>Community College: Associates Degree (61 Hours) - 4.0 GPA</p>

<p>High school: Self-taught while traveling all over the world (Which I wrote my essay about)</p>

<p>Recommendations: The best I could have ever wanted. I have a former Rice professor saying I'm one of the smartest students he has taught in 30 years of teaching and the best student to walk the halls of our school and another teacher giving me unconditional support.</p>

<p>Extracurricular/Hobbies: I'm a recorded artist who plays five instruments. I've won awards for my photography of nature and exotic wildlife. I'm a filmmaker of several documentaries and an active member in several clubs.</p>

<p>I really want to go to Rice; however, I know that it is really competitive and I have a low SAT score. I've done all that I can, but I would like to know if I have a significant shot at transferring?</p>

<p>Typically I avoid answering these chance threads, but if you didn't get into Rice, I would be very surprised.</p>

<p>89%, no doubt.</p>

<p>Wow, I didn't really think I had a chance. I know its kind of silly to guess someone's chances, but I don't know anyone who is knowledgable about admissions who can give me an idea of what to expect. I would be curious to know why you guys think I have a good shot at acceptance. Rice won't say what the acceptance rate is because it varies every year. I know my SAT score is pretty low for a top 20 school; however, I've seen people with 2300 not get in and people with 1850 get accepted. I guess it's not a decisive factor. Do they not focus as much on the SAT for transfer students?</p>

<p>That's pretty ridiculous. I don't think anyone on here has a reasonable idea of how the admissions process works, but just read over your post. You've done some very impressive things. And unless you're applying as a sophomore, your SATs shouldn't matter too much. If all the applicants are like you, I'm pretty terrified. I also applied to Rice and really want to go.</p>

<p>Yeah Rice is pretty awesome. They have an average class size of like 11. Everyone is impressed with their university. I'll be disappointed if I don't get in. It's the only top school that I applied to. Have you visited the campus?</p>

<p>I have literally no idea what a good application to Rice looks like. I don't know what they expect from transfers. So I'm just trying to glean any insight I can from other applicants. From my conversion with a woman I talked to down there, I'm doubting that they accept 105 and only 50 enroll. It's definitely not how they use to do it. The word on the street is that it's impossible to transfer to Rice. Everyone seems to laugh at that number. I missed my opportunity to talk to the old admissions director of Rice for info. Someone was going to introduce me to him. People keep telling me I don't have a chance because they think I did bad on the SAT math. However, since I'm applying to the School of Social Sciences, they said they would mainly look at the Reading score.</p>

<p>I never heard that it was impossible to transfer to Rice, but that is disheartening to hear. I was really hoping I had a decent chance with a 25% acceptance rate, but apparently that's not a real value. Arg. What year are you applying for, sophomore or junior? If junior, don't worry about your SATs too much. And to answer your question, no I haven't visited, as I don't live at all nearby, although I would love to see the campus.</p>

<p>haha yeah that's how I felt. I hope the 25% could be right, but everyone has just looked at me weird when I told them the numbers. Of course, the admissions people are very closed lip about the process and won't get specific. I e-mailed college board about their stats on their site. That's really not cool to put numbers up on a respected site like that and get students hopes up like that. However, I really doubt the acceptance rate is less than 8%. Former professors of Rice and my Dean of Students first reactions were that they didn't accept many transfers. They all said it's "very difficult." Rice wants students to be there all four years to get the full "Rice experience." So that's what I've been told.</p>

<p>Also, I hope I applied for a junior transfer. Was there a box for that? After filling out twenty sheets of paper, writing 5 essays, and running around getting things signed by people, everything seems like a blur; I don't remember them specifically asking that. I'm probably filled it out though. I know my projected graduation year on the college's official report was 2011, and I put awards won in my sophomore year.</p>

<p>I think you're worrying too much. Relax, take a deep breath, and stop worrying. Whatever happens, happens. </p>

<p>Don't be so quick to believe everything you hear. From my experiences calling and finding information from the school's admissions offices this semester, I would often receive varying, contradictory answers. If I called at 11 AM, I would receive one generic response. If I called several hours later, I would hear a totally different account. It's frustrating, but the lesson to take home is that even people who work in admissions office are clueless. Don't put so much stock into one woman's answer and definitely do not put ANY stock into the hearsay from former professors and deans from YOUR institution. </p>

<p>If that's enough to assuage you, I've also been following the admit rates for transfers to Rice for about three years now. The number of transfers admitted has always seemed relatively consistent. It changes in raw, absolute terms every year, of course, but the admit rate has always hovered at 25%. (This is from Collegeboard though, so it may not be totally accurate, but in my experience, it usually is.) Also, Rice is increasing the size of freshman admit pool, expanding the size of the university, and also building two new residential colleges, McMurty and Duncan for fall 2009, so I would logically assume they have more space than ever before to accommodate transfers. </p>

<p>I know someone who was admitted last spring (but chose to attend another institution) and he had even lower stats than you did. So definitely do not worry about your stats; as long as you wrote compelling essays, you should be competitive. Good luck, and try to eschew stress.</p>

<p>Hey, thanks for the comments. I'm not too stressed, but it kind of bumbed me out when I thought the accept rate was a lot lower. However, it's true that you can't get reliable info. If it wasn't so irratiting, it would be funny. It reminds me when my friend and I had a question about whether dropping a class on the first day would put a "W" on our transcript. Knowing our advisors, we went around asking them what would happen expecting to get different answers. We went to 5 people and got 5 different answers.</p>

<p>Did you get in? I’m considering transferring there too.</p>

<p>I wish I had stats like yours. I have to retake my SAT to raise it up and get all A’s from now till I can transfer just to get a 3.5. ■■■.</p>