I am applying for mechanical engineering and a history minor to Rice University. My stats are as follows:
IB Predicted grades: around 35-40, idk yet (will depend on my exams in the next few weeks), school doesn’t calculate GPA
ACT: took it three times, got 30 and then 32 and then 31. with my 32 I got 35E, 35S, 29M, 30R and 12W. I heard that Rice looks at all test scores, in which case I guess I’m at a 33 then.
ECs: Averageish; teaching myself japanese, learning electric guitar, duke of edinburgh gold and hike, tutoring kids math, tutoring kids science, deputy head of the history society
Essays: Likely going to be very decent
Rec letters: One may be mediocre at worse, probably will be good, the other one will likely be top tier imo. Counselor recommendation will be awesome too. My physics teacher and I literally sat down and made a list of stuff to include relevant to me from the “what makes a great rec letter” guides online. My math teacher might half-ass his though, but my counselor is going to talk to him about making sure it’s of a good quality.
SAT subject tests: I butchered the Math II and got a 720, I think that I’m going to try it again for a higher score, and I’m doing physics in October too
Race: Asian male
School: Feeder school for UCs and Oxbridge, idk about for other schools
I’m an american citizen but I live in Dubai, most of the colleges I talked to said they’d treat me as domestic
What do you guys think? Do I have a chance
My DD is a freshman at Rice so that is my perspective…
I don’t know anything about IB so don’t have any feel for how that translates into a GPA equivalent.
You are correct about their “super scoring” policy… but note that for the class of 2022, an ACT composite of 33 was 25th percentile and 35 was 75% percentile. I would be concerned about your math scores - both on the ACT and the SAT Math II test - if you are indeed interested in going into engineering. I would expect a prospective engineer to have a math score at least the same as the English and Reading scores. And your Math II score is 50th percentile, smack dab in the middle of all the students who took it. Note that 21% of students receive a perfect score.
Also make sure you understand that for Rice you do not apply to a specific major and only identify interest in a particular school of study.
There is an essay question: “Further explain your intended major and other areas of academic focus you may explore.”
From Rice’s website:
“Yes, in your application to Rice you must specify which one of our six academic schools is your primary area of interest. The six schools are architecture, engineering, humanities, music, natural sciences or social sciences. Although this is not a binding choice, the decision should not be made lightly. We are looking for a thoughtful response to this question. Our academic schools are looking for different strengths and qualities in applicants, so you will need to choose the school in which you feel the most confident of your abilities and interests.”
Thanks for the thoughts!