<p>I hope the controversial title caught your attention. :)</p>
<p>I've heard that it's nearly impossible to be accepted to Rice as a TX resident and OOS residents have a significantly easier time being admitted. As a TX resident, that seems sort of arbitrary and unfair. Obviously, geographic diversity is something to strive for, along with other forms of diversity, but I can't help but feel bothered by the fact that someone with a NY residence will be preferred over me on account of geography alone. </p>
<p>If anyone has specific numbers (acceptance rates for in-staters vs. out-of-staters), I'll be keen on reading it. Let's discuss this topic!</p>
<p>Rice does not discriminate, they select the students to get a broad cross section of students using many factors. . You'll notice that there are still 60% of the students from TX. Rice does recruit OOS, but students do not get into Rice who are not qualified just because they are OOS. Acceptance rates are somewhat meaningless unless you have more information to normalize the applicant pool and to analyze correlations beyond just that.
If you want to understand their admissions philosophy: Rice</a> University | Prospective Students</p>
<p>It is more competitive for in-state students. I forget the numbers, but I recall something like 17% Texas vs. 23% non-Texas for RD. I hear it's very competitive from within Houston, but I couldn't find a page that shows that. Clearly raw percentage from Texas does not indicate much since plenty of students from Texas apply to Rice -- it could go either way. </p>
<p>That page you linked, Singersmom, gives 51% for undergrad from Texas. (It is 60% for undergrad, master's, and doctoral combined.) I think Rice wants to keep undergrad about half. </p>
<p>I don't want to sound cynical, but I am, so: of course Rice discriminates. That's what admissions is. Yes I know people want discrimination to mean unwarranted or unjust judgment, but I rather ignore that usage and say that Rice discriminates based on grades, SAT scores, extracurriculars, demographics, and so on. Is every factor valid? I don't know.</p>
<p>It is the same for all colleges and universities. More who live close apply. So pure percentages are meaningless. Unless you know everything about each applicant, you cannot make a meaningful comparison. If only 2 people from Alaska apply and one is accepted, Alaska's acceptance rate is 50%. It does not mean it was easier.</p>
<p>When people ask that question it is usually because they are convinced someone "less qualified" will be admitted because of some trait other than their stats. These are meaningless arguments when discussing elite schools. Pure scores and grades are not the deciding factors. Most of the accepted students have similar ones, as do the ones not accepted. OOS students do not have lower scores and grades making it "easier". Spend your energy on showing your preferred schools the best of what you bring to them besides stats and stop obsessing over discrimination.</p>
<p>I find it kind of scary that only 60 people from New Jersey got into Rice last year. I am from NJ and there are at least 5 people applying just from my school :(</p>
<p>I can not recall exactly where in the Rice founding documents it states that at least half of the students (undergrads) have to be from Texas. William Rice wanted the university to serve a majority of Texas students. From my limited review of admitted classes, there seems to be a very small majority from Texas each year. But, I'm sorry that I can't give the exact site for this written by-law for lack of a better term.</p>
<p>brs, dont worry (or worry depending on which point of view you look at this). I am from NJ and i got into Rice (although i believe i'm possibly the first person within at least five yrs to apply from my school). I was also concerned when i saw the low amt of people accepted from NJ, but it is definitely not impossible. Good luck!</p>
<p>You can't recall where in the charter it appears because it doesn't. The charter says that Rice is intended to serve "the white residents of Harris County," but it has obviously been amended since then. In-state admissions have a lower acceptance rate simply because more people apply. Applicants from Texas run a wider range.</p>