I’m really conflicted on this. I really love Rice, but I’m not sure whether I should do ED. I am deciding between applying to Rice ED or applying RD and applying to some of the Ivy’s. I’ve worked hard in high school and I just kind of want to know if I could get into a Harvard or Yale or etc. I probably would still pick Rice even if I got in because I love the culture of the campus. I’m just curious as to what would be my ivy fate. What I’m scared of is applying RD to Rice and getting rejected there and everywhere else, and going to UT Austin instead. ED seems like a safer option. Any advice would be helpful.
{I am academically qualified for both Rice and the IVY’s)
I can understand your dilemma. Deciding where to apply early is a strategic decision. I can also understand the desire to find out whether you would be accepted by an Ivy, especially if you have both an outstanding talent as well as strong grades and stats.
Looking at Rice’s early decision numbers, the acceptance rate is slightly higher for ED. But Rice does not seem to fill half of their class through ED as other schools do (last year it was 1/3 of the class). I have no idea how strong the ED pool may be at Rice, because there will always be strong students like yourself who ultimately select Rice but apply early to other schools (Ivies, Stanford, MIT). Have many students applied ED to Rice from your school? Do many get in RD from your school? It is important to look at admission trends to get a feel for your chances. For example, at my daughter’s HS it is known that there are certain schools where a student must apply early to even have a shot (Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern come to mind), since they do not accept many (or any) during RD. However, the kids from my daughter’s school who get into Rice are typically accepted during RD. For your school, it may be different since you are in Texas and there are many more applicants from Texas. I remember reading somewhere that virtually all of the kids who get into Rice from Houston are the valedictorians of their class, because it is so hard to get into Rice from the Houston area.
The SCEA applicant pool for Harvard and Yale is extremely strong. They take the best of the best in the SCEA round - so a student must not just be a stand-out at their high school, but must be a stand-out when being compared to the best kids nationally and internationally. It’s not about test scores and grades at that level, it’s about a mix of qualities and talents that Yale and Harvard think will add to and enhance the class. For Yale, a fit with the culture of the school is also important. The odds are low but there is always a chance for exceptional applicants.
Ultimately this is a question that only you can answer. If Rice is truly your first choice - and you have visited, preferably with an overnight stay to get a good feel for Rice and its culture - it is very nice to apply early to your first choice and have an acceptance by mid-December. Rice is an outstanding school with an amazing culture and you would be fortunate to go to school there. A December acceptance also makes the rest of senior year much more enjoyable. However, you only apply to college once (hopefully) and you may want to have a full array of choices in April. If you feel that there are other schools that might truly be options, then go the SCEA route and apply to Rice RD.
Here is a question to ask yourself. If you were allowed to pick one school (any school) for guaranteed admission, and you had to decide that school by the end of day, what would that school be?
My daughter faced the same dilemma. She applied SCEA to an Ivy that also has a residential college system. She is going to apply RD to Rice. As the poster above suggested, the RD rate is higher at Rice than some the other schools such as Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Duke which fill a large percentage of their classes ED. Based on the Naviance data from her school, several students were admitted to Rice RD during the past few years. They weren’t all valedictorians, but were in the top part of the class. I wish Rice had ED2.
Apply SCEA to Ivies and RD to Rice, unless your heart is set on Rice, then you can ED but it seems you’ll get accepted to Rice either way. However, don’t forget to apply to one or two safeties.
Being “academically qualified” is just a starting point for applicants to the top schools, especially for the super selective ones. If you have your heart set on Rice (my DS#1 went and LOVED it) and can afford it, then apply ED.
ahhhhhh… I decided I wanted to know ivy, and I applied early to Harvard and got deferred. Now I’m scared I blew a shot at a better chance at Rice. Should have applied ED to the place I wanted to go, even if it meant not knowing ivy.
My D got into Rice. She is thrilled. She jumped about two feet in the air when she opened the link. Now she is waiting to hear back from 3 schools next week. At this point I think she has moved on from the Ivy dream and sees herself as an Owl.
@Houston1021 My son got in ED and never applied to any Ivy’s and he has never looked back. i remember when he found out I had never seen he look happier. I remember screaming so loud in disbelief because some people got an esther acoount and he didn’t so I was thinking he didn’t get in though he didn’t really believe it was necessary. I wished I filmed his reaction. Does your daugher live in Houston because I notice your name has Houston in it. I heard it is supper hard to get in from Texas because of the large population in the state. He is from Maine. So it is really a big change in the weather for him. He can’t wait to leave snow behind. Is she going to owl days? My son is going.
My daughter lives in Houston, and she was so excited to be admitted. Several other kids from her school got in also. She did an overnight at Rice earlier this year. She is going to the Admit Day on 4/24. She wishes she had time to go to Owl Days, but she has other school commitments that week. Her friends at Rice say Owl Days are great. She does not have an Esther account so we cannot yet see what financial aid she got, if any. I will call tomorrow to see if they will send her info about how to access Esther. Your son will like the change in the weather (except for August and September). It usually cools off some by October. It gets below freezing occasionally in December and January. Kids can wear shorts and flip flops most of the year.
@Houston1021 I had done the net price calculator before he applied. It was pretty accurate. I would not let him apply ED if it wasn’t in the range that it said. They were on Christmas vacation though in december so we had to wait until after New years. Hopefully they are not on break.
@jjjjjjjjj492 My son sent an email to financial aid office. Someone said the financial aid though isn’t out will be in the mail in a bit Congratulations!