Hello everyone, Rice is my dream school and I was wondering if any current students or anyone would have any advice on getting in? I Will list my credentials below (sorry if it gets long)
Oops I accidentally pressed enter but here I go, I am also applying early decision but there are a few positions I know I will be holding senior year.
GPA-3.94
ACT- 27 w/o studying at all and with studying I am confident I will reach a 32-34 by October
Class Rank- #1
I’m going to list what I did by each year (I am currently a Junior)
Freshman Year-
FFA Greenhand Quiz 1st team in district, 1st team in area, 7th team at state
FFA Greenhand Chapter Conducting (Parliamentary Procedure) 1st team in district, 1st team in area, 3rd in state (I was also the Vice president of the team which means I ran the “mock” meeting at times)
FFA Dairy Cattle Judging 3rd in area, 11th individually, 24th in state
Student Council Member
Shoebox Christmas Volunteer Work
Top 10% award
Straight A’s award
Biology Award
Our band got a Division I in marching & concert
Participated in Greenhand day district & chapter
Voice of Democracy 3rd place in district
Divison III in VASE (Visual Arts Scholastic Event)
Volunteered at meals on wheels all summer
Participated in a canned food drive
Sophomore Year-
FFA Senior Quiz 1st in district, 2nd in area, 17th in state
FFA Senior Chapter Conducting 1st in district, 2nd in area, 10th at state
FFA Dairy Cattle Tarleton Invitational (largest judging contest in the world) I placed 5th individually out of 500+ people
FFA Dairy Cattle 1st team in area, 1st individually in area
FFA Dairy Cattle 12th at state
Member of Spanish Club
Marching band 3rd in area
Marching band 14th at state
Student council member
Participated in Shoebox Christmas
Division IIII in VASE (the best you can get)
Top 10% award
Straight A’s award
Participated in Canned Food Drive
Participated in Thanksgiving Food Donations
Inducted into NHS
Volunteered at Meals on Wheels all summer
FFA chapter Major Committee member
Participated in Greehand Day (chapter)
Raised Rabbits and placed 3rd in Jones country stockshow
Texas state FFA convention voting delegate
Spanish 3 AP
Junior Year-
Jones County stockshow 1st place buck rabbit, Reserve grand champion breeding rabbit
Top 10% award
Straight A’s award
Collenge English (2 semesters) AP
College History (2 semesters) AP
Division 1 in marching band/concert
Division IIII in VASE
Going to volunteer all summer at meals on wheels (yet again)
NHS participated in Mission Thanksgiving
I hosted a fundraiser for victims of domestic violence
Raised Chickens
Advanced Animal Science AP
Soloist for Marching Band contest
Student council member
FFA Senior Chapter conducting 1st in district, 1st in area, 10th in state
FFA Senior Quiz 1st in district, 1st in area, 12th at state
FFA Dairy Cattle 1st in area, 4th individually, 13th in state
Volunteer at our local antique shop
World History Award
85 on ASVAB (apparently that’s good?)
Senior Year-
Treasurer/Reporter of NHS
Drum major of the band
Vice president of the band
Extra information:
As you can see I am very active in FFA and while you might think I’m “country” I’m actually alternative and have blue hair most summers, I’ve heard that Rice like diversity and I know for a fact that I am for sure. The school I attend is small (almost 200 kids) but while we are small we have the best education in our area. I have taken all the AP classes I can and I will graduate with 33 college credit hours. Officer positions at this school is very hard to obtain, unless you are popular or have the same last name as the superintendent/principal/mayor you most likely are not getting it. I have ran for many student council positions and given quite good speeches but alas I always lose to the jock/cheerleader. Anywho I know my GPA might seem low for a weighted GPA but the AP classes here do not really start until your senior year, which is why the Valedictorian of this year had barely over a 100 (101.34 to be exact). The classes are challenging and the faculty is great. I’m also from Texas and I’m white, which I know hurts my “diversity” but I am worked hard these past 12 years (had straight A’s since kindergarten) to get into a good school. I am also artistically talented, and in my free time write poetry and practice photography.
If anyone could give me some advice, and be COMPLETELY honest with me I would greatly appreciate it, also if you have any other schools you would like to suggest that would be great too.
Thank you.
-Baylee
Your GPA, Extracurricular and class rank are great! Just get your ACT score to around 33 and write great essays and you will have a great shot. Also if you know this is your top choice then apply Early. Good luck to you!
Thank you so much (: I am going to be studying my butt off all summer! Haha
I think you could be a very interesting applicant with your FFA background. Rice probably doesn’t see too many kids like you. The Rice supplemental application essay prompt (The quality of Rice’s academic life and the Residential College System are heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings.
What perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice?) is perfect for you. Write a killer essay and get some great recs from teachers and GC.
You do need to raise your ACT score, though. Get the big red ACT prep book (The Real ACT Prep Guide) and spend some time each week reading the chapters, doing the sample tests and then reviewing your wrong answers to learn why you got them wrong. Practice tests will help your speed, too, so you will be less likely to run out of time when taking the real one.
Rice’s Supplemental Application does ask you to note all contacts you’ve had with Rice (campus visits, alumni interviews, online chats, etc.), so that indicates that they put some stock in demonstrated interest. Try to visit campus if you can, and make your strong interest known.
Good luck!!
Thank you so much! I do think my essay will be about my FFA background because although I do not seem like the type to be involved in FFA at all it truly changed my life and not only did I learn parliamentary procedure and how to judge Dairy Cattle but the friendships that blossomed and the life lessons I learned will impact my life for as long as I live. I went from a shy girl to being able to run a mock meeting in front of judges! FFA taught me something you don’t learn in the classroom, it taught me life skills and confidence, and not to mention working with others efficiently even if they are not necessarily my favorite person. I do feel I am unique in the aspect of I wear jeans with skulls covering them and blue hair but I raise farm animals and can be knee deep in cow manure and tell a person whether a cow would be good at producing milk LOL. Thank you so much for your advice! It really helped alot! I just bought the real act book, barrons 36, and a princeton review book with 1400+ ACT questions! Got a long summer of studying ahead of me! Thank you so much (:
I would go beyond studying by yourself for the ACT, and shell out some money for private tutoring; it could be well worth the investment. (Raising your ACT score 6-7 points on your own can be done, but the odds are against you.)
Stay motivated through the rest of your schooling and you will certainly have a shot if you get your ACT up a few points, but remember, Rice is very selective and even very qualified applicants aren’t guaranteed in. This means that you need to find some less selective schools to fall in love with too. Having a backup that you would be happy at is never a bad idea.
If you want to go from a 27 to a 32-34 on the ACT, you are going to need to study a lot. A 6 point score increase if unusual, so remember not to overestimate your increase in score. If you don’t actually study for it, it probably will not increase 6 points. You said be completely honest so I’m going to go ahead and state the obvious: a 27 will probably not get you in, so you defiantly need to work on that. You are from TX (I think) so that may make it even more difficult for you since they do seek regional diversity and they have many TX applicants. What are your ACT sub-scores?
I am an admitted student and will be attending next year so I can reflect on my experience if you think it would help? for my final app I had:
33C ACT
4.0 UW GPA
and some nice but not exceptional ECs
I am from a rural area with a farming background too.
I applied ED and was deffered ED and accepted RD. I would definitely apply ED if it really is your top choice, but realize that nothing is guaranteed no matter your score. When you apply ED to Rice, make sure to submit your apps to other schools in a timely manor, too. If you wait until you get your decision back from Rice, it will look like you weren’t really interested in whatever other school you applied to since it will be pretty close to the submission deadline.
Best of Luck! and keep working hard!
English-25
Mathematics-26
Reading-31
Science-26
& my writing was an 8
I know I can do exceptionally well, I just have to study really hard. During the test a lot of the time I get frustrated because time limits scare me tbh lol. I am studying grammar currently and am going to study atleast 3 hours a day. English is really my low point, and I feel I will do way better on the math this time around since I just finished Pre-Calculus and am actually going to memorize formulas and workout examples this time. Reading needs a few tweaks and dear lord idk what to do with the science the graphs are so weird and such. But all I can do is study and practice! If I do not get into Rice I will probably going to UT Austin since I am Valedictorian I already get automatic admission and would be able to afford it. Thank you for your honesty, I will keep everyone updated!
My writing was an 8/12 so a 24, my bad.