Hey you guys do you think I have a chance at Rice?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>I'm currently a sophomore with a 3.67 unweighted GPA. This will be 3.83 by senior year. I scored 2000 on the PSAT (600 reading 600 writing 800 math) and expect to receive 2250-2300 on the SAT. I took the SAT Math IIC and got an 800 on my first try. I plan on majoring in either engineering (possibly mechanical) or mathematics. I'm playing no sports this year, but will next year. I ran xc, track, played tennis, and wrestled last year. I will most likely attend Harvard's SSP Summer Program this summer and Oxford's Summer Program next summer. I'm attending the HOBY leadership conference this summer and plan on attending West Point's Leadership Seminar and Boys State next summer. </p>

<p>This year's classes: Chem Honors, World History Honors, Precalc Honors, English 2, Leadership, Korean 4, Leadership
Next year's classes: Physics AP, Calc AB AP, English 3 Honors, US History AP, Korean 5, XC/Track, Leadership</p>

<p>Who I Am: Vice-President of Sophomore Class, Vice-President of church Student Council, Secretary of District's Youth & Government [state-wide club that is recognized by the government (the governor of CA comes to our last convention)], Short-term missionary (I went to Kenya for a month for missions), Music Volunteer for Kaiser Permanente (200+ hours), Snowboarder (started when I was 7 years old)</p>

<p>I don't have a ton of leadership positions yet, but in the next two years I will be...
Junior Year: Junior Class President, CSF Secretary, Youth & Government Secretary/President
Senior Year: Student Council President, Youth & Government President, Officer in Civil Air Patrol, CSF President/Vice-President</p>

<p>Please tell me what I need to work on. I'm not yet sure which college I want to go to so I'm trying to be as well rounded as possible.</p>

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<p>Keep it up and you're in.</p>

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<p>Haha it's not that simple is it? :) Can I ask you what school you go to and what year you are?</p>

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<p>I say that because it seems like you have great EC's, which is a very important part of your app. The variety of your EC's and dedication to a few of them could also make for some great essay topics (a great essay is one of the most important things when trying to set yourself apart from those who are statistically equivalent to yourself, and thus very important in your app).
If you can pull off a 3.83 UW GPA by senior year that's a good thing assuming you take rigorous classes, and it seems like you are. My UW GPA was around a 3.74 (with all classes being AP's or dual-enrollment engineering classes).
And you also seem to be on track to getting great standardized test scores.</p>

<p>Of course, some of this is all speculation and it's up to you to make it happen (like the presidencies and SAT scores). But if you pull it off you have a great shot at Rice.</p>

<p>Btw, I got accepted to Rice ED back in December.</p>

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<p>Which summer program are you doing at Oxford? I did one there and had a bad experience. I definitely do NOT recommend The Oxford Tradition (run by the Oxbridge program).</p>

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<p>pedrossi: Thanks :) I'll be sure to keep up with the extra credit and will try extremely hard to raise my GPA. I'm also taking community college classes for your information :D I'm going to take Calculus AB (possibly at Harvard University) this summer, take BC during my junior year (next year), and take like a multivariable or different equations class (don't know too much about them yet) at a nearby community college. [I plan on majoring in mathematics/engineering if I didn't mention that yet] I have to start participating in sports though :( I was super athletic last year but couldn't really fit athletics into my schedule because of leadership (Soph VP). </p>

<p>ceebee63: Are you serious? I guess I won't try to get into the Oxford Tradition then. That was exactly what I was looking into. Which classes did you take and what was so bad about it?</p>

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<p>What's amazing is how you're still a sophomore and you're already on this forum doing a chances thread... I didn't join CC until I started panicking about getting into Rice, which was beginning of Senior year.</p>

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<p>Hahah well, I want to make sure that I get into a good school :) What was your weighted GPA?</p>

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<p>I think you're well on track of getting in. btw, for what it's worth I got in this year. lol</p>

<p>and joining CC as a sophomore? O.O WOW</p>

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<p>First of all, the Oxford Tradition does not really have a competitive application process at all. It is not something prestigious to put on your resume like TASP or some of the competitive arts programs at RISD. </p>

<p>I had a blast being in Oxford, but if you want to go to Oxford, you can do that any time. The academics at OxTrad are not good at all. Most classes are taught by American grad students with little to no actual teaching experience. There are NO actual Oxford professors teaching at this program. Of course, some people end up with good teachers, but you can't really guarantee that.</p>

<p>Also, for the amount of money you pay for the instruction, you actually don't receive that much of it. When I did CTY (Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth), we had 7 hours of class a day. We covered the equivalent to a semester in college. At Oxtrad, we had 3 hours of class a day, and probably covered the equivalent of...well...nothing.</p>

<p>Also, they really don't provide that much in the way of activities (sure, they have a movie showing every couple nights, and they rent a field for soccer, but that's about it). Finally, my last quibble is that most of the kids who do this are not the fun, quirky, nerdy type who want to spend the summer doing something academic, but more of the rich spoiled kids who want to go to England to shop and drink. I'm not trying to be mean here, but the people there really didn't seem that....smart.</p>

<p>That said, Oxford is a FABULOUS city and I still had a good time. I was unlucky enough to have two terrible, useless classes, but I probably could recommend some of the better ones to you (some of my friends liked theirs). It can be expensive, btw -- I had a merit scholarship, but ended up spending about 500+ dollars on food (you have to buy lunch every day), books, movies, etc.</p>

<p>I really do think that attending generic summer academic summer programs every summer is NOT the way to go to get into a good college. I haven't been accepted at any Ivies yet (decisions are on Monday), but I have been accepted at 5 of the other 6 colleges I applied to, including Duke, Rice, and Middlebury. I would say that one thing that helped me stand out was not doing the "typical summer." The only reason I did Oxtrad was because I got a prestigious merit scholarship from my school. </p>

<p>If you need recommendations for other ways to spend your summer, PM me. I'll do my best to give you some advice.</p>

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<p>aerableparable: Haha I actually started taking CC classes as a freshman :D</p>