I am in love with Rice....University :]

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>Guys and girls, I am in love with Rice University (this is an understatement. I can't even sleep man!). I am probably applying Early Decision and I hope to be an Owl come next fall. </p>

<p>Though I love this school, I know that it is extremely difficult to get into and I will be competing with some truly amazing students for admission. I am extremely worried about my GPA. Like, extremely. Because ED is full of great applicants, I want to know if my GPA is really as bad as I think it is. Some of you guys will say, "just apply and find out" and obviously I will do that, but I am a very realistic person and I would like to know whether attending Rice University is even plausible.</p>

<p>This isn't really a chance thread. More of a "your GPA is fine" or "your GPA is going to hold you back significantly" thread. </p>

<p>Here are my grades:</p>

<p>IB diploma applicant with online AP classes taken during the summer to make up for frosh and soph mistakes. </p>

<p>Freshman Year: 3.0875
Sophomore Year: 3.333</p>

<p>This is where I hope my upward trend really shines:</p>

<p>I took these classes during the summer:
A in AP Art History online
A in AP Macroeconomics online
A in Precalculus Honors online
A in AP Microeconomics online
A in Economics Honors online</p>

<p>I took these classes during junior year:</p>

<p>IB HL English III: A
IB Math Studies I: A
IB Psychology SL: A
IB History of the Americas: A
IB Spanish III: A
IB HL Biology: B (effin bio)</p>

<p>my GPA from the summer of sophomore year to the beginning of senior year is a 3.8947. </p>

<p>My total UW GPA is about a 3.5 maybe a 3.51. </p>

<p>Is my GPA going to hold me back significantly or does Rice admissions tend to understand the upward trend and will they possibly, hopefully, maybe consider my sophomore and junior years only or better yet my junior year only?</p>

<p>If your annoyed with the thread, seriously don't reply. These are my hopes and dreams on the line lol and I really need some feedback before I get my hopes up, apply ED and get rejected because I thought the whole time I was a definite in. </p>

<p>P.S. my SAT I superscored is a :640 M/770 CR/710 W</p>

<p>I am taking the ACT in September and October. My practice tests from the red book are pointing to a 34+ and I feel really confident. So test scores will be in the 75th percentile or over it.</p>

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<p>Your gpa probably will hurt you. Your SATs aren’t stellar either.</p>

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<p>I don’t think that your gpa will actually hurt you, but it won’t help you either… same with your SAT scores.</p>

<p>Obviously there is much much more to an application that the adcoms will look at, and for you especially those ECs, volunteer/work experience, etc will have to be good enough so that they can look past a 3.5, which isn’t bad (but isn’t competitive compared to all the nearly 4.0 apps they receive). Like you said, there are many great applicants in the ED group, but we cannot say from just looking at your gpa/sat scores where you stand.</p>

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<p>What state are you from? That makes a difference (although not much) because Rice is trying to recruit more non-Texan students.</p>

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<p>BTW, I agree with reid that your GPA won’t help you, but it might only marginally hurt you. Your upward trend really makes up for a lot of the questions admissions officers are going to ask about your GPA. But, even though they is an upward trend, they might think you slacked off your freshman and sophomore years.</p>

<p>Be sure to do an AMAZING job on the essays and do well academically senior year 1st semester (aim for all As)… if you can write amazing essays, then that might help your cause.</p>

<p>I’m glad you are really love Rice… I wish you the best of luck in getting in! Rice is truly a hidden gem in the top 20 schools, and I can’t wait to experience life at Rice.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies guys! It helps to know where I stand. </p>

<p>@slik nik: i live in Orlando, FL. Thanks for the encouragement!</p>

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<p>@Zlakhani: Being from Florida will help your chances a little bit since it will create more geographic diversity.</p>

<p>If you have any questions about the application process during the year or any questions about Rice in general, feel free to PM me. I probably won’t be able to give you accurate answers to your general questions about Rice until I experience life at Rice, so you can PM me “Rice life” questions in Sept or later.</p>