<p>Rice has been my number one school for a while now. I totally screwed over my freshmen year getting all B's/C's and I ended up getting top 40%. I came to America in the 7th grade and had to teach myself English completely but my English still sucked freshmen year so I did miserable. It got better sophomore year. My English still sucks now but I it improved a crap load and managed to get an A in lit.</p>
<p>I came to America being an ambitious little asian telling myself I'll get into harvard but I had no clue how hard it would be to learn English. Even after working tremendously hard getting all A's in AP's, I've only moved up to barely the top 15%. VERY disappointed, and I had to throw out a lot of colleges I was going to apply to because my counselor told me there was no point if I wasn't in the top 10%. I'm not applying to ut austin anymore because there's no way to get in if you're not in ATLEAST the top 10% because they're not very holistic. I'm just applying to A&M, Baylor and rice but I hate A&M and I don't really like Baylor. Wish ut austin didn't have that stupid rank thing I might have a chance.</p>
<p>However, one school I can't bring myself to throw out is rice. I do have an enormous upward trend, and a decent ACT (34 cumulative). Rice tends to be a little bit holistic, and my ecs are quite good. </p>
<p>Probably the only school I'm pretty much positive I can get accepted in is A&M but ugh. </p>
<p>I want you to be blunt with me. My school is quite competitive but isn't really phenomenal. It's really frustrating how a single rank can keep me out of my dream schools.. I'm asian so that makes it even harder. </p>
<p>Yes you can. Rice goes according to its own system. The law where the top 10 gets automatic admission does not apply to Rice University. This means that anyone who applies has the same chance of being accepted as everyone else. Your stats looks good and I think you should apply.</p>
<p>Give it a go. But realize that the easy part of college search is going for the top picks. ANyone can do that. Start looking for other schools too. Yes, you have a shot, but it’s still unlikely. Even with great stats, no issues, kids don’t get into Rice. Just take a look at the Rice board and get an idea of some quality kids getting turned down. WIth their numbers, it’s no school to take for granted. </p>
<p>Do go ahead and give UT Austin and Rice a go. UTAustin does take kids outside of the top 10%/ It’s just a tough go making that cut. Much easier to get in automatically under the % process, but it is possible. But start looking at other schools too. I</p>
<p>@TwixCollege, @cptofthehouse is right: the hard part of the search is finding non-reach schools that you really like too. My best advice to you is do NOT try to sweep all that stuff from your first paragraph under the rug. That is the stuff that gets you into a university. Make it clear that you have had to overcome obstacles and explain why there are low points in you application and how you benefited from them. College apps usually give a section the explain anything you felt wasn’t reflected in your app. </p>
<p>You could also talk about this in your essay. However, don’t do that at the expense of hurting the quality of the essay. You should spend a ton of time on it. Even in writing, there is no substitute to hard work. Start this summer, and spend a lot of time brainstorming before you settle on one idea, even if you think you know early on what your subject will be. Then write a lot, like more than a reasonable length. This way, you have a greater selection to edit and trim to leave just the good stuff. You may even want to try and rewrite it from scratch or try different topics a couple of times. One the application process starts, this is the single most important thing you can do to influence it. </p>
<p>Totally apply to Rice, though, and don’t let your counselor tell you you can’t apply somewhere if you aren’t top 10%. Few good schools rely on that very heavily.</p>
<p>I am a Texas resident who was not top 10% (I, too, was in 15% percent) who got into Rice. However, everything else about my application was great, and I do have legacy (which, no matter what people say, helps you out a lot). I will be completely honest with you - you should apply to more than 3 schools. There are plenty of schools that you could be more excited about that are outside of Texas!!!</p>
<p>RiceIsTheBest raises a good point. Why are you limiting yourself to Texas schools only?</p>
<p>RiceIsTheBest is correct - given the subjective nature of the college admissions process, why limit yourself to Texas schools? And for that matter, (depending on your major) why is Texas A&M such a bad thing? I love Rice and think it is a fantastic school and would prefer Rice, but Texas A&M grads seem to do better than grads from all other Texas schools (except Rice) according to recent salary surveys and if you had any interest in A&M’s strong programs which include top ranked programs in Nuclear, Petroleum, and Agricultural engineering (for example) or certain areas of Biology (entomology for example) or Veterinary medicine - Texas A&M can be quite good. I realize that A&M’s graduation rate and teaching and average student are not at Rice’s level - but it has fantastic research in some areas and has a few programs which are #1 in the country (and world).</p>
<p>This was just MY personal experience, so take it with a huge grain of salt </p>
<p>I went to a competitive private school in Houston. I was ranked in the top 10% and had the most rigorous schedule but had several B’s on my transcript. I didn’t get in, and the only people who DID get in were those who made at the very most one B in their HS careers and also took the most rigorous schedule (i.e. the very top students). None of their essays really mattered (I even read some of those top students’ essays, and they were okay at best). All rice cared about for my school were numbers, and two of our guidance counselors, who know very well how admissions into top schools work, even admitted that. The only ones who fell out of the top group and got accepted had legacy and applied ED or, for some reason, wanted to study business (I know rice doesn’t take your intended field of study as a hard and fast rule, but it seems as though they do take it into account to some degree).</p>
<p>Granted, I went to a school in Houston, so naturally rice would already have a tough weed-out process for us. I saw my friend’s magazine that showed o-week and profiled all freshmen, and I’d see maybe one or two students AT MOST per page who came from Houston, if any at all. The vast majority were out of state, and only several were from TX.</p>
<p>I feel as though the closer you are to Houston, the more emphasis they place on numbers rather than the essay, EC’s, etc.</p>
<p>The actual percentage of students from in and out of state is posted on Rice’s website: <a href=“Office of Admission | Rice University”>Office of Admission | Rice University;
<p>The pie chart shows that 48% are from Texas, 42% are from other states, and 10% are international.</p>