Is Rice an adequate safety?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>Hello, I'm a rising senior at a public high school outside State College in rural central Pennsylvania. I'm applying early action to Caltech and regular action to at least Stanford, Harvey Mudd, and Rice. I don't want to apply too many schools that I'm definitely not going to go to, but at the same time I want to make sure my safeties are adequate (that there's no chance I'll get shut out). If you could me your thoughts on my chances at Rice and if you don't think it's an adequate safety, give me a few other schools to look into, that would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Here’s my statistics:
Rank 1/355
GPA unweighted 4.0
GPA weighted 4.92 </p>

<p>SAT I: 2390 (from Sophomore year) 800 Math, 800 Writing, 790 Critical Reading
SAT II: After sophomore year: 800 Spanish, 800 Biology, 800 Math IIc
After junior year: 800 Chemistry, 800 US History, 750 Literature </p>

<p>Various math test scores
AMC 144
AIME 13
USAMO 22 (did not qualify me for the IMO unfortunately)</p>

<p>AP scores for sophomore and junior years
Exam score year
Biology 5 (sophomore)
Computer Science AB 5 (sophomore)
European History 4 (sophomore)
Spanish 5 (sophomore)
Calc AB 5 (sophomore)</p>

<p>Chemistry 5 (junior)
English Language 5 (junior)
Calc BC 5 (junior)
Statistics 5 (junior)
United States History 5 (junior)</p>

<p>*Getting at least a 4 on ten APs qualified me for a National AP Scholar. </p>

<p>My schedule for my senior year is AP Physics, AP Economics (prepares one for both the macro and micro APs), AP Psychology, AP French (I’ve taken two foreign languages in high school), AP Literature, AP US Government, and Multivariable Calculus (which I will be taking at Penn State this fall)</p>

<p>ECs:
Head Editor of Yearbook
School Newspaper Editor
Math Club (Captain)
Chess Club (Captain)
Varsity Baseball (Captain?) I’m a two year varsity letterman. Captains aren’t named till shortly before the season, but I think I have a chance.</p>

<p>Among the awards I’ve received:
National AP Scholar
National Honor Society
Pennsylvania's Mathematics League Certificate of Merit
Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics Contest 1st Place Team
Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of Mathematics Contest 1st Place Individual
Numerous school awards for excellent academic achievement (I won’t waste your time with all of them) </p>

<p>Other relevant information:</p>

<p>I plan on majoring in electrical engineering.
I have no legacy or minority status (as I am a white male), so I won’t get any advantage from that.
This past summer I did electrical engineering related research at Penn State with my brother, who is a grad student there.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your time.</p>

2

<p>i don't see why you wouldn't get in.</p>

3

<p>i think you have great stats and all</p>

<p>but RICE A SAFETY?!!!!....wow just wow</p>

4

<p>OK, so don't get me wrong... your stats are amazing. However I don't know if I would ever consider a school like Rice a safety, simply because so many students of comparable stats and EC's apply and there are only a set number of spaces in the Freshman class. That's the way it is at any selective college/university... and it's not getting any easier. You have four schools that are about on the same level as far as academics and prestige... so if I were you I would step down one level and apply there as your "safety", just in case. Now if money is a factor, then you also need to recognize that scholarships at these schools are not necessarily easy to come by, so you might even want to consider applying to a state school that you KNOW you will get into AND be able to pay for. Then you can be confident that you won't get shut out- no matter what happens.</p>

<p>I don't know if that's the answer you were looking for, but that's my two cents on college apps/admissions. Like I said before though, your stats are awesome so I would be really suprised if one of your top choices did not work out for you- I just feel like it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to these things.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
However I don't know if I would ever consider a school like Rice a safety, simply because so many students of comparable stats and EC's apply and there are only a set number of spaces in the Freshman class.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There are not anywhere near "so many students" with stats/ECs comparable to tlaker's. Maybe you are not aware of the AMC and AIME, but those scores are ridiculous and carry massive weight, even at Caltech. I think Rice is an adequate safety since I would predict that Rice would probably give you a large amount of merit aid.</p>

6

<p>To everyone who replied, thanks for your input. I might apply to another school to make sure I have a definite safety, but it's encouraging to hear that most people think my chances for Rice are very strong. I really want to feel content with all the schools I'm apply to, including my safeties, so that's why I haven't really considered applying to a state school. I'm looking for a strong engineering school, a small-sized school and a place with nice weather. I know the weather preference might seem a bit lame to some people, but I've lived in the northeast my whole life and I really want to get away from the cold miserable winters. If two colleges are essentially equal in caliber, I see nothing wrong with having the weather be the deciding factor (for instance, choosing Caltech over MIT).</p>

<p>I agree with sreis about the potential importance of AMC, AIME, and USAMO scores. There are many people who do score a 800 on the math SAT and those people cover quite a broad range of mathematical abilities (and trust me, some with far greater ability than me), so sometimes it helpful to see how an individual does on a harder test to further gage his ability.</p>

<p>For those people who don't think Rice suffices as a safety, what other school(s) would you recommend me to look into, given my preferences I listed above?</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

7

<p>sreis - I am very familiar with the AMC and the AIME, and have taken both tests (and done well, although not as well as the OP) so I understand the difficulty and that the OP's scores are amazing. Like I said, I believe that the OP's stats are fantastic and definately among the top few in the nation. All I'm trying to point out is that calling a school like Rice a safety might be running an unnecessary risk since admissions and scholarships are so competitive these days.</p>

<p>But yes, tlaker, don't get me wrong; I'm EXTREMELY impressed. I didn't mean to argue about whether or not you are qualified to be admitted because it's obvious that you are. : ) I just think it's smart to play it safe.</p>

<p>Your criteria for schools are very similar to mine, but the other two schools I'm applying to other than Rice are UChicago and Case Western, both of which are up north. (UChicago doesn't have engineering, I know... but I'm looking at BME so I'd go into biochem.) I'd recommend using the Princeton Review search, if you haven't already, because I have found that to be very effective. Have you considered Vanderbilt? Nashville is nice and Vandy is an excellent school. GATech is also a good school with excellent engineering, and while it's larger it would definately be considered a safety. (Atlanta is great too...) Beyond that I haven't looked into too many other schools, since BME narrows the scope of my choices a lot. You'll find that Electrical Engineering is much more broad...</p>

<p>I'd try posting on the College Search Section, since you will find more varied opinions there.</p>

<p>So on a personal note, since you're obviously very big in math competitions, does your school's math team participate in Rocket City Math League (RCML)?</p>

8

<p>Thanks for the suggestions. GeorgiaTech is definitely bigger than the type of school I'm looking for. I'm even a little worried that Stanford might be a little too big for me (I'd probably go to Harvey Mudd over Stanford) and GeorgiaTech is twice its size. I really hadn't considered Vanderbilt, but it does seem intriguing. It is on my upper limit for size and it's not quite far enough north where I'd avoid winters altogether, but at the same time it's definitely more intriguing than Penn State (which I was considering applying to as a safety because I've done research there and am taking a class there this semester). I guess the only real concern I'd have regarding Vanderbilt is whether it would really be a safety. Like I said before I'm not too familiar with Vandy so perhaps I'm wrong, but I would have thought that they'd be on par with Rice and Harvey Mudd in terms of selectivity.</p>

<p>Yes, I've been using Princeton-review and a variety of other sources to help me in the college search. One school I found was the Florida Institute of Technology. From the stats, it would seem like it meets the criteria of a small safety school (and of course warm weather), but I'm not familiar with there either. Does anyone have any opinions about FloridaTech and the quality of its engineering program? Caltech and MIT notwithstanding, sometimes Tech schools aren't that great. (I lived in NJ for 5 years and I know I'd never want to go to the New Jersey Institute of Technology.) I've visited Stanford a half dozen times over the years (my grandparents live out there), I visited Caltech (best campus and location ever!) and Harvey Mudd this summer, and I'm planning to visit Rice over winter break this year, but unfortunately I most likely will not have time to visit any other places. For that reason, any input would be appreciated. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

9

<p>You are likely to be accepted to most, but none should be considered safeties. S was rejected by a presumed safety/match (Brown) but was accepted at Harvard, Yale, Duke and Rice. After visits and discussions with students and faculty he chose Rice. Now a senior in bioengineering, he knows that he made the best choice for him.</p>

<p>To answer your question directly, if the definition of safety is "no chance I will be shut out", then Rice is not a safety. The likelihood, however, is that Rice not only will accept you but also will offer you substantial merit $. Unlike some colleges, Rice is not overly concerned with yield and will not reject you if it perceives that it is not your first choice. To the contrary, the adcom probably will assume that it will be competing with Cal Tech and Stanford and will welcome the challenge. I strongly recommend that you apply ID. By mid Feb you will probably have offers from both Rice and Cal Tech.</p>

10

<p>Yes, Vanderbilt is definately along the same lines as Rice and Caltech and the other schools you mentioned... but it was just another place in the South away from the cold that is a good school that might live up to your expectations. I'm not sure how much winter weather you are wanting to get away from... but Nashville is just a two hour drive from where I live and they don't get much snow (we get almost none) so the harsh winters are definately nonexistent down here. Sure, it's decently cold... but it never gets close to 0F.</p>

<p>I actually don't know much about Florida Tech. They aren't as well known as GATech, and I live in this general area... but that's difficult to base things off of. Have you looked at University of Miami? I looked there for a while (knocked it off my list because of location) but they have a lot of research initiatives and are an excellent school. As far as GATech is concerned... yes it is huge. I drove through there last year while in Atlanta for a band competition and I didn't like it much at all, so I'm guessing you probably won't like it either since you are in to small schools.</p>

11

<p>FIT is not a good school. It is probably on the level of New Jersey Tech. Have you thought about Duke?</p>

12

<p>Ga Tech isn't that big. While I believe it has about 11K undergrad, it doesnt feel big at all. Are you only considering the warmer climates? have you considered Dartmouth? Its about 4k undergrad.</p>

13

<p>Rice is not a safety. I was also a val, like yourself, in a class of 700+. I chose Rice over multiple top-10 schools I got accepted to. I also got rejected from UMich. Weird stuff happens.</p>

<p>Yes, you have a good chance at Rice. But there's a certain stigma with the word "safety." Rice's caliber and selectivity certainly do not make it a safety for anyone.</p>

14

<p>To everyone who replied, thanks for your input. I guess I will probably apply to another school, most likely FloridaTech or Penn State, just to make sure I don't get shut out. I wouldn't feel great about attending either of those two, but I guess it's better to have one of them than nothing. </p>

<p>Most likely I won't apply to Vanderbilt, Duke, or Dartmouth because they obviously wouldn't be safeties and I don't see those schools being as good of a fit for me as the four I have right now. I'm really happy with the four I have right now, and I'd be thrilled and honored to attend any of them. </p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

15

<p>Submit a beastly proof as a supplement and your safety school can be Caltech. I can't see you getting rejected EA.</p>

16

<p>Fla tech??? Its not even close to what you re looking for. There are probably better safeties you can consider that you might actually want to attend. As they say, love thy safety.</p>

17

<p>You could recommend some? Anyway one person on CC actually did get shut out and had to take a year off, but he re-applied to some good schools and is at MIT.</p>

18

<p>sries-
we are well aware of what happened to andison. We have recommended some, but thus far they have been rejected.</p>

19

<p>Carnegie Mellon perhaps? though I don't know about Pittsburgh's weather (def not sunny all the time) and it is 60% guys, but it does have BME. Just throwing that out there.</p>

20

<p>Many schools have been recommended to me, but all of them (except for Georgia Tech which is bigger than the type of school I'm looking for), while not on the same level of selectivity as Caltech and Stanford, are on the same level as Rice and Harvey Mudd, so wouldn't suffice as safeties.</p>

<p>Is Florida Tech really that bad of a school? I'll admit I'm not familiar with it, but I would have thought it would be at least as good as Penn State. Where then would be some places that would be in between Rice and Florida Tech in terms of quality? (Preferably a small place with nice weather, but at this point, I'm willing to consider anything.)</p>