I’m currently a Junior in high school and by the time I graduate, I will have 60 hours of college credit, however, I recently found out Rice University doesn’t accept dual credit. I was wondering if it would be worth it to even apply to Rice knowing that I’ll have to take all of my college courses again?
It depends. Were you planning on graduating in two years? Were these all major courses?
All 60 hours are the 60 hours needed to get an associate’s degree, so they’re all pretty basic courses. I was hoping to graduate in three years and then go on to my master’s.
I think this is a really personal decision, and also depends on your family’s finances and how much Rice would cost to you, but I think it’s worth it.
In the grand scheme of your working life, a year is a pretty short period of time. After you graduate college and graduate school, you’ll probably be working for 40+ years. So in my opinion, no need to rush it.
In the scheme of your developmental opportunities at this stage of your life (late adolescence/early adulthood), however, an extra year in college can mean a lot. It can mean getting to study abroad, getting to take more classes and learn more skills you wouldn’t have otherwise, having another year to figure out what you want to do after college, solidifying and making new relationships, another summer to intern, etc. College isn’t just vocational preparation that you race through in order to get to your graduate program and then your working life; for those who are privileged enough to go and to even consider a college like Rice, it’s a developmental experience that prepares you for operating as a citizen in a free democratic society.
And trust me, when you’re 10 years out of college, you’ll be looking back nostalgically on your experience. You might even wish you had stopped to smell the roses and enjoy it more. I have never heard anyone say they wish they had spent less time in college and got to work faster, even those I know who took 5-6 years to finish.
If your credits are used to met high school graduation requirements they will not transfer to Rice. https://registrar.rice.edu/students/high_school. AP course scores of 4 or 5 and IB credits may be accepted for college credit.
What in particular interests you about Rice? If you have looked closely at the school and determined that the educational and social experiences of a Rice undergraduate education are what you want, then it could well be worth it. If you don’t add minors or a double-major, graduating early will likely be feasible. (My daughter, who had just a moderate number of AP credits, could have graduated a semester early without any extraordinary effort, but she decided not to, as the additional upper-division classes she was able to take in her final semester were valuable as was the chance to enjoy the last semester before graduation with her friends.)
On the other hand, if you’re only interested in Rice because you perceive the degree to have more gravitas than, say, your state flagship from which you could graduate early and move on to grad school… then it’s probably not worth it. In that case, it’s where you go to grad school that will matter prestige-wise, and doing well at any reputable undergrad school will get you there. So, it depends what you’re looking for. What other schools are you weighing Rice against?
I was also looking at UT and A&M’s Business Honors programs, and also applying to UTD and UTA as backups. Rice was more my dream school than anything else.
Shame because Rice is one of the few top schools that take all your AP credit. Most limit it to four. My daughter came in with 7 AP credits and could have graduated in three years but chose to go a forth year because she wanted to duel major. It would be almost impossible to duel major in two years or even three years because of the required courses for your major, just in the scheduling and prerequisites. You would also have to be laser focused right from first semester. Also I suspect once you start college there will be so many things you’re interested in that four years will seem to short. The one reason to do this is financial so see if you get accepted and see how much it will cost you each semester then decide.
Do apply, if you get in then see how many AP/dual credit they give and also how much aid or merit money is being offered. You can compare it with your other options and decide. Unless you have an acceptance letter, it’s not worth worrying preemptively.
@laurarwrites First, If you are accepted YES, Rice is worth?, If you are denied NO, isn’t!
Each year, one or two are accepted to Rice from our school, I guess around 30+ get denied.
According to school’s Naviance, top 2% on both SAT/ACT/PSAT and School GPA has fighting chance to be accepted.
If your stats match up with last year admitted students. GO FOR IT.
https://admission.rice.edu/apply/freshman/admission-statistics
Good Luck
I’m sure most educators wouldn’t even recommend getting waiver for all dual courses, even if a college is allowing it.
If you are trying to rush and feel content with a community college level education, you shouldn’t even be seeking 4 year degree from top 20 colleges. Just go to nearest state school on scholarship and get a degree for free in less than 2 years. If you are looking for a top notch education then you’ll have to invest time, work hard, retake courses and deal with rigor and demanding professors/challenging peers .
If you have no financial aid and can’t afford 4 years of college then it’s an entirely different issue.
I took dual credit classes too, but I also took the corresponding AP test as well just so I could get the credit and have my bases covered in the case that I went to a school that didn’t accept the dual credit (which, to be honest, is most private schools)