My Chances at Rice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>I think I have a relatively decent chance... Any comments welcome.</p>

<p>Currently a rising senior in Southern California.
Caucasian/Asian Male (English/Irish/Chinese)
High School: Extremely competitive and has over 3600 students. I believe our school is the biggest UC Feeder in the U.S.
No Rank at my school but I can surmise that I'm at least in the top 5%. </p>

<p>GPA: 3.92 (Unweighted since school does not weight, Two B+'s freshman year, one B+ sophomore year in AP Bio)
OLD SAT I: 760 Reading, 720 Math = total 1480
NEW SAT I (retaking this October): 750 Reading, 780 Math, 650 Writing = total 2180
SAT II: Bio M 690 (ehhhh, dont know what happened), US History 770, Taking Math IIC this November.
AP's: AP Bio - 5 , AP English Language - 5, AP US History - 5.</p>

<p>Currently taking:
AP Comparative Gov, AP Statistics, AP Spanish 4, School Newspaper, Creative Writing, Shakespeare</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Boy Scouts - 6 years. Held several leadership and other positions (Patrol Leader, Assistant Patrol Leader, Bugler). Just achieved the rank of Eagle Scout a month ago.
The basketball team (9-11) - Letters earned on Frosh-Soph, JV and Varsity.
School Newspaper (10-12) - One year staff writer, 2 years as Sports Editor.
Concert Band (9)
Worked as a cashier/bus-boy at a local restaraunt over the summer.
Volunteer as a tutor, have worked at AIDS Walk, the LA Marathon and the Chinese American Museum in Downtown Los Angeles. Probably around 100 hrs. total of volunteer work.
Member of NHS (National Honor Society)
Member of CSF (California Scholastic Federation)</p>

<p>Awards:
National Merit Scholar Semi-Finalist
Concert Band 2 Freshman of the Year
Scholar Athlete
Principal's Honor Roll
Frosh-Soph Basketball Coach's Award</p>

<p>Like I said before, any and all comments welcome. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>You did not really mention any of your community service hours. That might be something to work on. It looks like you have about the same chances as the rest of us on this site. All I can say is find something unique about yourself and really push that since a lot of similiar people with your same stats will be applying to Rice. Esp from CA.</p>

3

<p>OK, you're through the first round! Rice will want to talk to you.</p>

<p>Your stats are quite high. Don't worry about that. You've met the academic qualifications for admission, but the thing that reallly separates an instant admit from someone who gets the eternal waitlist at Rice is that you've got to have passion for what you do, and you've got to be a multi-dimensional person. My senior year at Rice, I was a civil engineering major who was also drum major of the band and did ceramics in her spare time. My roommate was a violin performance major who travelled to Honduras with Habitat for Humanity, had her own bluegrass band, and did belly dancing in her spare time.</p>

<p>If there's one thing you can say about Rice, it's that its students aren't dullards. Almost universally, Rice students live their lives by the motto, "There's a big world out there, and there's too much cool stuff around to just be excited about whatever I'm majoring in!" The admissions committee likes it like that. They like for Rice students to be excited about the world, to live life to the absolute fullest, and to really, REALLY have passion. They want to bring in students who have the same reaction to setting foot on campus as they would have to setting foot in Disneyland.</p>

<p>So, you're the kind of student they want to grace their academic halls. Just make sure that you let your qualifications speak for themselves, because they will, and approach admission to Rice as though it were a job interview. You're the kind of <em>person</em> they want to have at Rice. Keep this in mind as you write your essays and personal statements, and as you go to visit Rice, if you plan to visit. Think about what you love before you go in to interview.</p>

<p>Best of luck. =)
Amy
SRC04</p>

<p>(pilebay... he mentioned 100 hrs of volunteer work...)</p>

4

<p>Well with 100 hours you really need to work on community service than. Unless that is for one year of high school. I think that most people from my high school graduate with around 175-200. After four years I alone have raked up around a 1,000. Just get out there and do a few things and you will be fine.</p>