**Official Rice ED Class of 2021 Thread**

timmmmoc, thank you! I will keep my eyes peeled.

I guess I might as well…

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
•Old SAT I: 2250 (took once)
•New SAT I: 1560 (took once)
•ACT (breakdown): 33 (took once)
•SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math II (800), Biology M (800)
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
•Weighted GPA (out of 7.0): 6.92
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/857
•AP (place score in parentheses):
Spanish (5)
Bio (5)
Comp Sci (5)
Physics 1 (4)
English Lang. & Comp. (4)
Environ. Sci (4)
•Senior Year Course Load:
English Lit. & Comp. AP
Physics C AP
Calc. BC AP
Adv. Comp. Sci. Honors
Chem AP
Aerobic Dance
Econ. Honors
Psych AP
Stats AP (self-study)

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
National Merit Commended
Live Poets Society of NJ National Finalist
HOSA State Finalist for Epidemiology
Publication in national poetry anthology A Celebration of Poets
Minor awards in Academic UIL
Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
HOSA (secretary)
Pony Up Mentoring (mentor and officer)
REM Club (founder and president)
Academic UIL --Comp. Sci. and Science–
Key Club
Science NHS
Regular NHS
Book Club
Science Olympiad
•Volunteer/Community Service: 200+ from Key Club, HOSA, and NHS’s
•Summer Activities: Pet projects, like art, poetry, and programming (lots of reading ^^)
•Essays: 10/10
•Teacher Recommendations: (mind you, I haven’t read them, so these are just speculations)
10/10 from Anatomy & Phys. teacher because of deep, personal relationship.
9/10 from Comp. Sci. teacher who has known me for 3 years. It would be 10/10 if he was… the more eloquent type.
•Counselor Rec:
10/10 only because I approached her for help with emotional baggage, so there’s that personal connection
•Interview: didn’t take

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): TX
•School Type: an obesely huge public school
•Ethnicity: Bengali
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: 100K+
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothin’ but a killer right hook as deadly as my bad sense of humor :wink:

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays (did optional essay), breadth of extracurriculars, unique and diverse interests, scores, gpa+rank
•Weaknesses: I could’ve been a more angular student rather than well-rounded. Angularity shows more demonstrated passion.
•Why you think you were accepted: they want more than just an academic robot ^^
•Where else you are applying or have already applied: UT Austin

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
As you know, many talented people apply to Rice. I honestly feel that, academically, I am just like everyone else. So whaddya do? You make sure Rice gets to know YOU: take advantage of optional writing if you have time, and don’t just prattle about your strengths. Give them an intriguing story about significant life experiences that are the reason why you are so special. Write what lead up to you being so passionate about this and that, etc. Most importantly, Rice wants more than an academic robot; they want people. Also, build a solid relationship with your counselor. It doesn’t have to be over emotional baggage at all :slight_smile: Of course, having scores that place you in the 75th percentile of applicants doesn’t hurt. Take SAT II’s asap, please: I completely forgot until the last available test date that Rice would take them and feel extremely lucky to have scored 800’s.

A parting note regarding this website: please be aware only a handful of admitted students actually post their stats on this website, so you are not getting the full picture at all about the applicant pool. There is a silent majority that will not dump their stats on CC; I am telling you this because I, in the past, would feel incredibly disheartened looking at some of the monstrous stats posted in years past. Heartache for no reason, I tell ya.

@Avac333 did u get into RSA? Mind if i know about ur stats or even take a look of ur portfolio lol
Applied but rejected T.T

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@l1447 no, I did not get in. :frowning:
Outside of being a white male, from Houston, I have no idea why. Looking at past stats, and doing everything possible to show interest in Rice, and not just show a good student, I was certain I had everything they were looking for.

Statistics:

  • I have a 4.5 GPA, with very high SAT scores.
  • I have tons of extercurriculars!
  • I am a seasoned triathlete for one. I train literally seven days a week.
  • I made Team USA recently, at the half Ironman distance. I will be competing on the US team @ Worlds in Penticton Canada in August.
  • I was on the Varsity Cross Country team my Freshman and Sophomore year, but had to drop it to do my first 1/2 Ironman distance race my Junior year (training conflicted). I qualified for state both years.
  • I am on the Varsity Swim Team. I went to state last year, where we (the men’s team) won state. I am am 500 meter swimmer.
  • I am an Eagle Scout, with over 500 hours of community service.
  • I hold a full time job each summer as a cable installer. I am a math tutor during the school year. Have been a lifeguard in past summers.
  • I shadowed two Baylor doctors this past summer, both who happen too be professors at Baylor and one a Rice Alum…both wrote letters of recommendation for me.
  • I am part of Model UN, President of the Chess Club, part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Mandarin Club.
  • I am in all AP and honors classes.

For the record, I showed 100% interest! I did the overnight, the tour, the lunch with student, two classes, and the interview.

I am a firm believer that God slams closed the doors that he doesn’t want me to go through, and that he has something out there better for me. Apparently this is just NOT what God has in his plans for me! So, I am going to give it a couple weeks…and request interviews with the other schools I have applied.

For statistical purposes…
I attend a private school (83 students in my class), and am from a high income family. I am not first gen to go to college. My essays were top notch! My counselor almost cried reading my main essay.

Accepted into RSA

Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown): M: 800, R: 660, W: 710
•ACT (breakdown):
•SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chem:780, MathII: 730
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 6%
•AP (place score in parentheses):
WH (5)
US (5)
Physics I (4)
English Language (4)
•IB (place score in parentheses):
•Senior Year Course Load:
AP studio art
AP econ
AP Physics 2
AP English Lit
AP BC Calc
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): piano
•Job/Work Experience: none
•Volunteer/Community Service: 3 whole summers tutoring students
•Summer Activities: Parsons Intro to Arch, Cornell Intro to Arch
•Essays: good
•Teacher Recommendations: meh, didn’t know my teachers too well
•Counselor Rec:
•Additional Rec:
•Interview: no interview

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): NY
•Country (if international applicant): US
•School Type: Public
•Ethnicity: Asian
•Gender: F
•Income Bracket:
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college

Reflection
•Strengths: Art portfolio
•Weaknesses: SAT scores
•Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was actually really surprised by my acceptance, but I guess my portfolio and essays stood out the most in my application.
•Where else you are applying or have already applied:

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

@HaydenG, Its really surprising that you got rejected. I am not sure what else you could have done. You even applied ED to show that Rice is your first choice. Stay positive. I am sure as you said you probably have better things in store for you.

@HaydenG You’ve got the right attitude. Exactly how I feel about my son’s rejection letter yesterday. If it isn’t meant to be then no sense worrying about it. Move on. Not the end of the world. It’s a numbers game. Being a white male probably does not help either. I already warned him he was down in the count 0-2. LOL!

Congrats to the lucky ones who were accepted.

I got in from San Antonio!!! Congratulations to everyone else who got in! Can’t wait to meet y’all! I’m sorry for those of you who didn’t, I have several friends who got their rejections yesterday and please don’t take it too hard, just cause you got rejected from Rice does not mean you won’t get some of your other choices!

Well this sucks, at least UT Austin’s comp sci acceptance softened the blow.

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
•Old SAT I: N/A
•New SAT I: 1570 (800M + 770R/W Superscore), 1560 single sitting
•ACT: N/A
•SAT II: Math II (800), Biology M (790)
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
•Weighted GPA (out of 4): 4.1-ish? idk, but it was the most rigorous course load possible
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Does not rank, probably top 10%
•AP (place score in parentheses): Biology (5), APUSH (5), AB Calc (5), Statistics (5)
*school does let us take APs until junior year, thus the relative lack of APs
•Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Physics C, Dif Eq & Linear Algebra, BC Calc, AP Chem, AP Spanish
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, mostly local awards.
National Merit Semifinalist (finalist pending)

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars :
Robotics (Co-lead Coder)
Carnegie Hall Honors Performance in NYC (selected Tenor II)
Choir Tenor section leader.
Various vocal awards at state/local levels. Mentioned TMTA Male Vocal State Finalist for Classical and 1st Place Chamber group in Jazz, 2nd Place in Classical. NATS Houston Runner-up, 11th Grade Boys Classical.
Interact Club (Blood Drive Chair, 100+ hours)
Habitat for Humanity (Chair, 200+ hours)
Quiz Bowl (Recruitment chair, national qualifiers for all 3 years)
Varsity Track (4x400 relay - wasn’t all that great)

•Volunteer/Community Service: 500+ hours from various activities, mostly medical volunteering.
•Summer Activities: Junior year- Research project at local university on nanotechnology in the field of biomedical sensing. No research paper though, which was a shame (honestly too complicated for me to write one anyways).
Volunteered as Team Captain on weekends at a local hospital for 8hrs/week, still continuing through the school year.
Sophomore year - Physician shadowing and medical billing specialist for respiratory clinic (this made me a ton of money, which was great for a 15 year old building his PC)
Freshman year - receptionist at geriatric clinic

•Common App Essay: 10/10 - really loved this one.
•Teacher Recommendations:
9.5/10 from English teacher. Always praised my writing for its “voice” and “style”. Undoubtedly an amazing rec.
8/10 from AP Stat teacher. Knows me pretty well through various clubs, but isn’t the best writer
8/10 from guidance counselor: had around 5 meetings and let her know about the intricacies of my research and love for programming, statistics, and medicine (basically wanted to go into bioinformatics/computational biology)

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): TX
•School Type: Private School (~100 kids)
•Ethnicity: Indian (the one from Asia)
•Gender: Male
•Income Bracket: 500K+
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): hah.

Reflection
•Strengths: Scores were above average at least, felt essays were great, and thought I submitted a compelling overall application. Showed a lot of interest and did the “optional” essay.
•Weaknesses: Asian male going into comp sci/engineering without a “wow” factor. Tons of other equally qualified and probably more interesting candidates
•Where else you are applying or have already applied: UT Austin Honors, Duke, Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Princeton (why not?)

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:
Be sure to differentiate yourself from the other applicants, because solid quantitative measures seems to be placed lower than qualitative factors.
Congrats to those who got in!

@HaydenG you certainly have an impressive resume. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. God has other plans for you. Who knows… your future wife may have gotten an acceptance to UT (or where ever) and you would not have met her if you were at Rice! I believe God has a wonderful path planned for you. You will do great things!

So we have to wait a few days before getting the Esther login info?

@Saltypineapple yes, we should get an email with login info in a couple days.

@EksoEkso alright thanks

@Aristos congrats on UT Comp Sci! Do you know if you made it into Turings yet?

@EksoEkso I’ve obsessively been checking, but nothing so far.

What have y’all put in your second choice university/college when you were accepting the offer?

Can you not get the esther log in until you accept the offer?

Does anyone know what the “optional” essay prompt was? I don’t recall seeing one on the application.