@AGoodFloridian I see you on every college thread I’ve applied to! These few months are gonna be a fun ride. What schools did you apply to?
@SmartJarhead hahahahah, I’ve been getting that a lot lately :))
I have a bit of a history with Rice. (Check out last year’s transfer thread. Loads of fun, I assure you.) I’m applying this year again because I genuinely like the school and the people there. I feel like I’m a stronger candidate now that I have a decent amount of credit backing me up.
My college list stands at 10, all colleges with strong engineering departments and financial aid programs. Cornell, Duke, Princeton, Stanford, Rice, Harvey Mudd, among others! I’m applying to some in-state options too of course.
Transfer admissions can be very fickle, you really never know what you’ll get. I’m glad to be on this journey with you though! I’ve got a great feeling about this May, hopefully good news is one the horizon for us 
@AGoodFloridian Nice that’s a great list. Getting into engineering programs is so hard nowadays. I’m a Poli Sci Major so acceptance rates are higher, but then again so are unemployment rates so it balances out lol. I’m applying to every school you are except Harvey Mudd, so we’ll be going through this rollercoaster together.
Has anyone received an email about ESTHER?
@SmartJarhead You’re right, that’s why my list is so extensive hahaha When I started this process, a few words guided me and kept me in check. “All I need is one yes”. That’s it! I love my list of colleges; each one is there for a specific reason.
May will be the month. On some threads you’ll have people speculating on when decisions will be released based on previous threads, on others there’ll be silence until the day of, etc etc It’s gonna be a trip, you won’t forget it :))
@lelelele11 So last year I had to email their financial aid department to -ask- for my ESTHER log in information. Email them with your name, date of birth, and Common App ID. They should send you your account info after that.
@AGoodFloridian Lol “All I need is one yes” is exactly why I also applied to so many top schools with the best financial aid programs. I figured hey if I get into just 1 I’ll have an almost free education. I’m looking forward to May.
@lelelele11 I got my ESTHER account 3weeks ago.
Anyone else still not have their College and High School Transcript not showing up on their portal?
@BluePinkerton Honestly it’s better to just call the school. I have missing materials for a bunch of schools I applied to, and the admissions offices told me not to worry because it takes time for them to match the sent in materials to the actual applicants. Just call the admissions office and they’ll let you know when to worry or resend.
One of my LoR professors hasn’t turned in their letter, and isn’t returning any of my e-mails. Ugh…
@bluepinkerton Maybe you should try to go to the professor office hour in person and ask?
Is it to early to start the countdown to May 5th?
@valientes Lol i started the countdown ever since I submitted the application.
@IVokon Went to talk with the professor. The professor said that they’ve been “overwhelmed” with other work. Not even sure if they’ve started yet. They haven’t sent the letter yet, that’s for sure. I gave the professor 2 months notice. Yikes.
@BluePinkerton That’s unfortunate =I. Maybe you should start asking around for another LoR (if that’s allowed) just in case your professor can’t follow through with the LoR?
Hi! Anyone applied for the architecture program. So worried that the website says “the architecture program does not typically accept transfer students”
Hello! I submitted my transfer application to Rice about 1 minute before it was due haha. My essays were pretty good, except for one. I did ask them if I could send a corrected version of that essay, and they said yes. How much will that hurt me? I’m sad lol
I’m excited that this thread exists. It’s so hard to find specifics on transfers accepted to Rice!
I applied as a transfer for the coming fall 2018 semester. I’m going to start with doing stats (because other peoples have been useful) but I’m not going to include everything I have ever done (i.e. nixing book club, first job @ subway, and other misc.) – only what I put on my app.
Sex: Female
Race: Anglo
Ethnicity: French-Irish
Background: (I’m starting with this b/c it’s NOT the takeaway)
My personal situation is difficult - I will try to include some important details:
- My family doesn’t believe in education women
- My first year of school was 7th grade and I left high school mid-junior year (dropped out at 16 to leave my home so I could go to school, ironically. I ran away and started attending a local community college)
- My parents are not mentally sane (insert long story). But this is serious and professionally diagnosed.
All that being said, I am very lucky! And I don’t believe that my past was necessarily horrible, rather it provided me with a serious drive and longing to become educated as a way to escape my family roots.
“High School”
GED: Honors (although I’m not sure how this qualifies me in any way)
College
GPA: 3.9
ACT: 30
Major: Mathematics
Degree: Associates of Science in Mathematics
Credit Hours: 88
Year: Sophomore
Transfer Year: Junior
Intended Major: Neuroscience
Volunteer Activities: (ave. to 250 hrs/semester)
Free tutoring in STEM subjects
Mentoring high school students for a programming challenge
(many) STEM expose for junior high and high school
Clubs:
Robotics Club – Prez
NASA robotics competition – Team lead
Cycling Club – member
Phi theta kappa – honors society
Work experience:
Math and STEM tutor (2016 – 2018)
Student mentor and STEM recruiter (2016 – 2018)
Teacher for Pre-Cal college prep course (2017)
TA for Pre-Cal, Intro to Engineering, & STEM Research (2017)
Intern at NASA automating procedures for flight simulation builds (2018)
Awards:
Competitive Grant by UNM and NASA
Student Excellence Award in Engineering (2016 – 2017)
Outreach Award (2016)
Painting award for Literary and Arts Magazine (2017)
Dean’s list for 4 semesters
Hobbies:
Cycling (biking)
Crochet
Art (painting, sculpture, drawing)
Python programming
Piano
Letter of Recommendation:
(neither understand my family/personal situation because I never talk about it…)
- Previous boss, who is also a professor (I have been his student in several courses). I was also a TA for his courses. It should be good considering the amount of work I have done (often working off the clock but that’s what it takes sometimes).
- Previous math professor I have been fairly involved with. Should also be good because he seems to like me a lot.
Essays:
- Elaborate on extracurricular: I chose cycling, because it is very intense. insert anecdote
- Which school of study?: Natural science. I want to study neuroscience (insert anecdote) to learn more about consciousness! It’s also the first-year Rice is offering a neuroscience degree!
- How did you learn about Rice & Why Rice?: I was in 5th grade, I have always wanted to go there.
- What unique life experiences would you contribute?: For this essay I shared my experience breaking free from my family and how that has shaped who I am.
- The Box: I shared a photo I took in New York, captioned with a quote from one of my favorite books. It was about community, love and not being alone.
Anyways, I tried to be specific so that I could be as helpful as possible. Best of luck to everyone, and I’ll be sure to post the admission decision (May 5 – May 12).
I NEED REASSURANCE! I submitted a new version of my essay to the admission officers, but I am scared that it will make me look bad. What do you guys think??? I submitted my application on time, but one of my essays was kind of crappy, so i submitted a new one. I’m having a meltdown.