<p>I've started a few supplemental essays, more specifically those "Why College X" essays. I'm doing the Rice one right now, and I want to say something like "I noticed that Rice was on the top 20 lists of various Princeton Review rankings, including Best Quality of Life, Lots of Class/Race Interaction, Happiest Students, and Dorms Like Palaces." Would it be appropriate to mention such rankings?</p>
<p>Also, I wanted to mention the large amount of endowment as a kind of "guarantee" that I would have a phenomenal experience at Rice in all aspects. Would it be okay to say that Rice ranks among the top in national universities in endowment per student ratios?</p>
<p>Rice is awesome. The admission staff knows that already. They also probably already know these rankings already. I’d give them something different. Why do these things matter to you? Have you visited Rice and, if so, can you offer any anecdotes that support what these rankings enumerate? If not, can you do some research online to find such stories?</p>
<p>Example: instead of saying you like that their endowment is up there, say how you admire the fact that a sophomore could get a 10,000 stipend to travel around Africa during the summer to photograph Gazelles in their mating season, and that these kinds of things are the norm, not the exception. I made that story up, and that’s probably not the norm, but you could probably find some really cool stories online.</p>
<p>Not appropriate. Instead of citing sources like Princeton Review, how about writing something like, “I appreciate how much Rice cares for its students and its diverse community, because (insert stuff about you).” </p>