Hi guys. Originally, I was planning to apply ED 1 to WUSTL, but after considering the location of St. Louis vs Houston, I decided to apply ED 1 to Rice; however, when I visited the WUSTL campus, I absolutely loved it.
If deferred or rejected from Rice ED 1, I want to apply to WUSTL ED 2- but my main concern is that the acceptance rate from ED 2 will be much lower than for ED 1. So my two questions are: Should I apply ED 1 for WUSTL (not applying for financial aid for ED 1 or 2) and don’t change my plans, or take a risk on the approximately 18% acceptance rate ED 1 for Rice? Also, how much would the acceptance rate drop between ED 1 and 2?
P.S, I am applying as an Anthropology Major and have a 1550 SAT, am ranked top 7% of my class, and have sub-par AP Scores (only 4 4s); From Texas
Ooh that’s a tough one. My daughter applied ED to Rice and was accepted - had planned on ED 2 at Wash U if she had not been accepted at Rice. Are there any admissions statistics on Texas residents at Rice?
I believe this is only the second year of ED2 at Wash U so not sure if there is enough data from last year to drive your decision.
Have you visited the Rice campus? Since you are in Texas can you do so before the ED 1 applications are due? If you have visited both, which has the best fit and feel to you? Go with your gut on this one if cost is not an issue. Both schools are great. Rice is in Division 1 while Wash U is not. Many of Rice’s ED admits are recruited athletes and Questbridge admits, so the 18% is somewhat misleading. Rice is smaller than Wash U so it has fewer spaces in the freshman class. I see from your other post that you are an Asian male. Asian males are not an underrepresented minority at Rice. Wash U may not have quite as many Asians as Rice does. Asians at Wash U are around 19% and about 26 % at Rice.
https://oir.rice.edu/students-scholars/enrollment/enrollment-demographics
Both Houston and St. Louis are good sized towns. The areas where WUSTL and Rice are located in their respective cities are similar with nearby museums, large city park, cultural amenities, restaurants, shopping, etc. You will spend most of your time on campus whichever school you attend. It might be slightly harder to get into Rice ED1 from Texas than from some other states as Rice gets so many applicants from Texas. Wash U has Greek life and Rice does not. Is that important to you?
How will you feel if you are admitted to Rice ED 1? Will you happy to attend and not look back or will you be regretting not going for ED1 at Wash U?
As you know, ED is binding so I honestly would choose the one you think you’d most like to go to. You don’t want to get that acceptance letter and be disappointed that you didn’t give the other one a shot. Honestly, I know that it’s hard not to consider “strategy” in where you apply based on acceptance rates, etc. but I think once you are looking at schools of this caliber, predicting acceptances is difficult. When we went through this with my dd last year we ended up being surprised by how things turned out. It seemed somewhat random at the more competitive schools. It’s just hard to know what they are looking for and where you fit it. One admissions person explained to us that we should think about the process as though they are trying to put together a football team. While they could easily fill their teams will all quarterbacks (4.0, perfect GPA kids), that wouldn’t make an effective, well rounded team. They need other positions too. But if you’re a running back, and they already have enough of those, you might not get accepted even though you’re a great running back.
Last year we could not get our dd to apply ED. She just wasn’t decided enough at the time she applied. It was a mature decision but stressful because we knew that it would increase her odds at her favorite schools. But, it definitely all worked out in the end. In your case, both schools are great, and my dd applied to both. But ultimately decided one was a better fit than the other for her personality.
ED1 to WUSTL. By your own words, you loved it. It is a good experience to move out of state if you can afford it. You can always return to Texas and work in Houston. The more important point is to make sure you like your match schools as Rice and WUSTL are both incredibly hard to get into. I hope you’re admissions go well.
Wash U is significantly stronger in anthro. This may not be a big factor if you’re relatively unsure about your major, though.
In your earlier thread you mentioned Public Health. If you are unsure about major or want to double major then make sure College is flexible.
If you are in Texas, Rice makes more sense for undergrad. It cuts down on flight expenses and you have option of going home whenever you need to. If you are pre-Med, getting into medical schools in Texas may be easier.
@spicykoalabear Where did you end up applying ED?