@jayparent Don’t wanna throw a cold shower on everyone’s hope but like what @Fun1234 earlier said there’s always some unverified sources and words going around with rgds to admission zynx. I checked a couple of threads from last year including the transfer applicants’ thread and there were a plenty of 'em who got their esther accounts but still got rejected. Let’s believe in our kids not some rumors. 
Seems to me Rice Student Portal is to check all admission applications and results vs. ESTHER is to check fa papers and award results.
@Allinjesus I know, I was just joking about that. Admissions and Financial Aid are technically two different departments and they are evaluated separately. Most univs claim to be need-blind in admissions.
Jayparent: Don’t kid yourself. Rice, like most top universities, are need-sensitive. But Rice is more so, than its peers.
The financial aid data in Rice’s CDS proves this point. For the Class of 2020, there were 978 students. Of those students, 762 (77%) applied for need based aid. Of those 762 students, only 416 (54% of the applying students) were determined to have need. Of those students, they received, on average, $37,253 in scholarships and grants.
In a situation in which 57% of an incoming class did not receive financial aid and in which 46% of the financial-aid applying students did not receive any award, one must presume that the admissions office is need sensitive, rather than need blind. If possible, they must admit qualified students who can afford and will pay full tuition. Otherwise, the numbers do not crunch.
Side note: Rice’s determination of need versus no-need is far, far different from other top universities. Just compare the CDS information (for 2016-17).
Brown: 955 applied for financial aid; 737 determined to have need; 77%; Average Grant: $43,186
Cornell: 1826 applied for financial aid; 1513 determined to have need; 82%; Average Grant: $40,333
Dartmouth: 651 applied for financial aid; 533 determined to have need; 82%; Average Grant: $49,025
Duke: 948 applied for financial aid; 774 determined to have need; 82%; Average Grant: $46,370
Northwestern: 1064 applied for financial aid; 905 determined to have need; 85%; Average Grant: $42,976
Vanderbilt: 1048 applied for financial aid; 854 determined to have need; 81%; Average Grant: $42,430
WashU: 895 applied for financial aid; 741 determined to have need; 83%; Average Grant: $43,839
Rice: 762 applied for financial aid; 416 determined to have need; 54%; Average Grant: $37,253
Size of grant is meaningless when cost of attendance differs so much.
@Overtheline, thank you for the info. I haven’t researched enough on that, so took what the admission officer said. My son isn’t going to qualified for any aid.
@Overtheline, I computed the percent of the overall enrolled students that get financial aid, and Rice seems to actually give to a higher percent than the others. It might mean that the other universities in your list get applications from the richer segment of the society compared to Rice.
@jayparent. While possibly true, that is a completely different fact and factor. From a stastical analysis, Rice’s disallowance of so many financial applicants, when compared against its peers, is far outside the norm. If you are a family with a student needing financial aid who is qualified to attend an elite college, you far, far better off selecting a school that awards financial aid to 80+% of the financial aid applicants, rather than a school which awards financial aid to 54% of its applicants.
Getting back to my original point, most top schools—including Rice—are need sensitive, not need blind. They have to be. It is simple math.
Yeah, makes sense. I was just pointing out that the the overall percent of people who get aid appear to be the same across most of these elite institutions. About 45%.
I agree with @prodesse. Rice is one of the more inexpensive high ranked university on the list above. I do remember taking that in consideration when looking at colleges. So you must look at what is left to pay not how much aid you get. https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/best-value Though I will say even though they say they are need blind I did notice on the common app it does say to list your parents occupations so they can kind of figure out around what someone could make so it isn’t truely need blind none are. Though it is better than the need aware school. Yes my son did not get an esther account. He did fill out all his financial aid and IDOC information so it seemed maybe he did not need it and he still got in. So i would not worry if you did not get it. The only thing I did notice were people looking up to see if mail was coming and they could look it up. Maybe it was USPS. They had to set up an account. Though this happened very close to the time results came out may even have been the day they come out. I honestly think the people who were getting notifications of mail were the ones who received merit scholarships. Now remember this is only a small sample of people I saw so it may not be true of all people getting scholaships. Would not want to get anyone hopes up or down based on what happens.
Who still has unsatisfied finaid requirements in ESTHER? I have to turn in original documents for our citizenship/permanent residence? Also I had no income last year and it is still requesting me to turn in Student IRS Data Retrieval?
@YoLolololol my son last year did not work and was requested to do that on IDOC there is a form you could fill out and send through IDOC
My son’s ESTHER account also says that he missing the “Student IRS Data Retrieval” but he didn’t file taxes with the IRS. He did submit (and ESTHER has received) a “Non-Filer Statement” form, which I thought took the place of his IRS data. At any rate, we just emailed the financial aid department seeking clarification on the missing document.
When do you guys think decisions will be released this year, December 8th or 15th? I’m assuming it’s going to be one of those dates considering that Rice usually releases on a Friday and for most years (excluding last year) it has been on the second one of December.
@helos290
Most likely December 15th.
Though I have no insider information or anything of the sort, I’d bet money that December 15th is the day.
Did anyone’s counselors get called to check senior grades yet
i sent my senior grades with my transcript
YEAHHHHH SUPER NERVOUS FOR THIS BUT OH WELL LETS GOOOOOO
What’s Rice’s policy for sending first quarter grades? I’ve heard that they’re only required if your school finishes first quarter before November 1st (mine doesn’t). I don’t have mine in and I’m wondering how that will affect the way my application is read, adversely, neutrally, or otherwise.
Also do you guys at least think it’s possible that it’ll come out the 8th, the wait is becoming unbearable.