<p>I was looking at the Rice supplement and was really confused with the questions. They seem to be a bit vague. Here are my confusions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>"With the understanding that the choice of academic school you indicated is not binding, explain why you are applying to that particular school of study." I want to study Comp Sci, so should I write about why I want to study Comp Sci, or why I picked Rice Engineering School?</p></li>
<li><p>"What motivated you to apply to Rice?" Is it supposed to be about Rice only, or can I also write about the engineering school?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>How did you guys approach the topics? Any help with the essays would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Hi, RoughE! Yeah, they can be a little bit tricky to understand at first. For my essays, I wrote about the specific subject area within the school to which I applied. Meaning that, in my essays, I didn’t talk a whole lot about the School of Social Sciences, but rather the specific topic within that school. As far as the second one, unless I’m misunderstanding, I think either would probably be okay, so long as it’s genuine, and specifically geared toward Rice. I wrote about Rice and not about any academic school in particular, but that’s just me. Best of luck! :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I talked about my interest in programming and the field of comp sci.</p></li>
<li><p>I focused on Rice as a whole, but you could mention the engineering school if that was part of your motivation (I mentioned the high ranking comp sci department.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>I focused on my particular engineering topic I wanted to study in Rice’s Engineering school.</p></li>
<li><p>I talked about why Rice as a whole (I mentioned some stuff specific to my academic interests but focused on Rice as a whole).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Ok thanks. So i think I should write about my interest in Computer Science for the first essay, and about the School of Engineering and Rice in general for the second topic… cheers guys!</p>
<p>For the first topic I specifically used examples that supported why I wanted to apply to the Weiss School of Natural Sciences. Personally, after visiting Rice and having sat in on several lectures, I had a plethora of academic experiences to draw from.</p>
<p>For the second topic, just go on about what makes Rice special. Visiting campus, if you are able, really helps to give you concrete examples as to why Rice would be a great school to attend.</p>
<p>1) I discussed why I was passionate about the social sciences. Explain why you selected the box that said what school you are applying to. For example, why did you pick the engineering school over the school of social sciences? etc.</p>
<p>2) I wrote about Rice as a whole and how it is unique from other peer schools. I would try to avoid going into too much detail about the engineering department, since that is kind of what the first question you asked about it for, but if the engineering department is an important factor in your application to Rice, then definitely try to cover it!</p>
<p>These questions are a tad open-ended, though, so you can manipulate your answer to convey whatever information you want. They just want to know what motivates you to apply to Rice and to apply to the specific school/subject you did within Rice. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m surprised the conversation is about the two short answer questions. I’m struggling with the “What perspective do you feel that you will contribute to life at Rice?” essay. I’m not really sure what I’m really supposed to be writing about…</p>
<p>Write about what makes you unique and how that would contribute to the Rice experience. If you feel strongly about something or like to do something unique, talk about it. </p>
<p>It is a good chance to give your application some personality.</p>