Rice University Class of 2019 Results/Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
21

** SORRY I MADE A MISTAKE AND I ACCIDENTALLY SAVED MY COMMENT BEFORE EDITING THE POST AND NOW IT’S THE SAME AS THE PERSON I COPIED AND PASTED FROM **

Decision: Accepted (!!!)

Major: Architecture (!!!)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2220 (720 CR/750 M/750 W/10 essay) (2nd time, first time was 2200)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Lit 720, Physics 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): took IB
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): took IB
AP (place score in parentheses): not offered
IB (place score in parentheses): Total: 43 HL: Physics (6), English Lit (7), Visual Arts (6), Mandarin B (7); SL Maths (7), Geography (7), TOK (3)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A
More common awards: Duke Of Edinburgh (Bronze, Silver and Gold), Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) Merit at Grade 8 Piano

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
Model United Nations (Parliamentarian) (9-12)
Orchestra (1st Violin) (9-12)
Habitat For Humanity Club (Secretary) (9-12)
Student Delegate (like prefects) (12)
House Captain (12)

Job/Work Experience: June 2014 and June 2013, both at Architecture firms (Architects 49 and Quintrix Architects)
Volunteer/Community service: 4 days building a community centre for Habitat For Humanity;
Summer Activities: Architecture internships, travel
Essays:
-Common App: about my transition from childhood to adulthood, finding my own path after quitting ballet and discovering my passion for art (i was super proud of this)
-Why Rice: talked about the first time i heard about rice (from a comedian Joe Wong), and then about my internships and the real life applications of architecture; mentioned specific classes i wanted to attend. i’d rate it about 8/10
-Why Architecture: about my passion for minecraft, was a shortened version of my UC application essay. really killed this one, 10/10

  • Challenges outside of academics: about my experiences doing DoE kayaking expeditions, and being able to adapt to challenges and falling in love with something that was once a chore/difficult
    Teacher Recommendation:
    Both great (i think, didnt read); i have great relationships with both of them :smiley:
    Counselor Rec: probably quite good, we have a really good relationship as well
    Additional Rec: N/A
    Interview: didn’t have one
    Other
    State (if domestic applicant): Int’l
    Country (if international applicant): Thailand
    School Type: Private International British School
    Ethnicity: Chinese
    Gender: F
    Income Bracket: don’t remember but definitely not anywhere near needing financial aid
    Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not sure tbh
    Reflection
    Strengths: IB Scores, SAT 1 scores, portfolio, recs, essays
    Weaknesses: SAT 2 scores
    Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No idea - didn’t think i’d be lucky enough to be 1 in 24 accepted. so honoured!
    Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
    -Accepted: Pratt Institute, Syracuse, UC Berkeley
    -Deferred:
    -Waitlisted: UMich
    -Rejected: Columbia, UCLA, Rhode Island School of Design
    -Waiting: Princeton, UPenn, Cooper Union
    General Comments:
    Super stoked to have been accepted into Rice, one of my top choice schools!! Good luck to everyone and congrats to those accepted!
22

[ color=green][ b]Decision: Accepted[ /b][ /color=green]

[ b]Major:[ /b] English

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2330
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 790 Bio, 750 SAT II Lit, 800 Math
Unweighted GPA: 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chinese (5), AP Bio (5), AP Lang (5), AP Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, APES, AP Stats, AP Econ/Reg Gov, Journalism, PE
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): national research paper competition finalist, Scholastic Art and Writing Silver Keys

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Editor on Newspaper staff, intern for outside nonprofit (4 years), club copresident, literary magazine officer, student-run nonprofit officer
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays: 10/10 about journalism!
Teacher Recommendation: two 9s and one 7
Counselor Rec: meh
Additional Rec:
Short Answer Questions: 6/10 they were okay - basically my essays for other schools cut down
Interview:

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nah

Reflection:

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: super passionate about lit/journalism/humanities in general
Weaknesses: Grades, didn’t take too many AP/Honors classes
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: passion for journalism
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: WashU, Northwestern, USC
Notes: Got merit scholarships!

23

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown):2000 M:730, CR:670 W:630 (Not Sent)
•ACT (breakdown): 34 M: 34, CR: 34, W:33, S: 33
•SAT II (place score in parentheses): None
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 31/485
•AP (place score in parentheses): None Sent
•IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
•Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Physics, ComSci, AP gov/eco, AP Lit
•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really.

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): French Club (Founder/President), Key Club, NHS
•Job/Work Experience: Grocery store about 20 hours a week
•Volunteer/Community Service: about 100 Hospital volunteer hours, 3 mission trips
•Summer Activities: Mission Trips, Church camps, Work Summer Band
•Essays: Great Supplementals, meh Common app.
•Teacher Recommendations: Not sure probably pretty bland
•Counselor Rec: Same as above
•Additional Rec: None
•Interview: Went well, I thought.

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): TX
•Country (if international applicant):N/A
•School Type: Big Public, slightly competitive
•Ethnicity: White
•Gender: M
•Income Bracket: 100k-109k
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not sure.

Reflection
•Strengths: Interest
•Weaknesses: ECs, Awards
•Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Showed lots of interest ie: visits, interview, letter of continued interest.
•Where else you are applying or have already applied: UT (yeah right)

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: After getting deffered I did not expect to be accepted in RD, but I am very excited and cannot wait to meet all of you accepted as well. Good luck to all waitlisted/rejected and see yall at owl days!

24

Sorry about the format! I’m just impaired with technology that’s all.

Decision: Accepted

ACT: 34
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
APs: US History (5) Biology (4) Calculus AB, Chemistry, Lit, and Government
Rank: 1/183 (28 other students are tied with me though)
Awards: 3rd place state debate, multiple school awards (nothing amazing)

Extracurriculars: School volleyball 2 years, club volleyball 4 years, last year I played on my club’s national team which involved a lot of travel (Volleyball took up a huge majority of my time), debate (3rd state 2015) bellydancing, scuba certified, international club
Jobs: Retail for a season
Volunteer 250+ hours: Humane Society, Watershed, service trip to Belize and continued internship, local aquarium
Summer: Summer research camp in Caribbean

Essays: Common app was very good (in my opinion :wink:
Rice supplements: Awesome. I think they showed how I was a good fit for Rice.
Recs: Both teachers know me very well.

Also, white female from Northwest.
I have no hooks.

Strengths: Interest
Weaknesses: ECs
Other colleges: It’s either I go here or William and Mary.

Comments: I am so excited! I never expected to be accepted and was very shocked. I think that showing interest really helped me out. I visited in the summer and a Rice representative actually came to my school in November for the very first time. My dad also works with an alumni and I learned a lot about the school through him. Also, I didn’t stop myself from being quirky in my essays, and I can only conclude that they worked! I’ll hopefully be seeing you all at Owl Days!

25

Objective:
SAT I: nope
ACT: 35
SAT II: nope
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0; Weighted GPA: 4.20
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, top 8%
AP scores: 5 AP Bio, 5 AP English Lang, 4 AP Gov
IB scores: nope
Senior Year Course Load: 4APs = Calc AB, Physics, English Lit, World History; Art History, Theology, Mandarin
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Debate 4 Years, Team President and Coach Senior Year, Semis at TFA State, Nationals Finalist; Orchestra Violist and Violinist; Student Government; Podcast Host and Producer, published on iTunes;
Job/Work Experience: Marketing and IT Consultant for real estate brokerage firm and truck dealership
Volunteer/Community service: Food Bank, After school tutor for children’s shelter, Muscular Dystrophy Association Camp leader
Essays: 11/10 damn good common app essay
Teacher Recommendations: AP Bio teacher knew me well, liked me in general, writes good recs; AP Gov teacher I’ve known for 4 years so he probably wrote a nice personal one.
Counselor Rec: Counselor knew me rather well, speaks highly of me.
Additional Rec: nope.
Interview: nope.
Other
State (if domestic applicant): TX
School Type: Private College Prep
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: EFC > $200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope
Reflection
Strengths: good test scores, good focus on debate as primary extracurricular, good work experience
Weaknesses: no DI, no subject tests
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: numbers game.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: If you have a specific college in mind, PM me.
General Comments: got a half tuition scholarship from rice so thats nice.

26

Decision: Rejected for engineering!!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 770 M, 670 W, 720 CR
ACT: 34
SAT II: 750 Math 2 and Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92 or something
GPA: 4.32 I think??? My school didn’t send the transcripts from first semester and I barely glanced at it the other day.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): I think it was 6/122 after first semester
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang(5), English Lit, Calc AB(4), Calc BC, Chem(4), CS, US Gov, Physics 1
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Physics 1, Econ, Spanish 3H, APCS
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NM Commended? AP scholar?? nothing big
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): STEM club (co-founder/co-pres), volunteer tutoring, varsity swimming, other stuff
Job/Work Experience: social media/graphic design stuff, receptionist summer job
Volunteer/Community service: various tutoring, Special Olympics, soup kitchens???
Essays: Looking back, they were really cheesy and I screwed up LOL
Recs: probably pretty good
Interview: I didn’t do one… I think I showed no interest at all, whoops.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: nah
Intended Major: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: Wasian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: too high for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): nah

Reflection
Strengths: idk
Weaknesses: i didn’t show interest and essay game too weak
Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted for first choice major (either ChemE or a different engineering major if ChemE wasn’t available): UCSD, UCD, UCSB, UCI, UMich, UT Austin, USC, UMN-TC, UIUC, Cal Poly SLO, SJSU, other schools not even worth mentioning; Accepted to Berkeley in the college of L&S; Waitlisted at UCLA
Schools you were rejected from? Just Rice, haha
Schools you are waiting for? n/a. FINALLY DONE WAITING GOD BLESS
General Comments: I sort of just applied to Rice to appease my parents in all honesty, so I’m glad I got rejected. Congrats to everyone who got in!!

27

So this should officially ends my college admission adventure, except I’m still waiting for UPenn, which I believe is just another rejection.

[color=red]Decision: Rejected[/color=red]

Major: Natural Science – Physics

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 1950 (R:560 W:650(8) M:740)
[]ACT (breakdown): 31 (E:29(8) M:34 R:31 S:30)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Physics (780), Math II (780), Chinese (800)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): in the top 20% (in 200 something people)
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Physics C Mech (5), Physics C E&M (5), Chem (4); and I mentioned that I self-study both of the Phy C
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB (but I mentioned that I am doing BC by myself), English IV, World History, Honors Physics (got out in second semester), and something like a teacher assistant

[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge Finalist [/ul] [/li]
I mentioned that I studied quite some physics (and the math that associated) on my own, and I’m basically working on the courses that I should take in my sophomore year (Quantum Mechanics in particular).But I guess I didn’t emphasis that enough to cover up the weakness of my course load.

I also mentioned that I am a big fan in Rice’s online courses (and have actually done their phys102 and phys201), and that’s about all I did to show my interest in Rice…

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): none
[]Job/Work Experience: Work 4 years in a restaurant as somewhat a “semi-manager”
[]Volunteer/Community Service: none
[]Summer Activities: Work
[]Essays: (3/10) I applied through the QuestBridge program and my QuestBridge essays are just ridiculous. I did send in a much better one afterward, but thinking about it now, I guess it really doesn’t help at all

[]Teacher Recommendations: (10/10) from my phy/chem teacher and (6/10) from my AP chem teacher, I doubt what he can write about me…
[]Counselor Rec: (5/10) I wonder if he know me enough to actually write anything helpful…
[]Additional Rec: none
[li]Interview: none [/ul] [/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): LA
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Public
[]Ethnicity: Asian / HongKonger
[]Gender: M
[]Income Bracket:
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college, first generation immigrant[/ul][/li]
Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: I tried hard to emphasis my love in physics and how much I studied independently, but I guess it just doesn’t work
[]Weaknesses: test scores, essays, gpa, ranking… so basically everything?
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my application overall is just too weak
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:
MIT, Stanford, Emory, USC, Vanderbilt… all rejected, although expected, still so frustrated.
Waitlisted by Tulane… have no hope to get out.
Still waiting for UPenn and also applied to several state schools [/ul]

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:

This rejection from Rice really frustrated me. Even my MIT rejection (MIT and Rice are equally my first choice) doesn’t hurt me as much as this one, although that is partially because I know I got absolutely no chance in MIT anyway…

I wish I have make up my mind to Rice earlier and have put much more effort on my application. I really should have trash my QuestBridge app and just start all over to apply to Rice. But anyway, I have lost my chance forever.

Special thanks to the QuestBridge program for making me want to try to apply top schools like Rice, regardless of how weak I am as an applicant

And finally, congratulations to everyone who got in.

28

Sorry I accidentally put “n/a” for my senior workload - I am post #9 (and post #8, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but #9 should be the one that was formatted correctly)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Physics C, AP Macroeconomics (1st semester), AP US Government (2nd semester), Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, AP Environmental Science, one off period

Our school district splits AP Calc BC and AB into 2 years, which is why I took both AB and BC :slight_smile:

29

[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

Major: English

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (690 R, 700 M, 750 W) 2220 SS (770 R, 700 M, 750 W)
[]ACT (breakdown): 33 (35 E, 30 M, 35 R, 31 S)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): N/A
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Idk. Weighted is 4.52
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/72
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Will graduate with 66 dual credit hours
[]Senior Year Course Load: 4 Dual Credit classes and one regular mandatory class
[]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really, some school and UIL Awards.[/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Senior Class Council (President), Flute, Dance/Choreography, Junior Class Council (Adviser), UIL Spelling & Vocabulary (Co-Captain), NHS (Vice President), Student Ambassadors (Senior Officer)
[]Job/Work Experience: Old Navy (Merchandising/Sales/Training Coach), Fusion Communications Corp. (Journalism Intern)
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Didn’t really include it
[]Summer Activities: Work, 2 dual credit classes over this last summer
[]Essays: Pretty gr9
[]Teacher Recommendations: Also pretty gr9
[]Counselor Rec: It was good, made me sound amazing!
[]Additional Rec: Same as above!
[li]Interview: None[/ul][/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): TX
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: Public charter
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: Middle class
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Gen[/ul][/li]
Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: Essays, rank, GPA, leadership
[]Weaknesses: Testing, and I think I’m pretty average all around for this kind of school.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Probably my essays!! Idk I’m just so happy!!!
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: Accepted at Rice, USC (Cali), STANFORD (!!!), and UPenn !!! Waitlisted at UChicago and Brown, Rejected at Columbia[/ul]

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Put yourself into these applications and just hope for the best back. I could never in a million years have expected these results, but in the end I got into my top two choices!! And even if you don’t, you can be successful anywhere and you will end up at the right place for you.

30

[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

Major: Computer Science

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2240 composite (720 CR, 720 M, 800 W, Essay: 10)
[]ACT (breakdown): 35 composite (36 E, 33 M, 36 R, 35 S, 31 E+W, Essay: 7 (eeeeek))
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chemistry - 720; Math Lvl 2 - 770
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (my school doesn’t rank, only deciles)
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry(4)
[]IB (place score in parentheses): n/a
[]Senior Year Course Load: Honors Physics, AP French 4, AP Calc AB, AP Computer Science (rest of classes just standard)
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Student, National Achievement Finalist, French National Contest Medal Winner (Bronze for two years, Silver for one)[/ul] [/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Track and Field (captain of jump team, 2 years); helped found a club, CSF (inactive member though)
[]Job/Work Experience: n/a
[]Volunteer/Community Service: serve as a captain at a local soup kitchen
[]Summer Activities: attended a computer science program between my sophomore and junior years
[]Essays:
Describe extracurricular/work experience - talked about my work at the soup kitchen and how it has developed my leadership skills
Explain why you are applying to your particular field of study - talked about summer program I attended and how that experience showed me what I could do with a computer science degree from Rice
[]Teacher Recommendations: Got it from my chemistry teacher who I absolutely loved. Didn’t read it, but I’ll say an 8.
[]Counselor Rec: Don’t know her super well, but I saw her lots towards the end of junior year and the beginning of senior year so she got to know me better than most. Let’s go with a 7.
[]Additional Rec: n/a
[li]Interview: n/a [/ul][/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant):
[]School Type: All Girls Private
[]Ethnicity: African-American
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: ~175,000
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM (first generation American citizen)[/ul][/li]
Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: background, test scores, GPA, transcript, essays, ecs and awards
[]Weaknesses: ACT essay, no work experience, no interview
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think the way that I emphasized how specifically Rice would help me get to where I want to go helped me out, as well as explaining how I was interested in Rice early on.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[/ul] Applied and accepted to Harvard, UChicago, UCLA, UC Davis, San Jose State, Saint Mary’s College of California, Cal Poly SLO, Santa Clara, Harvey Mudd

**General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:**Show other people your essays because their input is really helpful. Start on your applications early and don’t let the senioritis kill you. Good luck to all!

31

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310 ( 750 CR 800 M 760 W)
[] ACT (breakdown): didn’t send
[] SAT II: 770 Math 2, 760 physics, 580 Latin (I know Latin was bad!)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/646
[] AP (place score in parentheses): Physics B (5), English Language (5), Psychology (5)
[] IB (place score in parentheses): NA
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Physics C, IB Latin SL (AP not offered), AP US Govt, AP Macro, AP Calc BC, Engineering 4, AP Comp Sci
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Magna cum Laude (Latin I) Summa cum Laude (Latin II) on NLE, National Merit Finalist, US Presidential Scholar Candidate[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses):
100 Member all girls volunteer club (12-Pres, 11-VP, 10-Treas): I updated everything this year, adding an online application and VolunteerSpot
Belles: about 30/300 girls selected to be official hostesses of city. Wear antebellum dress and greet people at events, also do volunteering in casual wear. [Less frilly version of Azalea Trail Maids-Google image it!]
Engineering Outreach: go to local elementary and middle schools, get kids excited about STEM
Latin Convention: attended, school hosted one year [decorated, planned games, led people around]
Latin club: host Saturnalia party for ~100 kids each year (12-rerum scriptores)
Alabama leadership program: my HS representative, three day event
Inner City Art Camp volunteer: about 20 hours one week in summer, my cousin’s church brings in underprivileged inner city kids and does art activities (main assistant in visual arts room)
[] Job/Work Experience: none
[] Volunteer/Community service: in extracurriculars. I don’t count hours, but probably at least 300
[] Summer Activities: only ones on app were Alabama leadership program and Inner City Art Camp volunteer
[] Essays:
Common App: about criticism by classmates on engineering group project. We were creative, but everyone else did the same thing. Shows my quick thinking, response to criticism, determination, creativity, etc.
Extracurricular: about renovating club
Why engineering: interest in circuits, descriptive style essay
How learn about Rice: emails, then YouTube. Talk about engineering group in HS and how relates to interest in residential college system
Personal Perspecrive: about thrifting (use to show interest in vintage fashion, Latin, old books, DIY projects) one of my favorite essays
[] Teacher Recommendation:
AP Physics and Engineering Teacher: didn’t read, should be excellent. Told my parents I was crazy smart one time [he’s taught several kids that have gone to Stanford, MIT, JHU, Duke, etc. for reference]. Known for three years.
Latin teacher: didn’t read but would have been glowing. I participate a lot in class, she likes me. Known for three years.
[] Counselor Rec:
Should have been decent. Had to fill out forms about my interests, awards, parent brag sheet, etc.
[] Additional Rec: none
[li] Interview: none[/li][/ul]

Other

  • []Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
    [    ] State (if domestic applicant): Alabama
    Country (if international applicant):
    [] School Type: public school, competitive for top 20 or so kids [to be really highly ranked you have to do IB; I am the highest AP kid. Top ten take 8 IB classes with 3 HLs]
    [li] Ethnicity: White[/li][    ] Gender: Female
    [] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): 100k
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing major

Reflection

  • [] Strengths: engineering electives [one every year. I know SolidWorks (with FEA), MATLAB, LabVIEW, Multisim, LaTeX]. Female Alabama native interested in engineering (by native I mean that my parents were born here, went to state schools, dad grew up on a farm…)
    [    ] Weaknesses: SAT II’s, no major awards, class rank, didn’t visit
    [] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: no real demonstrated interest
    [    ] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
    All for electrical engineering
    Accepted: Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts (Stern Scholar), Case Western (likely letter, 30k/yr merit), UIUC (James Scholar, 6k/yr merit)
    Waitlisted: WUSTL, Cornell, Northwestern
    Rejected: None

**General Comments: **
I wouldn’t rely on people’s essay ratings; it really is so subjective. For me the best way to write was to open with an anecdote and weave in my thoughts. I usually opened with dialogue out of context to create a hook. I wrote a lot for fun in middle school and early high school, so I’ve developed a strong writing style. Practice until you find a rhythm you’re comfortable with. Make sure it is your voice. I only got feedback from my mom, and I only sometimes took her suggestions.

Don’t pick your extracurriculars because you think they will look good on your resume. I didn’t do scholars bowl, debate, sports, or music like most driven kids at my school do. I did what I wanted, and I am very happy with my college results. Good luck!

32

Never done this before. Hopefully I’m doing this right.

[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

Major: Art History

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2240 (didn’t submit)
[]ACT (breakdown): 34 (English 34, Math 34, Reading 35, Science 33)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Chinese w/ Listening (800), US History (710), Biology-E (720)
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Chinese (5), Psychology (4), Biology (4), APUSH (5), French (5)
[]IB (place score in parentheses):
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Macroeconomics, AP Calculus AB, AP English Lit & Comp, Physics H, & Living Skills (LOL.)
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National merit scholar, President’s award for community service, some art awards…[/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): my school’s magazine (Editor-in-chief), foreign affairs publication (Creative Director), MUN (member).
[]Job/Work Experience: Paid internship @ Condé Nast International, the publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, etc.
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Microfinance rural poverty alleviation program in Ningxia, China.
[]Summer Activities: Internship (unpaid) at National Geographic Traveler magazine, French immersion program in Montpellier.
[]Essays: Bomb!
[]Teacher Recommendations: Recs from APUSH teacher and head of English department probably both 10/10.
[]Counselor Rec: Probably really good.
[]Additional Rec: Got a rec from my journalism advisor, who happens to be quite famous.
[li]Interview:[/ul] Didn’t get one nor did I do demonstrated interest, but it didn’t affect me.[/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): CA
[]Country (if international applicant): USA
[]School Type: competitive public in Silicon Valley
[]Ethnicity: Asian
[]Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: well off & definitely do not qualify for financial aid or anything
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] none [/li]
Reflection

[list]
[]Strengths: Internships & intense focus on a single interest (journalism in this case).
[]Weaknesses: GPA for sure, and the fact that I’m an overrepresented minority from an overrepresented area of an overrepresented state.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My internships & essays were pretty bomb.
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied:[ /list] Accepted to Carnegie Mellon, USC, NYU, Bryn Mawr, Smith, & RICE. Waitlisted at Notre Dame, Wellesley, Barnard, & Boston College (huh?!). Rejected by Penn, Brown ED, Georgetown, Northwestern, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, & Johns Hopkins.

General Comments/Advice/Hindsight:[/noparse] When one door closes, another opens. That’s the case for me this year during this application process; I was in despair after Brown straight-up rejected me in the ED round since pretty much everyone is usually deferred rather than rejected, but I’m very excited to join Rice in this fall! More than happy to be an Owl :smiley:

33

^ yay i did it!

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Decision: Accepted

Major: Physics

Objective:[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (800 CR, 790 M, 720 W [8 essay])
[]ACT (breakdown): 36 (35 E, 36 M, 36 R, 35 S; 9 essay)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math 2: 800; Chemistry: 800; U.S. History: 780
[]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (4.0 in core classes)
[]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 18/595 (Top 3%)
[]AP (place score in parentheses): Chemistry: 5; U.S. History: 5; Literature: 5
[]IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[]Senior Year Course Load: AP Mandarin Chinese, Astrophysics Honors, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP Lit
[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just National Merit/AP Scholar[/ul] [/li]
Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Performed violin for Alzheimer’s resident for 7 years, Speech and Debate, Science Bowl (secretary), Violinist in 2 regional orchestras, Jewish Student Union
[]Job/Work Experience: N/A
[]Volunteer/Community Service: Violin for Alzheimer’s residents for 7 years
[]Summer Activities: Speech and debate camp, reading poetry, chillaxing, watching MIT OpenCourseWare videos
[]Essays: I feel that they were well-written, genuine, and personal, but the topics were (probably, idk) extremely hit-or-miss depending on the admissions officer.
[]Teacher Recommendations: AP Chemistry, APUSH
[]Counselor Rec: What am I supposed to put here?
[]Additional Rec: N/A
[li]Interview: I feel it went really well, and the interviewer said I’d be a great fit for Rice![/ul][/li]
Other

[ul]
[]State (if domestic applicant): AZ
[]Country (if international applicant): N/A
[]School Type: Large, competitive public high school
[]Ethnicity: White
[]Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: Not poor, not filthy rich
[li]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nada, unfortunately[/ul][/li]
Reflection

[list]
[]Strengths: Dedication/passion for community service, probably my recommendations, test scores, grades/course selection
[]Weaknesses: Lack of traditional leadership positions, not particularly busy summers
[li]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: It’s hard to say.[/li]
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Glad to finally be through all this admissions stuff! Proud member of the Rice Class of '19! Go Owls!!!

Other colleges: ACCEPTED: Rice, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech, Case Western, University of Arizona Honors College
WAITLIST: UChicago, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Cornell
REJECTED: Harvard, MIT, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford[/noparse]