Thank you so much for your kind words. My husband, who is handling this way better than me, says she will go where she is meant to go. And knowing who she is, she will be fine. A few prayers wouldn’t hurt either! 
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Learned that DS didn’t elect to be interviewed when applied to Rice, which surprised me as he was good at it. I guess it is what it is now. But to discuss it here, how bad would that be?
they consider demonstrated interest, so maybe if you demonstrated in some other ways it wont be too bad? just my guess though
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While they say interviews don’t matter much, they gave everyone a chance to request one so - yeah, not good. That said, the odds of getting into Rice RD are super slim - so the likelihood of anyone getting in isn’t good. I’m not saying you won’t because many will - but % wise it’s small - so you’ll never know if that’s what hurt you. Even the best and brightest will get rejected. It’s a super stretch for even the Ivy League types.
Yes lets hope. My daughter applied from Massachusetts too and also interviewed with a woman currently working in Boston. Rice came up for my daughter as an alternative to Yale which she probably wouldn’t get into ( and in the end was rejected). Good luck everyone.
The simar for mine. Rick Clark admissions director of Georgia Tech once said on his blog that interviews are only a small piece of the puzzle that you should not use if it is not your strength. It is not my DS’ strength.
Plus there are other ways to show demonstrated interest: info sessions, email counselors, etc. And it’s not a big part of the puzzle.
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@ye2024 is correct, Rice does consider demonstrated interest. But @tsbna44 is not completely correct as not everyone had a chance to interview because they had limited slots and it was first come, first serve.
Each school uses interviews in a different manner. Some schools use it as a tie-breaker should two students be equal and one slot in a department is available. Some schools use it to confirm you are who you say you are in your application. While some schools give it value equivalent to a letter of recommendation.
Personal opinion, I believe Rice uses interviews as a positive “check mark” in which the student showed greater interest in the school other than sitting back and waiting. @MomofBoysFL and @highschoolnerd1 I feel are correct as well. Rice doesn’t want to give one of their valuable slots to a student that never gave the school any attention, but missing a single interview should not create a negative mark.
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I know exactly how you feel. Last week, the results came in for a particular school. According to Naviance, in the past 5 years, every single person who applied from my son’s high school with an SAT and UW (and W) GPA even close to his was accepted. He was rejected - not even waitlisted. These are challenging times.
It’s not a good year for the top ACT/SAT scorers. 
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There are so many factors working against the kids this application cycle. My D was also rejected by a top school last week, not even waitlisted. I thought she was competitive for it, but what do I know, I’m just her mom. LOL. She was disappointed but has moved on and is awaiting on the next door to open. At least at Rice, they encourage submitting your test scores (even though they’re TO), and they also look at grades from 9th through the first semester of 12th grade (unlike the other school). Honestly, I think that’s what hurt my daughter the most. She took APs in the lower grades but the bulk of her APs are this year.
Yes, not everyone interviews, but everyone has the chance to ask. Whether they note that you asked or not was what I was getting at. Thanks for clarifying.
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My daughter got into Washington & Lee. Not as difficult as Rice, but still a top school. They are 19% overall admit rate (last year) but 40% ED so even less than 19% in RD. So there’s hope- there’s always hope !!
Rice is the only school she applied TO - had a 32 SS.
Funny about mid-year grades - her GPA went down in the Fall on her transcript. The DE class shows on the HS transcript as a P. She got an A and we also sent in the Community College transcript to show. Then she has PE and another required regular class - so I worried about that - not anything to do with her, just the schedulng.
Congrats to everyone who applied; it takes a lot of work to do the essays and courage to step up. The worst that could happen is they say no - and for many, it’s probably a relief because I think most kids have tired of the lengthy process and sort of started figuring out where they will end up. Having a late add just adds complexity…of course, my daughter still wants in badly 
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Yep. My son is so ticked that his 1560 essentially means nothing.
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Formerly a sky-high GPA with low test scores would be seen as a possible sign of grade inflation and the kid with that GPA and perfect or near-perfect test scores would have an edge (and rightfully so, I would say)… Not this year.
I could vent all day but I won’t, haha. I know everything happens for a reason and all our kids will be ok.
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It means a lot. It’s Test Optional. Believe me, if you have it, you send it and it will help him.
Her 32 was below the 25/75 for Rice - so we didn’t send. If you send, they’ll use it. You were smart to send!!
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I think that is true (about how they’ll look at high scores if you send them) in a typical TO year. But this year colleges won’t be able to get away w/ admitting only kids who sent scores. So kids with a 35 or 36 on the ACT will now be competing against kids who would not have even made the cut for actual consideration in years past. (I mean no offense about your daughter’s 32, which is a great score!)
I disagree that his 1560 means nothing. It’s no guarantee of admission, and never was, but that score can only help.
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I agree with @Culbreath. There are many things that go into an application. I can’t speak directly on Rice. But having a friend in admissions at a university in Florida and her sister in admissions at a Big 10 school, there has been little to no change for students providing the same information required as last year. For them, it is the holistic review of TO students which is causing all the drama.
I agree. Even with TO, it’s hard to ignore a high score if submitted. If you have 2 otherwise equal kids? We will never know for sure though, this year is so out of whack!