<p>Rice was a late bloomer in my college search. It was not on my initial list, but as I looked into it more, I found out that Rice had many traits that I looked for in a college: a tight-knit community, quirky students, strong engineering, and diverse student body. I have grown fond of it, and I hope that my essay shows interest base don the amount of time I invested in it. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, this meant I missed a lot of deadlines for things that would show demonstrated interest. I did not schedule an off-campus interview in time. The guidance counselor in my school was extremely incompetent as well, and scheduled the high school visit on a day when we did not have school (it was a student holiday -_-), which extremely irked me because I initially suggested him to have Rice visit. I did not sign up for the mailing list either. Everything seems as if I just sent a "why not?" application, when really I researched this school heavily in the Internet (I even watched a tour on YouTube).</p>
<p>I know it is a bit late, but should I take any measures to explain my situation. Should I email the officer assigned to my region an explain my situation? Should I try to schedule an interview anyway? Or should I just stay put and hope the strength of my application works best for me.</p>