Should I apply regular decision or early decision?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
1

<p>I really love Rice, but I heard that they don't give ED applicants as much merit based aid. Money is an issue for me. My family makes about 110K but I have a sister in college who doesn't get any aid, so my parents pay about 35k for her per year.</p>

<p>One of the main reasons I want to apply to Rice ED is b/c they have a higher acceptance rate for ED. I'd go there over any other UC if money weren't an issue. However, if I didn't get much aid from Rice, I'd probably end up going to a UC (I'm from CA so I'd pay in-state tuition).</p>

<p>Do you think I'm at the borderline where I might get in on ED but not in RD? Should I apply ED? I thinking of majoring in Biochem and minoring in Spanish, eventually to continue to medical school.</p>

<p>SAT: 2100 superscore
ACT: Haven't taken but I think I'll get around a 33-34
SAT II: Chemistry 750 Biology 720 Spanish 650
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75, Weighted 4.2
Top 10% I think out of a class of 450. Not sure exactly
AP (place score in parentheses): Biology 5 Chemistry 4 Spanish Language 4 English language and Comp 4 Spanish Literature 3 European History 3</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Gov/Econ (one semester each), Leadership, Drama 1
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended (I got a 226), Congressional Gold Medal for youth, Girl Scout Gold Award</p>

<p>[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): JV soccer for fresh/soph year, Club soccer for 2 years as well, President of Crafts and Baking Club, class Fundraising commissioner for 9/10/11, Class Vice President for 12th, Secretary of Spanish Club
[ *] Job/Work Experience: None, but I did an internship in India for CNN my freshman year
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 500+ I built a library in Tijuana, Mexico for my Gold Award project, I was the first Youth Ambassador for a small NPO, I volunteered at Girl Scout camps every year, and I organized a bake sale to raise money for Breast Cancer Research
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[ *] Country (if international applicant): USA
[ *] School Type: Fairly Competitive Large Public
[ *] Ethnicity: East Indian
[ *] Gender: F
[ *] Income Bracket: About 110K</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>If Rice is you first choice then I would apply ED. It seems to me that a lot is resting on your ACT score. If you can get 33 or 34 that’d be great, but if not and you only have a 2100 then you might be on the lower end of the admissions scale.
I don’t think there’s any evidence that it is easier to get merit aid RD, but regardless I wouldn’t factor this into your decision. The chance that you’d get merit aid are already fairly small so I wouldn’t count on that. One thing you could do is check the Financial aid calculator. I know Rice offers a lot of aid, and also if you already have a sibling in college then you are more likely to get aid. You might be surprised by what they offer you.</p>

3

<p>SAT score of 2100 is borderline for ED. Don’t apply ED just b/c it will or will not increase your chances for merit aid. Only about 16% of admitted Rice students get merit aid and those are awarded to exceptional students. I’ve read in this board that a number of admitted Rice students who got 2300s in their SATs did NOT get any merit aid at all. Apply ED to Rice b/c Rice is your first choice.</p>

4

<p>I also agree with the two previous posters: if Rice is your #1-no-holds-barred-first-choice-without-a-doubt, then go for it with Early Decision. If not, then RD might be the way to go. Also, I just want to echo what they’ve said about the SAT scores: they’re not bad by any means, but you could do yourself a huge favor by studying a little bit and then retaking in a few weeks (if your ACT scores aren’t what you wanted, that is). If I’m not mistaken, there’d be two opportunities to test in the fall before the ED deadline, and three before the RD deadline. Best of luck!!! :)</p>