<p>All of the schools on my list right now are pretty much certain acceptances for me. Which is nice I guess, especially because they're all good in my intended major (chemical engineering). However, I'm beginning to think that I should at least apply to some higher ranked universities, because (1) I could end up changing my major, and (2) even if I don't, rank doesn't matter that much in engineering. Not to mention that I plan on eventually entering business, so going to a highly ranked or target school would be helpful for that. </p>
<p>Most rigorous schedule possible at my school (unfortunately, only 4 AP classes are offered)</p>
<p>ECs: 4 yrs Spanish Club (Secretary one year, most likely VP this year)
4 yrs Ski Club (most likely Secretary or Treasurer this year)
1 year JV golf
2 years Varsity cross country
Some volunteer work, but nothing outstanding</p>
<p>My essays should be pretty good, but not outstanding. Depends on the prompt I suppose. </p>
<p>My teacher recs should be fairly average, but I'm not really sure at this point. </p>
<p>So nothing outstanding. Solid stats, but nothing that particularly makes me stand out.</p>
<p>How generous is the financial aid at Rice? Judging by the sticker price it would not be a wise financial decision for me to attend, but from what I’m aware it’s rare to pay the actual price at most private universities.</p>
<p>Rice apparently is a need-blind, full-need school. According to Kiplinger’s, their average need-based aid package is about $31K. Average debt at graduation (among those who have any debt) is about $16K, much lower than at many other schools. They also are much more generous with merit aid than many other highly selective private universities. You can look up more details in their Common Data Set file, section H.</p>
<p>In the Kiplinger’s “Best Value” list of private universities (Oct 2012), Rice ranks #2. Based on Kiplinger’s data, the average net cost after average n-b aid is about $20K. YMMV.</p>
<p>Rice will not award loans to students whose family total income is below $80,000. The student’s financial need will be met through a combination of grants, work study, merit aid (if qualified) and institutional funds. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the suggestions, everyone. I really appreciate it. I’m going to avoid the OOS publics listed above, as well as NYU and CMU, but I will definitely check out the others. </p>
<p>Would you consider USC and BC to be closer to high matches or low reaches for me? Those two are the ones I’m most interested in.</p>