Valedictorian with very low SAT scores

<p>Everyone says I have a sure chance but I keep getting discouraged from reading up on admission stats.</p>

<p>I am currently a junior and really interested in Rice. Do I have a chance?</p>

<p>GPA: 3.94 unweighted; 4.7 weighted
Rank: 1/550</p>

<p>SAT: 720 Math; 480 Reading; 530 Writing (1720 I know it's really low :( )
SAT II: 700 Bio; 660 Math II (this was before I took pre-Cal, taking it again)</p>

<p>AP Exams:
Bio (5) World History (3) US History (should be 5 lol) AP Eng Lang (3/4?)</p>

<p>Junior Classes:
AP English Language
Pre-AP Pre-Cal
Pre-AP Physics
AP Chem
AP US History
Pre-AP Latin III
Volleyball III/Golf/Track</p>

<p>Senior Classes:
AP English Lit
AP Calc AB & BC
AP Eco
AP Gov
AP Physics
AP Art Drawing
Volleyball IV/Golf</p>

<p>Extra Curricular and Awards
Played basketball, ran track, and pole vaulted
Golf
-Second place at a tourney
Volleyball for 5 years
Latin Club
-Magna Cum Laude on National Latin Exam
-9th Place Junior Classical League (JCL) reading comprehension advanced prose
-3rd Place JCL advanced dramatic interpretation prose
-State JCL eligible
Student Council member
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) member
National Honors Society officer: Historian
Art Club</p>

<p>UT Southwestern STARTS research program acceptant (I will be paid for researching cancer under a PI)
Volunteered at an Alzheimer's home over summer
Habitat for Humanity member
Monthly community park clean up
Volunteer Bible school and Vietnamese language teacher
Volunteered as an elementary science fair judge
Special Olympics volunteer
(over 150 hours of community service)</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian
Fluent in Vietnamese
First generation
Income: <$30,000</p>

<p>Do I have a good chance? I would appreciate any comments, thanks.</p>

<p>Congrats to you, Keeemster, on your #1 academic standing! And, your community service record stands out, too. I hope that over the summer you can take some SAT practice tests and drill hard to build up your verbal/writing scores. Have you tried any ACT tests as a possible alternative? I hope you get a great recommendation based on your STARTS research! Good luck to you!</p>

<p>You can never what the admissions officers will do, but I would strongly encourage you to take your SATs again in the fall. I can tell you that your rank will not carry you into Rice. I ranked 2 with below average SAT IIs and didn’t get accepted my freshman year. However, I raised those test scores and got accepted (but I also wrote better essays). Your math is above average, but your reading and writing SAT scores could really hurt you.</p>

<p>I can almost guarantee that if you are like most honors students and your AP Lit teacher is at least decent, your reading score on the SAT will skyrocket with the amount of reading you have to do during senior year. Work hard in that class and see if it helps you. In the mean time I would definitely recommend reading literature over the summer. Even reading online articles or something educational everyday will greatly improve both your reading and writing score. Reading on a daily basis will help you write your essays(super important!), too.</p>

<p>A teacher explained ranking and SAT scores to me in a way that made a lot of sense. The admissions officer has difficulty weighing the importance of a student’s rank because each school has different qualities of education and differing levels of competition within the student population. However, taking a standardized test means all applicants are tested over the same material, so the admissions officer can weigh the SATs more accurately. Hope that made some sense! </p>

<p>Sorry for going on a random tangent there. Basically, I’d suggest you read everyday and then take some practice tests. Don’t forget to do well on your other admissions criteria as well! Best of luck!</p>

<p>Honestly you have a decent shot but you SHOULD try to get that score up to at least 2000. That would put you in a comfortable range given your other credentials.</p>

<p>Agree with all above. Study and retake the SAT. OR take the ACT, but the scores will need to come up.</p>

<p>Oops typo, STARS* not STARTS.</p>

<p>Thank you for your replies. Okay so I’ll take the SAT’s again in October, but what if my math score drops and my reading/writing goes up? Will Rice look at that or will they accept the highest combined scores?</p>

<p>If I remember correctly, Rice didn’t superscore on my freshman application, but they did on my transfer application. Either way, you should just do your best because you can list scores from multiple test dates and they will review everything. Just make sure your math score doesn’t go from a 720 to a 500 or something. :)</p>

<p>A 1720 is a very long shot to get in, no matter the rest of the application. That’s well out of the middle 50%. You absolutely should retake for a better shot, if you feel you can do better.</p>

<p>I believe that Rice superscores the SAT/ACT. Work hard at doing well. Good Luck!</p>