Hello! Rice University is one of my dream schools, however, as worrisome person, I feel as if my scores are low from what I’ve looked at so far. I’m not sure if additional information will matter in the review process of my application? But perhaps these details matter in some way…
I applied to Rice using the Questbridge application, which unfortunately, I didn’t make it into Early decision category (I think that’s what it was named, I cannot recall). Rice has reached out for me to apply.
My rank is 7 out 164 with a 3.6 (I am working hard to get it higher! Junior year of high school wrecked me). My SAT score is 1100, while my ACT is a 19 (eek, I know).
I am Native and Mexican (my mother is Yoeme while my father is Mexican) and I am a caregiver to both my parents.
I have participated in lots of community service through being an Artist Officer for Student Council, a member of National Honor Society, Project GRAD member, and the Vice President of National Art Society. All of my awards are art-related (Gold keys for Scholastic Art & Writing, solo exhibition, Houston Live Stock Show & Rodeo Finalist, etc).
My major for Rice is Studio Art, while my last two options are Art History or Computer Science. I love creating and learning about art, it’s truly my passion. Is there a certain guideline for Visual Arts majors at Rice?
Scores aren’t everything – you mention being a caregiver to BOTH parents, so if you can form that into something that has affected your academic career such as being taking time from schoolwork and studying and the anxiety it causes you.
Your rank will help you out with your stats. If you’re 7/164 and you scored like that, then colleges will draw their inferences about your school and region’s competitiveness and how much access you have to test prep and such. They’re likely to account for your circumstances.
Your test scores would put you in the bottom 2 percent of the Rice student body, which means your odds of admission would be quite low and also means you would almost certainly struggle mightily if you somehow were admitted. Best wishes if you do get admitted though – a few people have done well at Rice despite low test scores and perhaps you would be among them.
You’re saying that you live in Houston and are caregiver to both parents - does your college plan include continuing to live at home and care for your parents? (Because even if you could get into Rice, that would be very difficult. The residential experience is a huge part of being an undergrad at Rice, and the coursework is very demanding.) Did you apply to other Questbridge schools outside of Texas?
I think it’s very unlikely, unfortunately, that you’ll get into Rice with your stats. And as has already been said, I think it would be a difficult place to pursue the kind of education you want. The distribution requirements are quite rigorous.
Have you looking into U of Minnesota Morris at all? It sounds as if you would qualify for their Native American tuition waiver https://policy.umn.edu/morris/amindianwaiver and they have a studio art program https://academics.morris.umn.edu/studio-art (and also art history and computer science) as well as a large Native population and strong Native cultural influence which might make it a great place to develop your art practice. Your stats are slightly below median there but as a Native American applicant I think you could consider it a match school. If you don’t match through Questbridge, this could be a possibility - Pell Grant + subsidized loan could cover the remaining costs after the tuition waiver.
Thank you for everyone’s comments! I’m currently working on improving my scores. I do plan to stay in Texas and stay off campus to take care of my parents (we can’t afford to pay someone and my siblings are too young too take care of them). I have ranked other schools as well, such as Univeristy of Pennsylvania and all the schools they offered on the list. I will check out University of Morris!
I’ve gotten accepted to other Texas schools but that’s based on automatic admission rule for public institutions.
Also, my test scores have been impacted on my duty at home, especially in Junior year. I think my biggest worry into going to college especially to one like Rice is the amount of course work, since I use a lot of my free time in taking care of my parents. This helped me cross the univeristy off my list lol!
To be honest, Rice isn’t especially known for its art programs anyway. My daughter had a good experience there but if she’d wanted to be an art major, it probably wouldn’t have been on her list. She was very disappointed in the one studio art class she took. (I’m sure there are folks out there who majored in art at Rice and can speak to the strengths of the program… but it’s not one of the things the school is famous for.)
If you need to keep living at home, U of Houston wouldn’t be a bad plan - they have a range of art majors, both BA and BFA. Is your family considering relocating with you, if you get into a school outside of the Houston area? Or is attending college locally in Houston really the only fully-workable plan?
This is a lot of responsibility for a young person. I hope your parents are in one of the waiver programs that provide funding for family caregivers to get paid, so that you’re at least getting some financial support since caring for them takes up the time that you’d otherwise spend at a job outside your home. You’ve accomplished a lot already with far more on your plate than most of your peers have to deal with. I hope a great plan falls into place for you.
Thank you so much! Your advice really helps! My family and I have been discussing on moving to get closer to college, especially if it’s out of state. However, with our finances, I’m hoping that the financial aid and scholarships I’ve applied to blesses me lol.
Rice does not usually allow students to live off campus freshman year. Each incoming student is assigned to a residential college where they live. Residential college life is integral to the Rice experience. Upper class students usually live off campus at least one year as Rice only has enough housing for approximately 75 percent of the student body. There are other colleges in Houston that cater more to commuter students, such as the University of Houston. U of H’s honors program is worth exploring. https://www.uh.edu/honors/