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Colleges and Universities A-Z Rice University
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<p>I decided to title my chances post with a random, brilliant Pricess Bride line. lol. I actually never thought I’d post a “chances” thread! The college process makes people go crazy and do things they normally wouldn’t =P... Any input/advice you can give would be appreciated.</p>

<p>I plan on applying ID.
Female, Mexican-American</p>

<p>Major: Kinesiology-Sports Medicine (and pre-med)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.95 unweighted </p>

<p>Rank: school doesn’t officially rank... pretty sure I’d be 4-5/85</p>

<p>SAT: 2050 - M 670, CR 670, W 710, will retake in the fall, I think 2100+ is easily attainable</p>

<p>SAT IIs: will take in the fall- Math IIc, Literature</p>

<p>Courseload: previous school offered no APs, however I’ve taken/will take, the hardest courseload available. (All A’s for 3 years, except one B+ this semester in Physics)</p>

<p>Essay: already wrote one, I think it highlights my diverse background... English teacher said it was “brilliant” </p>

<p>Recommendations: One should be ‘amazing’, one should be better than solid.</p>

<p>ECs: Nothing jaw-dropping or awe-inspiring, this is definitely a weak spot on my application. I play three varsity sports (softball – 10 years, tennis- 10 years, basketball- 3 years), played the clarinet for almost 5 years, am in NHS, and am very actively involved in my church group (including 400+ hours service hours/leadership training (to teach younger kids)), and I baby-sit all the time. </p>

<p>Awards: National Hispanic Scholar (I’m a nominee), Venture Scholar, ‘High Honor Roll’ every year.</p>

<p>Other: I’m visiting campus and interviewing this summer.</p>

<p>Hook(s): I have lived in 3 states and 3 countries.</p>

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<p>Are you in-state or out of state?</p>

<p>I'd say you have a pretty good shot. Having diversity in an applicant is something every high-ranking competitive school is looking for. But you can't be sure about anything with today's college admission system.</p>

3

<p>Don't bother.</p>

<p>If you like the school, then apply. Logic cannot be applied to their system. And, no, I'm not speaking as a bitter high school student who didn't get into his first-choice school; I'm going to Rice next year, and that was my first choice. My best advice is to get two or three schools on your list that you like and that you're almost certain that you will get into, and to just apply to any schools from there, regardless of your "chances."</p>

<p>Having said that, I think that your chances are fairly good. You're borderline, just like I was. If you really like a school, then make sure that you stay in contact with their admissions office. And if you get deferred ID, write a letter telling them that you're still interested in attending.</p>

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<p>Thanks... that was good, applicable advice, and I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>(I guess I'm not actually looking for you guys to tell me that I have a 55.673% chance of getting in...) =P</p>

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<p>in state / out of state for Rice? Its private... why would thaT MATTER</p>

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<p>Well Rice gets way too many applicants from in-state, and the selectivity goes up.</p>

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<p>Hi Mary - </p>

<p>If at all possible, apply ED if you are in-state. If you are oos, I think you have a good chance in any round...out of state acceptance rate at Rice is over 40% I believe.</p>

<p>My d was a NMF and Nat'l Hispanic Scholar with 2250+ SATs and all SAT IIs in mid 700s. She is Mexican American and has state and nat'l level awards, varsity letter and unusual ecs/hundreds of hours of community service. I know her essays were good because one of her Ivy League interviewers offered to show them to potential publishers. Her only weakness was rank, about top 10% (weird ranking system..no extra wtg for AP or Honors) and the fact that she is from Houston. Rice is inundated with applications from the Houston area. I'd venture that most every valedictorian in the Houston area applies to Rice and that is a huge number of outstanding applicants. </p>

<p>My d was deferred ID at Rice, then waitlisted. But she was accepted into UT Honors, A&M Honors, Tulane, Cornell and received scholarship offers of approx $150k at last count. She has very happily accepted an offer from the Honors Program at UNC-Chapel Hill in public health policy/pre-med, where the acceptance rate for oos is about 15-17%. Only a handful of Texans were accepted into their honors program, so that gives you an idea of the competitiveness of her application.</p>

<p>Rice is extremely small and each available spot seems to be carefully defined. Pay close attention to your essays (the Rice prompt is notoriously difficult for some). Make sure your application showcases what is unusual or special about you. I think you are on the right track and wish you the best of luck! :-)</p>

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<p>Thank you very much ldmom.
Congratulations to your d and best of luck to her at UNC!</p>

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<p>One other thing Mary...there is a person in charge of Hispanic recruitment at Rice. She organizes several events for minority applicants/potential applicants in the months preceding decision date. Make sure you go to all of these events to show your strong interest and to put a 'face' with your application. My d missed two of three events and I think this may have hurt her. It was unavoidable (one was held during Thanksgiving break when we were out of town); but in retrospect, I would have changed all plans to make sure she attended these events. </p>

<p>I'm not exaggerating when I state Rice carefully selects each candidate. There are only 700 or so spots in each freshman class and any chance you have to have personal, one on one, interaction with administration only enhances your chances. </p>

<p>I may get drilled by anti-AA folks for this post, but who cares...lol! Actually I probably won't on this board. Rice students/parents are extremely tolerant and supportive of each other. If you attend, you will see what I mean...Rice is such a great school.</p>

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<p>the person she is speaking of is laura villafranca and she is in charge of hispanic recruitment at rice university. she is very nice. when i was applying to rice i was constanty calling to ask questions about the admissions process and by the time my application was reviewed laura and some other people at the office knew me by name and face since i stopped by there all the time. One thing is to go to the minority student weekend which they call "Rice Vision." I went to vision and owl weekend and they were exactly the same...i mean like exactly the same. in vision u will encounter students that have not applied yet and will be applying in the regular decision but they are all a part of a minority.owl weekend had the same programs and academic meetings and they even repeated the same things and i saw the same people although owl weekend has alot more social events and things. they are about the same programwise. show your interest. like the mother said they really do choose people really carefully because they dont have enough spots for the whole thing. there were "11 people competing for each spot" this year according to the thresher. so it is definitly good to keep yourself in their minds by calling and attending tours and information sessions.</p>