Can I get into Rice?

If you're white and from Houston, no. Otherwise, maybe.

 

1950?

 

Well since I graduated from Rice perhaps I'm somewhat qualified to answer this.

1) First of all, what does a 1960 on the SAT translate to in terms of the old scoring system? What percentile is that?

2) What is the 4.1 GPA out of? What is your class rank?

3) What high school do you attend

4) Are you an under represented minority (hispanic or black)?

5) Have you won anything important or held any major student government positions? What about you makes you stand out?

 

When i was in high school (2000), unless you were high school val/sal or came from a powerhouse high school where you were top 5%, you had no shot at Rice (or if you were miniority). That's because there were so many kids from Houston applying, it was ridiculous.

let me think about SAT scores. I would think you would have to average about 700 across Verbal, Math, Writing to get into rice, so that makes it about 2100. SAT score requirements are higher for houston residents because so many of them apply. Boost this up and you'll have a better shot.

 

Make sure you write your essay on how you are plotting world domination by working at a McDonald's, eventually giving everything the "Mc" prefix once you've worked up the ladder and becomes emperor of the world.

Why aren't McDonald's fries called McFries? But I digress.

Anyway, someone I knew did that. He got wait-listed at Rice and ended up going to Yale.

Oh, and make sure you don't visit this site too often, especially at your critical juncture. You'll have 30++ years of working life to spend all day here.

 

That alone will get you in

 

Are you a member of OCP?

This is something they look for specifically.

 

Would you want to?

...and I'm saying this after going to Rice, but it's been changing a lot in the last 15 years or so. It is competitive. The work can be hard, especially if you choose certain majors. A lot of people there get all caught up in having to prove they're better than everybody. It gets kind of crowded when everybody is plotting world domination at once... too many cooks stirring the soup.

On the other hand, having that degree will get you a lot of respect later, and the residential college system is cool. The social life is OK but probably not as great as it was. If I was just now going to college, I would pick something else.

Anyway, by all means try if you think it's something you might want. If the SAT seems low (with the new system I have no idea what they're going to look like), take it again now that you've had some practice. Use those practice SAT books with the real tests in them. Your list of clubs sounds decent... but, with it being competitive, lots of people have these. Try to think of what you actually spend your time doing (do these clubs do much?) and emphasize that. If you have a particular career path you want to work toward (which, at your age, is unusual ), go ahead and emphasize that too. Try to show a lot of personality in your essay, and set up an on-campus interview. Don't be afraid to do unusual things with your application. You need to get it to stand out.

 

That SAT seems low compared to the average at Rice. You should retake that if possible. Take one of those prep classes if you haven't already. Instead of talking about how many clubs you are a member of, talk about just one or two where you've held a leadership role or where you've made a real impact. Anybody can go around joining clubs and not participate much.

You also may want to hype up something about being international. Not sure when you came over here, but if you're being compared to all the abcd's that are applying to Rice, then you will face still competition. Maybe as an international student it would be easier.

The good news is that you have some decent safety schools available in A&M and UT since you're in the top 10% of your class.

 

or you could actually enjoy your college life and not go to rice.....

 

LOL - I still had fun at Rice. The lax on-campus drinking policy helped out a lot.

 

lol, you also know about abcd's

btw there is no way in hell you getting into Rice with those scores.

what h.s are you from. If its not Memorial, Bellaire or Taylor, 26 ain't that hot. Remember these h.s have like 20 valedectorians apiece.

you should be happy goin to UT. I went to Rice, then I got kicked out after a year. I was much happier at UT.

 

What the heck did you get kicked out for? I've never heard of that happening. When were you there?

 

I got booted for assaulting a teacher. (not the smartest thing to do, in retrospect) I was there in 2000. The only reason the school or professor didn't press charges or it make the news is because my family is good friends with Fayez Sarofim.

 

hasn't rice changed a lot in the past years... not nearly the same fun/laid back school it was?

 

You never know what top universities are going to do. Strategize as best you can and figure on "filling a niche." One of my best friends worked for Hughes Tool as a machinist for 7 years, decided he was going nowhere, and went to UT. Turned out that he liked it and graduated in 3 years.

My wife helped him write his applications to Stanford and Harvard, trying to tone down his wildly aggressive "demeanor." He insisted on keeping it, although she helped him a great deal. (I sat around and got loaded) Harvard accepted him. I guess he fit their, "white, blue-collar, crazy Texan" slot. He got his MBA, and the rest is history still being written.

Good luck.