<p>I think it’s possible.</p>
<p>Pure speculation, but here’s my train of thought:</p>
<p>With HYPSMetc, the adcom is going to get an applicant pool that is so strong, it really doesn’t matter who they pick. These schools have basically admitted that they could scrap the class they chose and take a new class from the applicant pool and not lose anything. Rice doesn’t have as big of an applicant pool so they need to take a closer look at each of the applicants. In a twisted way, it seems Rice needs to be more “selective” because they aren’t as selective as HYPSMetc.</p>
<p>That’s not to say Rice ISNT selective, just not as much as HYPSMetc.</p>