<p>I am a junior from San Francisco, CA
Academic:
Go to a college prep school (renowned as potentially best school in state)
3.6 GPA completely unweighted (took most rigorous courseload all three years thus far; grades are on the steep upturn even with 4 APs), 4=A, 3.66=A-, etc.
35 ACT and 2380 SAT (CR 800, M 800, WR 780)
Expect following APs: Spanish Lang 4-5, BC Calc 5, APUSH 5, Eng. Lit 5
No class rank disclosed by school
Accelerated math (BC Calc AP and Multivariable Calculus seminar concurrently right now)
Currently TAing sophomore English II class
Expect all As and A-s onward, most rigorous courseload (5-6 APs next year :P), and ~3.68 cumulative GPA unweighted as above</p>
<p>Nonacademic:
Three years of film (formal classes and indy studies); submission to local film festival
President of Film Appreciation Club
President of Math π-Rates
Mathleagues competitor - honored
Tutored at Summerbridge for one year
On admissions committee at Summerbridge for semester
Taught Algebra I class at Breakthrough for one semester (own curriculum, lesson plans, etc.)
Tutor 5hrs/wk as work; have three clients
Volunteer as liaison for prospective applicants to a summer program I partook in this summer
Modern Orthodox Jewish </p>
<p>I am truly enamored with Rice. However, the cashflow ain’t optimal, so will not being able to say I visited significantly hurt me? I’d really like to know where I’d stand in admissions, especially considering my mixed A/B report card (albeit improving).</p>
<p>If you haven’t seen this it may be helpful. It is the admission statistics for 2007 and is very detailed. Later statistics do not have as much detail. The link is to the Google cache as the information has been removed from the Rice web site.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about the fact that you can’t visit. If Rice visits your school, make a point of going to that, and when you apply, set up an interview. It will be local, with a Rice alumnus. They can’t expect everyone to visit before applying. My daughter didn’t (not until after she was accepted) and she’s a sophomore there now. Good luck!</p>
<p>I second BerkMom’s suggestion not to worry about not visiting. Looking at your leadership/community service makes me think that you should have no trouble
writing interesting essays!</p>
<p>Don’t worry about visiting, but like BerkelyMom said, be sure to do an alumnus interview locally. They won’t grade you on your responses to their questions; it’s more about them seeing a vested interest.
I applied this year, E.D. Your stats are good, I found though that more than any other school I looked at Rice looks very closely at your essays, so tell them how much you like their school and want to be there!</p>
<p>Good advice, chicgeek! Liquidswords, you mentioned how enamored with Rice you are –
let your enthusiasm shine when you write. My son and his friends are so glad that they didn’t let offers from other top schools steer them away from this wonderful learning environment.</p>
<p>By letting your enthusiasm shine, I don’t simply mean saying how much you love Rice.
I think that showing how well you understand what Rice has to offer, how you’d fit in, and what you can add to the community are the best ways to deliver this message.
I’m guessing, simply guessing, that strong essays may help attract merit aid – pure guessing, that’s all.</p>
<p>chicgeek92–I’m curious about this statement: “I found though that more than any other school I looked at Rice looks very closely at your essays.” What are you basing that on?</p>
<p>Good question, Berkeley Mom … while at least one school (UVA) I know of monitors college threads with an admissions officer, I am not aware of an admin staffer here
who can speak on behalf of admissions policy. Which means that we tend to rely on anecdotes, what we read in college guides, and what we hear from current Rice students. I think that Rice students are fantastic resources on just about everything except the mysteries of the admissions office. Maybe, one day, we should invited the director to join us.</p>
<p>Rice is very competitive, accepting about 23% of all applicants. Your chances improve if you apply Early Decision but its important to know that you must consider Rice your # 1 school and will attend for sure if accepted. If this is the case, then by all means apply Early Decision. Your GPA is not bad but if please don’t feel content with that GPA. Work hard the remaining year and your senior year (avoid Senioritis) and hopefully get it higher. Your SAT/ACT scores are out of this world amazing. The fact that you have a near perfect standarized test scores will greatly improve your chances of admission over other applicants. Your extracurricular activities are strong so don’t let those go away. Continue being involved in them but remember, colleges like students to excel both in academics AND any other activities a student is involved in. That means that you can’t expect a lot of extracurricular activities to counteract a low GPA. Be strong if both areas, and if one area is getting too difficult to manage, that’s a sign you have too much on your plate.</p>