<p>Just to answer one of your questions, YES, EWB & trips abroad are big for engineers. I have tons of friends who go to El Salvador and Nicaragua for breaks to build water purification systems and stuff. That’s one of the things that drew me to Rice and I wrote about it in my essays too :)</p>
<p>I think you’ve got Rice in the bag. My stats were similar (scores slightly higher but ECs less well-developed) and most people I know in this range get merit money, so good luck :)</p>