<p>Antarius, the reason I made that statement was because a truly top applicant from S’s school was passed over while another student with good but not stellar accolades was awarded one of the named scholarship awards. Without getting into specific stats and qualifications, suffice to say that there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the better and more qualified applicant was overlooked. And that is fine since Rice can dole out awards however they want.</p>
<p>Yes, Rice does state that merit scholarships are for students who distinguish themselves scholastically and personally, etc. I was providing our experience and my own observation to the OP since Rice doesn’t make their Common Data Set available, and I feel like some of the statements they make regarding their awarding of merit aid is misleading.</p>