US domestic, highly competitive high school but not nationally ranked, large but not huge high school
Intended Major(s)
Social Sciences
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: (3.7
Weighted HS GPA: 4.25
No class rank
ACT/SAT Scores: 35
List your HS coursework
English: 4 years
Math: 5 years
Science: 4 years (all 3 but last 2 physics)
History and social studies: 4 years, but with more social science electives as an upperclassmen
Language other than English: 4 years
Visual or performing arts: 4 years
Extracurriculars All State Band, Camp Counselor at a Camp for kids with cancer, Leader of 2 clubs (good impact), Youth Soccer Referee, Varsity Track, Various Music service, All activities have 4 years basically except the second one
Essays/LORs/Other Extremely strong essays (best part of my application, probably tied or better than the 35 ACT, yes I am sure)
Go for it. If the application still has the place for you to draw something with a box please be creative. If you’re doing it on the common app and they don’t have it, count your blessings.
Rice is a reach school and your unweighted GPA is a little on the low end for Rice. Did you have an upward trend? Also, you don’t list your rigor (how many AP’s & Honors classes.) Since you love it you might as well shoot your shot and apply ED1 to best improve your chances. Just make sure you’ve checked the NPC and can afford it. Also, if you get denied Emory and Vanderbilt both have ED2. (They are both reaches also though.) WashU is another one to look at with a similar vibe to Rice and Emory.
First question: Have you or your parents run the NPC for Rice, or are you fine being full pay without taking on any debt?
If budget is not an issue (a big “if” for most of us), then given that Rice is clearly your top choice, it makes sense to apply ED.
However, Rice is a reach for nearly any student. An unweighted GPA of 3.7 is very good, but still leaves Rice as a reach. You should be thinking about other schools to apply to. Think about what you like about Rice, and look for other similar schools. There are a LOT of very good universities in the US, and you will get into some very good ones with your stats as long as you are careful to apply to safeties that are affordable and are a good fit for you.
Between Rice, Emory, and Vanderbilt, none of these three are safeties.
What level of classes did you take - meaning what was AP, etc.
It’s ok to like a school but realize they all have issues - bad food, bad roomies, bad profs, bad weather…whatever. Nothing is perfect.
What did you like about Rice? Was it the residential college system?
This might be more schools to investigate that share this feature.
Statistically, you are unlikely for all three. But - if Vandy or Emory is choice #2, they both have ED2 so if Rice says no, you can apply to one of those ED as well.
Of course, this assume you have near $400K to pay for four years of education.
At this point, more important is that assured admit that you’ll love - since you’ve identified three high reaches. So please work on that.
Good luck.
Edit - sorry @librarymom3 seeing you wrote the same thing earlier.
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Any other colleges on your application list? In my opinion, you are a strong student and have a good chance of acceptance at all three, BUT not guaranteed as they have lower %age of accepted students.
Please have a sure thing for acceptance, that you like, that you would be happy to attend. That should be your first college application chosen.
I teach high school in Texas. From what I can remember of my former students and my own children, Rice is very good at picking out the “fitting” applicants. I think your stats are good enough. Your essays need to be convincing that you’re a fit. All-state Band is a plus. Rice MOB is beyond great.