Does applying TO at RIce significantly hurt chances?
3.5 GPA
2 class rank
lots of ECs around service and sustainibility
4 year varsity athlete in 2 sports, state qualifier 2 years
probably science major
12 AP, 1DE
selective study semester abroad
4 years regional summer gov school (1-2 week program in summer)
low performing high school (75% qualify for free/reduced lunch)
would apply ED
Most likely, yes.
As you see, more and more schools are requiring.
With a low GPA, it’s another thing to validate.
You are #2 - but that means little. 2 of what?? Top 2%, top 25%, etc. How big is the class.
The last CDS was two years ago so a little old but 76% of enrollees submitted. You can be assured many that didn’t had hooks.
We have no way of knowing whether they had hooks or not.
My question is…why are you going test optional?
oops-- realized a typo.
GPA is 4.5 (not 3.5)
class rank is 2/175
SAT is below 1490
This is correct we don’t know - but it’s likely (athletes, etc) typically get the benefit here - with big time sports.
It is two year old data so 1490 is below the 25th percentile - but there are 25% of kids who enrolled with less than a 1500.
My kid was yours stats wise with a test a bit lower - she went TO and didn’t get in but likely the same result with the test.
You might be similar.
Below a 1490 - does that mean 1200 or 1480?
If it’s high 1400s then maybe - up to the student. A case could be made.
Below that, likely not.
In the end, my student decided - whether she wanted to submit or not. They worked hard. We went over all the possibilities at each school and she made the determination. She was proud of her score even if it put her in a tough admission position at some schools - but she decided to submit.
You might allow your student, after discussion, that same opportunity.
At Rice? If so…you really have no idea why she didn’t get accepted which is the case with many schools with very low acceptance rates. You just don’t know why a kid did not get accepted. You can guess…but you don’t know for sure.
To the OP…please discuss this with your student and the school counselor. rice is a very strong school. Regardless of TO or submitting, you have no idea what the outcome will be until you get the results from Rice. And you won’t really know the “why”.
What is your unweighted GPA on a 4 point scale, core courses only? If your HS doesn’t calculate that, you can calculate it yourself.
What is your current SAT score?
Will you be seeking financial aid? If so have you confirmed Rice will be affordable based on NPC results? https://npc.collegeboard.org/app/rice
Is 4.5 the weighted GPA? I assume so based on your student’s high rank (congrats!) but don’t know your school’s grading scale.
Do you have an unweighted GPA? Or can you specify “all As”?
The class rank will be a big positive in applications. That context matters, more than GPA on its own with holistic admissions.
IMO, if applying ED with that class rank and solid ECs and the score is not significantly below the 25%, I’d submit the score. If the score would detract from the overall application, apply TO.
Best of luck.
Exactly. These two questions are very important. Otherwise I do not think that we can give a useful opinion.
I don’t think TO would hurt your chance. The AOs would know the range of standard test scores in your school. They can make an educated guess/estimate of your score given your ranking. If your actual SAT score is much higher than what the top students at your school had in the past, I’d say submitting it would help your application.
I’m a high school teacher in a Texas title 1 campus. Our highest SAT score is 1500. Unfortunately, high GPA from our school means next to nothing to the top universities. We inflate grades so more students would pass and graduate high school. Our top students get in top universities by demonstrating their achievements at state and national level and what obstacles they have to overcome to get there. We have one going to Cornell, one going to Air Force academy, one accepted to Rice (but not attending). They are not valedictorian or salutatorian, but all hard-working students who went way above and beyond anyone’s expectation.
What kind of high school, public, private, highly resourced, average test scores at the school? I think selective schools like Rice have already signaled that they view tests scores (and their lack) in some sort of context. So if the HS is under resourced and the score is over 1400, submit your score, it might in fact help. If highly resourced, as long as it is over 1400, I think not submitting runs the risk of an assumption that the score was even lower absent Rice being familiar with the school and the rigor of the classes taken.
I cannot answer your question (especially w/o knowledge of your precise SAT score broken down into math v. verbal and your desired major), but I can speculate that your class rank & GPA are impressive enough to generate an offer of admissions to Rice University.
P.S. Just read your post below. Do NOT submit an SAT score of 1300 to Rice in light of your other outstanding accomplishments (GPA & class rank). Nevertheless, if your math score is a 760 or above and your intended major is engineering, then an analysis of your math courses might be needed in order to determine whether or not you need to bolster your math aptitude for the admissions officers.
I think unweighted would be 3.95? All A’s (mostly A, A+ with 1-2 A- in AP class)
School is definitely under-resourced. No advice from guidance about college applications.
No SAT prep or promotion through the school, the majority of students do not take it. Have only taken 1 time and scored a 1300 (digitial). Will definitely take a few more times. Not a great test taker.
Applying for financial aid and would qualify for full tuition and pay out of pocket around 20K.
Just looked it up: Average SAT at the high school is 1170
Take another shot at the SAT (or maybe do an ACT practice and see how you score). Anything over or close to 1400 or an ACT 30/31 will likely help.
Thank you. It sounds like our school is pretty similar to yours. I feel a bit guilty that we dropped the ball on SAT prep. My older daughter applied during COVID when everything was test-optional, so we weren’t really thinking about SATs as something that we needed to focus on. I am only now realizing that more of the selective schools are requiring standardized tests and at the TO schools, the applicant pool is often made up of mostly kids who submit scores.
Is your S signed up for any summer/fall tests? I agree with bksquared that your S should submit anything close to or over 1400.
Our school is larger, graduating >600 every year. slightly more than half of our juniors take the free SAT offered by the district. Average SAT <1000. 1500 was the highest ever (at least for the past 5 years).
If your son scored more 4/5 in his AP exams than 3s, I would suggest that he do some serious SAT prep and take it again. Based on my (very limited number of) observation, scoring 4s in AP English and history correlate with >700 in SAT RW, scoring 4s in physics1 or calAB correlate with >700 in SAT math.
Have you taken any exams for the AP classes you’ve taken?
If you can get your 1300 to 1400, submit OR submit your AP scores if they’re 4 and 5s.
Agree that what your grades/test scores are relative to your classmates is a variable to consider (not just in isolation) but also agree that maybe you should do more test prep and retake it.
Not sure I would say, though, that even though it’s a D-1 school (though consultants recommended dropping to D-3 back when my son was there) that it’s “big time sports” . They have changed conferences several times. Not sure if that’s good or bad. 
. But the point is, most of us are saying, if you are applying ED and have scores in the 1400’s , and if as you note, that’s much higher than the average for your school, then that is all in your favor. Good luck! My s loved his Rice experience!