<p>Why must they require a three page essay on a topic that doesn’t work for any other school?!</p>
<p>Displaying interest in Rice is basically being able to fill out the entire application!</p>
<p>Try not to stress about it too much - and look at the 3 pages as a MAXIMUM, not as a minimum. If you only have 1 page to say, so be it. If it’s well-written, it shouldn’t be a problem. Think of the prompt as “who are you? What makes you tick?” Neither of my kids wrote a particularly strong essay for that prompt, and they both got accepted… Put pencil to paper, or fingers to keys and just take a deep breath and write. good luck with your essay! :)</p>
<p>Also, it’s just like common app prompt #5, so it’s unfair to say it’s unlike any prompt ever.</p>
<p>So anybody who chose that prompt is submitting two very similar essays?</p>
<p>I agree with anxiousmom - Our current OWL wrote a 1 page (double spaced) answer to this question. Length is overrated! Just write a solid essay in your own voice.</p>
<p>@MSmom&dad</p>
<p>1 page double spaced?</p>
<p>:|</p>
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</p>
<p>Why would Rice care about what works for other schools? Lol.</p>
<p>I don’t think they want to see anything profound or any deep insights into anything. They just want to get to know who you are as a person. They want students who will contribute to the campus simply by being themselves. Tell them something unique, funny, or interesting about yourself. I wrote about juggling.</p>
<p>Since I forwarded my QB application (3 essays plus short answer), my common app (even more essays), and still have to do the supplement, I’m at a loss for topics. I’ve written about virtually anything interesting there is to write about. I’m sure there are other things I could write about, but Rice is going to see 9+ essays of mine. Seriously? How am I supposed to write another great piece? Aiyee…</p>
<p>How much did you guys write for the “why are you applying to a certain academic college” one? Because for some reason I have absolutely no idea what to say:(</p>
<p>I thought the “your unique perspective that will contribute to Rice” one was actually easy. I just tweaked one of my other common app essays to fit the prompt… but now I’m having a headache over that first short answer question.</p>
<p>Also, do we have to list what other colleges we’re applying to? Would it be detrimental not to list them?</p>
<p>@ xrCalico23: I didn’t list all the colleges I applied to, since I applied to A LOT. However, I did list a lot of Rice’s “peer schools” that I applied to, such as Duke, Emory, Stanford, WashU, etc. I think Rice uses that question just for statistical purposes… the admissions process is just like a business, and Rice wants to know who their main competitors for applicants are each year.</p>
<p>Perhaps Rice is also looking to see whether you are really an ambitious student by analyzing the schools you are applying to. Students who have lower standards and motivation tend to apply to schools that are mediocre. I’ve heard some schools do this, but i’m not completely sure.</p>
<p>I agree with Slik Nik on this one. I don’t think any college is going to use this information to judge you. It’s for their own statistics that they’re interested in it. In any case, I wouldn’t overthink this one. Just tell them the schools you’re applying to move on to the important part of the application.</p>
<p>Oh my gosh! zSquared haha I wrote about juggling and stuff like that in mine too :P</p>
<p>at zSquared: I also want to write about a personal habit of mine, but it isn’t really unique. Do you think that if I described it in a special way, it would appear unique?</p>