<p>My s auditioned for K. Winkler’s studio at Rice last year. There were 80-100 violinists (undergrad and grad) auditioning for about 4+ spaces with her. He didn’t make the academic bar, but also perhaps wouldn’t have made the musical one either. He was admitted to several top programs. Rice is as hard as it gets, but you should go for it if you like it because some do get accepted. If you aren’t specifically going for Winkler, you could ask the admissions people which violin studio is less competitive (there are 4 altogether) and go for that one. One of the oddities at Rice is that you are forced to pick only one teacher there and you audition for only that teacher.</p>