<p>The way I see it, Rice is looking to reject or waitlist people who consider the school to be another notch on the belt. And why should they not? If a student is not committed to attending the school or seriously considering it among their top choices if accepted, then Rice is one of those schools that would rather have the student who is more interested and committed to a Rice education. Such students tend to work harder and contribute more to the university. When you have such a small class, that counts for a lot. And with only 940 this year in the Class of 2014, Rice has to ensure that they can bring in students who will be attending.</p>
<p>When you have such a small class, a generic “smart” individual does not necessarily make the grade and the school is looking for someone beyond that who can shine and give them something more–and it is all the more important in a class of 900ish because each person can bring something that very few others have. </p>
<p>Said by someone who WAS waitlisted at Rice, by the way. And it was my second choice of school. And I did not have Stanford, Washington University, and MIT to bank on (though I do have a few other decent schools).</p>