<p>Hi everyone… I’m writing supplements for Rice and one of the promt is ‘why rice?’
Based on my researches on the internet and college guide books Rice seemed to be a perfect college for me. The location (Houston and Texas) is great, the weather is superb compared to New Englands, the class size isn’t too small but not big either, and students at rice seemed to receive more attention from the faculties. Also the quality of life at Rice seemed outstanding. And obviously it’s a prestigious school with great academic rigor.
And most importantly, the Rice students seemed to have very diverse ethnic, social, and personal backgrounds. But aren’t these common things that any other applicants would say? I think anyone applying for Rice could write about the things I’ve mentioned. I wish I could visit Rice to have deeper sense of what RIce is like but I live in foreign country. How should I write the promt, 'why rice?" in order to grab admission’s attention?</p>
<p>One more thing. Is 2000-2100 range of SAT1 score too low for Rice?
My GPAs and SAT2 scores are in the range. And I think I have done some interesting and nice extracurricular activities. I didn’t take the real SAT1 yet but my practice test scores are around 2000-2100 range. I wanted to know if I need to improve the score in order to have a good chance to get accepted.
Thanks!</p>
<p>The things you mention are the things everyone will focus upon, but you need to add yourself to the mix. Perhaps take some things about yourself, and write “why this thing at Rice is right for you, and why you a right for Rice”. The essay is used to try to learn something about you, not about Rice, so all the research on Rice is not as important as your own introspection.</p>
<p>^^^ I completely agree with the above advice. Rice knows what IT is like. It wants to know what you are like and why Rice is a good fit for YOU (and be specific – don’t let it apply to any university).</p>
<p>Antarius has a good way of thinking about it.</p>
<p>Dont stress too much over it, my why rice essay was 2 sentences long and i got accepted. (I didnt know it was supposed to be an actual short essay lol).</p>
<p>Adcoms can sniff out fake and generic answers. I want to go to Rice because of the excellent academics and small size. yes, everyone does. That doesn’t mean it inst true, just so uber bland.</p>
<p>Talk about how, even though you cannot visit, you connected with campus maybe? Or something really caught your eye, research wise, or just something funky about Rice. Mention the generic stuff but zone in on something that attracted YOU. because if the generic stuff is all the attracted you - then there are many other places to go, and adcoms know that.</p>
<p>I wrote about my wacky love for air/space programs, Rice and NASA and about my rescue pet owl. Both (especially the latter) tailored for Rice, but still about me and what caught my eye about Rice. You could probably spend a good page on architecture if that was what really grabbed you.</p>
<p>cowking - what did you write, if you dont mind me asking? Thats an awesome story. Throws the stereotypes out the window</p>
<p>Antarius - Yeah it makes for a good story haha. I wrote something along the lines of “Ever since I moved to texas, I have only heard good things about it. I love its residential college system and everything about it and I think it is a great fit for me.” Something like that (too lazy to open up my common app)</p>
<p>The week before decisions came in i freaked out because I didnt know people wrote ACTUAL essays for that haha.</p>
<p>hahahaha. Reminds me of that tale of the guy who had to write a paper on “What is courage” and while everyone writes huge lengths he simply states</p>
<p>“THIS IS COURAGE”</p>
<p>in any case, it worked out. BUT I wouldnt recommend that path to anyone from now one :D</p>
<p>haha yeah. I think the admission officers can spot if a student is trying to be very very unique on purpose. The rice admission officers probably saw I was a bit lazy or did not understand that I was supposed to write more haha But i did apply ED so i guess they did know i liked the school.</p>
<p>thats funny. ED does help a lot in declaring interest. I didnt ED cause my parents were like “get a scholarship or else” so I applied to a bunch of places.</p>
<p>The box is also fun, although I hear it doesnt really affect your app. - UNLESS you put grains of Rice that is</p>
<p>thank you everyone you guys helped me a LOT. now i know which directions to take…
oh and one more thing… is SAT1 score 2000ish too low for rice… my scores aren’t improving although i’m taking sat classes. my sat2 scores are good i think. 800 chem and 760 match 2c… but would 2000ish sat1 score lead to a rejection… thank you.</p>
<p>abraham, 2000 to 2100 is not going to make you competitive within this applicant pool unless you have some hooks. Your SAT II’s are excellent and hopefully your SAT I will surpass your test scores.</p>
<p>abraham2002:
Firstly, congratulations on getting a head start on college applications! Also, I can already tell that you are incredibly wise for deciding to apply to the best University in the world. </p>
<p>I just went through the college process, and my cumulative SAT (i.e. my best efforts put together) scored me a 2030. (CR: 700, WR: 650 M:680) Despite this score, (which is within range, but on the lower end of the spectrum of Rice SAT scores) Rice accepted me. Here’s what I found helped me with the process, and hopefully it’ll help you out too:
-Show a LOT of interest in Rice. Pretend Rice is the girl/guy of your dreams, and you want this person to fall in love with/marry you. (Because finding the right college, especially Rice, is like finding the person of your dreams!)
-Be creative with your “Why Rice?” essay. You hit on a lot of great aspects about Rice in your original post, but it’s not enough to tell Rice Admissions offers why Rice is awesome. A creative approach can reveal more about why <em>you</em> are awesome, and demonstrate your knowledge about the school. </p>
But i did apply ED so i guess they did know i liked the school.</p>
my sat2 scores are good i think. 800 chem and 760 match 2c… but would 2000ish sat1 score lead to a rejection… thank you.</p>
really helped me a lot thanks!</p>