HOW I GOT INTO RICE UNIVERSITY: Application (CommonApp, Extracurriculars, Interview etc.) 

Hey thanks simrat!

haha thanks so much emma!

That's great to hear and thank you!

You definitely should!

Hey ariana! First off, thanks so much for the support! To answer your first question, I did do a decent amount of community service mainly from these two activities: 1. My time as president of the alzheimer's student association where we volunteered at alzheimer's houses and spent about 4 hours volunteering every other week. 2. Volunteering as a math/reading tutor for a club where I tutored children in a smaller community for a couple hours a week. I also did volunteer work at my local nature center, garden, and library. But I really don't think the last bit made or broke my application. From my experience, what they're looking for is committed, long-term activities (volunteer or not) so you don't have to worry about pilling on more, random volunteer work. For your second point, obviously doing more meaningful community work will increase your chances. But tutoring is a great activity (especially if its volunteering) where you can demonstrate not only leadership, but academic skills. I wouldn't try to add random acts of volunteering in your application if it's not really substantial. Instead, focus on other activities that you've done and really bring out other points if you think you're lacking in volunteering. Hope this helps!

Gerald Wang That really is helpful! i think it’s too late to start a long term meaningful community service activity, so i’ll just have to continue volunteering to tutor and focus on other extracurriculars. Thank you!

@@arianam558 No problem! Good luck with your applications!

Good luck!

Good luck!! Rice's music school is incredible!

Good Luck!!🍀

Thank you :D

Good luck!

When applying, you'll have to send Rice a high school transcript and they'll look at all 4 years. But you should be fine still since they take a holistic look at your academic records. They'll see that you've improved a lot and that's always a good sign.

Hey sandy! It definitely seems like you're going down the right path. I would make sure you try to do tangible things that help your community when you're volunteering and when you're in the student council. Something that you can put down in your applications and show schools that your time there was used to actually do something impactful. Choir is great if you're really passionate about it! I'm sure the avid program is also beneficial since it's designed as a college prep class so keep going with that if you find that interesting. Overall though I think it looks good! Make sure you're enjoying life too!

Hey Kelvin! It's definitely not impossible. As you've said, academically you'll be fine. You have one more year so really try to do some sort of ec. I will say that it will be hard since everyone I know at rice has done some incredible stuff ec wise. But if you can write some really strong essays and find some ec's (do you have any hobbies?) then it's not at all impossible.

Gerald Wang I have a few ec’s, only problem is I’m not super involved in them, except for track and xc. Do you think being less involved will hurt me, or could i just “embellish” and make it seem like a made a large contribution?

Did u get into rice?

@@OfficiallyNiyo I applied early decision and was denied. I was admitted to and currently attending UT Austin as a CS major. Good luck!

Hey isa! I don't know too much about the transfer process but rice has a page dedicated to that: admission.rice.edu/apply/transfer From the looks of it, I think it's similar to the normal admissions process where you submit certain documents and then they'll either accept you or not after the deadline. For scholarships, rice offers either merit ones or financial aid ones (which you can find here: financialaid.rice.edu/apply-aid/applying-aid ). As for merit ones, you don't have to apply for any. You are automatically applied to them and they'll review your application and determine whether or not to give you merit awards. If you have any more questions then feel free to ask them! Good luck with everything!

@@GeraldWang Thank you so much

Haha, I played it a bit in college but now that I've graduated I don't really have the time anymore. So sadly it is collecting dust currently 😅

@@GeraldWang That's unfortunate. I guess we are bound to part ways with our instruments eventually. But it's nice to have music be part of your life. One day, you will find your instrument and remember the fun memories of the past!

@@DaddyOab Well said, totally agree!

I know there's an event called owl days where new rice students (including international students) are invited to rice and learn a lot about the school. However, I don't think there's any formal process for international students to meet current students before they are accepted. If you want to do a campus tour you can probably just sign up for it and go but rice also has some videos that show the campus.

@@GeraldWang Which country you hail from? Do you live in Shanghai? If you are Chinese, then let me tell you I love Chinese Culture and tradition and people.

@@shubham1999 I was actually born and raised in America but I'm glad to hear that you like Chinese culture!

@@GeraldWang can you suggest me where I can watch those videos of Rice University m Do you have any link?

@@isabellaantony5732 Hi Isabella! Which videos are you talking about specifically?

Thanks!

Unfortunately I don't think Rice releases any student written samples (as far as I know) so I can't really be of more use than just trying to google for them. When I was writing my essay the main resource I used was this: blog.prepscholar.com/successful-harvard-application-common-application-harvard-supplement Sorry I couldn't provide much more, but good luck on your application!

@@GeraldWang Oh okay, that’s understandable about the school to be honest. It’s most likely to avoid plagiarism, but also thank you for your advice! I appreciate it nonetheless and I will definitely check up on the link that you shared. Thank you again! 😊

I believe for rising seniors it is since applications were due on the 1st. But you should check their website just to be sure

Aww, I'm sure you'll get into another great school!

So ? Did u get in?

Hey! Another person asked a similar question on the other video. Basically, you want to try to be open and outgoing in your interview. They'll probably ask you general college stuff like: 1. Why do you want to go to Rice? 2. What extracurriculars do you do? 3. Name times where you demonstrated leadership. 4. If you have unlimited resources, how will you change the world? Just be sure to know in and out the things that you are interested in and prepare for these questions!

Gerald Wang thank you so much!

Also, bring a resume! The interviewers don’t know anything about you other than school, contact info, and general areas of interest.

I never used that resource but it definitely seems helpful!