What separated Rice accepted vs. rejected applicants this cycle? Grades and course load a little, and the kind of activities a lot. Rice University admits about 8% of applicants by its official rate, and in our sample its admits leaned toward civic, creative and speaking activities, and away from business and startup ones.
We compared 80 Rice applicants from self-reported 2026 r/collegeresults posts: 28 admitted, 33 rejected and 19 waitlisted. This is part of a larger comparison of accepted vs. rejected applicants at top colleges, which explains how the data was collected.
People who post results skew strong, so 35% of this sample got in, far above Rice's real rate. Compare the two groups with each other, not with your own odds. With 28 admits, a gap of a few people can be noise.
Rice admitted student GPA and SAT
| Admitted | Rejected or waitlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Median unweighted GPA | 3.98 (25 stated) | 3.925 (32 stated) |
| Median weighted GPA | 4.50 (16 stated) | 4.46 (32 stated) |
| Median SAT (scores sent) | 1550 (20 people) | 1535 (44 people) |
| Median ACT (scores sent) | 35 (10 people) | 35 (13 people) |
| Median AP/IB courses | 12 | 10 |
| National-level award | 89% | 79% |
Admits were a little ahead on everything: 12 of 25 who stated a GPA had a 4.0, versus 10 of 32 among everyone else, and they took about two more AP or IB courses. But none of these gaps was large. The bigger differences were in activities.
Which activities Rice admits listed more often
- Scouting or civic groups: 50% of admits versus 10% of everyone else, the biggest gap at Rice.
- Visual arts, theater or creative writing: 43% versus 19%.
- Debate, speech or Model UN: 36% versus 15%.
- A varsity sport (not recruited): 43% versus 27%.
- An internship: 43% versus 29%.
And some showed up more often among applicants who weren't admitted:
- Business or entrepreneurship: 4% of admits (1 of 28) versus 33% of everyone else.
- Founding a club or organization: 21% versus 42%.
- Tutoring or teaching: 36% versus 48%.
- Research: 57% versus 65%.
- Robotics or engineering teams: 14% versus 23%.
The business and founding results are the most striking. Starting a club or a business is common advice for standing out, but at Rice, applicants who listed those did worse in this sample. That doesn't mean they hurt. It suggests they were common enough among Rice's applicants that they didn't set anyone apart, while civic work, creative work and debate did. The same pattern showed up at Emory, where founding an organization was also more common among non-admits.
By the majors applicants listed, computer science did best (8 admitted, 9 not) and business or economics worst (3 admitted, 9 not). These groups are small, so treat that as a hint.
Early decision, the waitlist and Texas residents
Rice offers binding Early Decision. In this sample, 3 of 8 first-round Early Decision applicants were admitted, versus 17 of 39 who named regular decision. That's too few early applicants to compare the rounds. Five applicants said they were deferred, and 3 of those were admitted later.
19 of the 80 applicants (24%) were waitlisted, and none came off it in this sample. Our waitlist strategy guide covers what to do if you land there.
Being from Texas didn't help: just 1 of the 10 Texas residents in the sample was admitted, versus 21 of 59 applicants from elsewhere. Rice is private, so it has no in-state preference like UT Austin. Ten people is a small group, though.
What Rice applicants can take from this
- Grades and scores got you considered, not admitted. Admits were only slightly ahead.
- Civic, creative and speaking activities stood out. Civic groups, arts and writing, and debate were far more common among admits.
- Business and startup activities didn't. They were more common among non-admits.
- Plan for the waitlist. A quarter of this sample landed there.
Rice's College Intel page carries the same applicant-profile comparison, updated as new posts are logged.
Sources
- College Intel's tally of self-reported r/collegeresults posts, 2026 admissions cycle (445 posts logged as of Oct 17, 2026; 80 with a Rice decision). Recruited athletes and transfer applicants excluded. Aggregates only; no individual post is reproduced, and no figure rests on fewer than 3 people.
- College Scorecard -- U.S. Department of Education (Rice's official admission rate)