Rice University is a highly-selective private research university in Houston, Texas and an 8% acceptance rate. For admission in the fall of 2024, Rice offered nearly 4,000 students a spot on the waitlist — nearly twice as many students as they had even accepted. The desire of applicants to get in wasn’t hampered by the waitlist decision, though. Of that group of students offered a place on the waitlist, even more students than were accepted, 2,794, chose to join the waitlist. Eventually, 122, or 4.4%, were offered a spot in the first-year class.
Those odds of admissions off of the Rice waitlist aren’t good, but they also are not out of the ordinary in the world of waiting lists for top colleges and universities. To really understand how the Rice waitlist works, though, we need to look at the data for more than one admissions cycle.
One year earlier, in the 2022-2023 application cycle, Rice followed the same pattern with one major difference. Again, nearly 4,000 students were offered a place on the waitlist and almost the same number of students, 2,802, joined the list. That year, though, only 7 applicants were admitted off of the waitlist. This outcome was so low that it isn’t even really worth calculating a percentage. It may as well have been zero. And the next year, it actually was.
The 2021-2022 application cycle was even rougher for students on the waitlist. Out of 3,112 applicants who joined the waitlist, hoping for first-year admission, zero (yes, 0) were admitted. That result wasn’t because the students on the waitlist were not as competitive as in the years that followed. It didn’t have anything to do with the waitlisted candidates at all. Rice simply didn’t have to use the waitlist, so the students on it didn’t have a shot.
This underlines how much of the waitlist is out of your control, but there are some parts of the process that you need to take control of in-case spots do become available. In this post, we’ll give you the tools to increase your waitlist odds, so that if a spot opens up your application is the first one that the admissions officers reach for.
Waiting on a waitlist is a long-shot, so you need to take action to increase your odds. Contact us to learn more.
If you have received a waitlist offer from Rice and are considering accepting it, first you need to know that there isn’t much reason not to join the waitlist unless you truly aren’t interested in Rice anymore. Yes, the chances of getting in are low. However, the waitlist also doesn’t cost you anything and is non-binding, so there is literally zero commitment.
If you want to play the waitlist came, here are the four steps that you need to take.
Step One: Join the Waitlist
Being offered a spot on the Rice waitlist and actually being on the waitlist are not the same thing. If you have been extended a waitlist offer, the first step is to agree to join the waitlist, following the instructions they gave you in the notification. If there is a deadline, write it down. You shouldn’t wait to join, though. While the Rice waitlist is not ranked, and is certainly not organized by response time, there is no reason to delay. Join, then move to step two.
Step Two: Commit to a College
Next is the most uncomfortable piece of the waitlist puzzle for most applicants. You need to pick a school that isn’t Rice, and commit. Yes, Rice is the dream. However, you need to have a back-up plan. As we’ve laid out, the chance of a Rice acceptance off of the waitlist is low. So, look at your acceptances, and pick a school. If you aren’t thrilled about any of your options, remember that it is much, much easier to transfer to a school you like better after a year or two than it is to try a complete do-over. Applying again as a first-year next cycle rarely results in better outcomes (we can talk you through why, if you are stumped by this). Instead, go with something that you actually have on the table, confirm your spot, and submit any deposit required.
Remember, the deposit is generally nonrefundable. If you are offered a spot by Rice and choose to accept, you will lose the earlier deposit.
Step Three: Update Rice
Once you have a school lined up for fall, there are four things that you should seriously consider doing to increase your chances of admission by Rice. These are not required by waitlisted applicants, but if you don’t do anything other than joining the waitlist, you’re basically saying that you care only the smallest amount about possibly getting in. If you actually do want to get into Rice, though, you need to do at least three of these four items.
LOCI
The first step is that you need to write a Letter of Continued Interest, or LOCI. This is a one-page letter that updates Rice, providing new information that wasn’t in your initial application, and that reinforces that Rice remains your first choice and that you will attend if accepted. Break the letter into four parts.
Opening: To start, remember that this is a letter. Open it with “Dear” and then the name of your regional admission representative. Follow that with a short, three-sentence paragraph that includes a sentence introducing yourself and your status as a candidate on the waitlist. You also need to include your prospective major, and a clear statement that Rice remains your first choice and that you will attend if offered a spot.
Update: Next is the update. This paragraph (or two) should focus on 2-4 substantive updates to your application. Updates are things that they have not heard already. This could be a new advancement in an activity or endeavor that was included in your application, or something completely fresh. Most importantly, these updates shouldn’t focus solely on you. Rice wants to be able to envision you as part of their community, so you need to show yourself working alongside and in support of others here, too.
Reinforce: After the update, you need to spotlight two or three ways that Rice is your perfect fit. This should be academically-focused, and not focused on things like student groups or liking the landscaping on campus.
Close: This letter must be one page, so the conclusion needs to be compact. End with three sentences thanking the regional representative for their time, stating again that you will attend if accepted, and emphasizing your enthusiasm for what Rice offers.
Supplemental Recommendation
Whether Rice wants a supplemental recommendation has ebbed and flowed over the years, but we know from experience that getting a mentor, coach, supervisor, or a teacher outside of school that can speak to your character and accomplishments from a unique perspective. Often, the best supplemental recommendations come not from the person in your life with the fanciest letterhead, but from an adult who knows you super well and can speak to your growth and resiliency. It should not, of course, be written by a family member. If you are able to line up a supplemental recommender, be sure to make sure that they “include the applicant’s full name, date of birth, or applicant ID” and it “should be submitted through the application platform or to riceapps@rice.edu.”
Updated Grades
Your school should also send Rice an updated set of grades after mid-term assessments are in (if applicable), and most definitely your final grades upon graduation if you haven’t received a decision yet from the university.
Additional Materials
Of the four things to do after you’d joined the waitlist, this is the optional one. Rice does not expect additional materials, but it you have something truly exceptional to share that could build upon or illustrate the LOCI it can be helpful. Do not use this as an excuse to spam Rice admissions with papers, presentations, and PowerPoints. None of those are appreciated.
Step Four: Wait it out.
Sometimes, Rice really takes their time with the waitlist. Recently, they were still contacting applicants off of the waitlist close to the end of July. That year, they took the rare step of offering students accepted off of the waitlist a cash grant to help offset the lost deposit from the school they had committed to. This is not something we expect to see happen every year, but it does show the care Rice has for their students.
Getting into Rice off of the waitlist isn’t impossible, but it is unlikely. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth a shot, though. Don’t just roll the dice. Go in informed, take clear action, and increase your odds.
We help strong students get into great schools, even after a waitlist decision. Email us to learn more.