Updated February 11, 2025

Rice University – Acceptance Rate and Statistics

What is attending Rice University like?

A private university in Houston, Texas, Rice is a medium-sized research university with a 300-acre campus. The campus is surrounded by green space and while close to public transportation, also offers rental cars so students can quickly get off campus for any needs.

With challenging academics and small classes, Rice is an academically rigorous school with regular social events hosted on and off-campus.

Rice is also unique for its residential colleges, which are assigned randomly upon admission and kept throughout a student’s undergraduate years. Each residential college has a live-in faculty member and a series of social events, intramural sports, plays, lecture series, courses, and student government representatives. The residential colleges let students interact with peers outside of their studies and regular activities.

Rice’s residential colleges ensure students are surrounded by friendly faces.

Rice University 2023-2024 Admissions Data

Rice University Admissions Statistics

Over the last few years, Rice’s acceptance rate has hovered around the 8% mark. If you want to apply, you can choose from two deadlines outlined on their site: Early Decision and Regular Decision. Early decision is binding, meaning that if you apply early and are accepted, you’ll be required to attend Rice University.

2023-2024 Rice University (Class of 2028) Acceptance Rate

Admission CycleNumber of applicantsNumber admittedAcceptance rate
Early Decision2,88644215.3%
Regular Decision29,5872,1557.3%
All Applicants32,4732,5978%

Rice University Acceptance Rate History

YearNumber of applicantsNumber admittedAcceptance rate
2023-2024 (Class of 2028)32,4732,5978%
2022-2023 (Class of 2027)31,4432,7308.7%
2021-2022 (Class of 2026)29,5442,8029.5%
2020-2021 (Class of 2025)23,4552,55510.9%
2019-2020 (Class of 2024)27,0872,3618.7%

Rice Class of 2027 Middle 50% score range of admitted students (25th and 75th percentiles)*

SAT Math770-800
SAT ERW730-770
ACT Math33-36
ACT Reading34-36
ACT English35-36
ACT Science34-36
ACT Composite34-36
SAT Composite1500-1560

*What does this mean? The middle 50% score range refers to students from the 25th to the 75th percentile of admitted students. So if 100 students were admitted and we ranked their SAT scores from lowest to highest, we’d be looking at 50 students’ stats (from student 25 through student 75).

What is Rice looking for?

Rice offers plenty of helpful admissions advice on their website. They explain they’re looking for “voracious lovers of life, diverse thinkers with an unquenchable curiosity about the world— students who will bring different life experiences and unique perspectives to our campus.”  They also mention these specific factors:

  • The rigor of a student’s coursework
  • A student’s academic performance
  • Extracurricular activities and achievements
  • Knowledge about Rice
  • Opportunities students have had access to as well as the challenges that they may have faced
  • The breadth of socioeconomic, cultural, geographic, racial or ethnic, educational and other perspectives that each student brings to the table

You can demonstrate your unique perspective through your essays, academic profile, teacher recommendations, and activities. You may also have the opportunity to interview with a member of the Rice alumni community.

Other colleges you may be interested in:

College NameNumber of applicants (Class of 2028)Number admitted (Class of 2028)Acceptance rate (Class of 2028)
UCLA146,27613,1149%
Brown University48,8812,5215.2%
Northwestern University50,000+3,7507.5%

PrepMaven can help you in the admissions process

Wondering how to get into Rice University? PrepMaven can help you along the way. Whether you’re looking to boost your test scores, write a killer personal statement, or improve your GPA, we can be a helpful resource. With tutors who are graduates of top universities, valedictorians, National Merit Finalists, and National AP Scholars, we’re here to help you no matter what step you’re at in the admissions process.

Give us a call at 609-945-2264 or fill out our website form to learn how our flexible packages can work for you.

Alexis

Alexis is a tutor, writer, and producer. She graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. As a tutor, she loves to help students explore their unique stories and share their personal journeys through impactful essay writing.

Related College Admission Data Articles

college admissions researching colleges