Learn what should be your post-deferral or post-rejection game plan to Rice University (photo credit: Katie Haugland Bowen).

Were you deferred by Rice University for the Class of 2030? There have certainly been others before you in your shoes. Last year, during the toughest year in the history of Rice’s Early Decision program, the 9.91% ED admission rate for the Class of 2029 eclipsed the record-low 15.32% ED admission rate for the Class of 2028. And, yes, Rice indeed denies Early Decision candidates. So, if you received a rejection from Rice, all hope is not lost for the highly selective college admissions process!

You’re now wondering, what are your chances of earning admission to Rice in Regular Decision, and what can you do to optimize your odds? Or, if you already heard back bad news from the Rice admissions office, what can you do to put yourself in a better position moving forward?

Rice University Early Decision Acceptance Rates

Below, you’ll find Rice’s Early Decision statistics over the last eight admissions cycles:

Rice University Class Year	Number of Early Decision Applications	Number of Early Decision Acceptances	Early Decision (I + II for Class of 2029 Onward) Acceptance Rate
Class of 2030	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available	Not Yet Available
Class of 2029	5,480	543	9.91%
Class of 2028	2,886	442	15.32%
Class of 2027	2,953	486	16.5%
Class of 2026	2,275	511	22.5%
Class of 2025	2,635	478	18.14%
Class of 2024	2,042	440	21.55%
Class of 2023	2,628	408	15.53%
Class of 2022	1,916	371	19.36%

Rice University Early Decision Deferral Rates

Historically, Rice has not published the percentage of students who are deferred. As the school also does not release the percentage of students who are denied, it would not be possible to glean either figure. That being said, from our experience at Ivy Coach, Rice denies many students, unlike some of its peer institutions that defer most applicants. A deferral from Rice is thus more meaningful than a deferral from some other elite schools.

5 Steps to Take After Being Deferred by Rice

If you were deferred by Rice, we recommend you adhere to the following five-step game plan:

1. Clear your head. Take a few hours to pause and reflect before diving in on how you’ll be attacking the deferral. You can’t approach the process overwhelmed by emotion.
2. Sign up for a complimentary consultation with Ivy Coach to learn about our deferral service.
3. Complete a PostMortem application review with Ivy Coach. We’ll go through your full Common Application, Rice supplement, and two other supplements so you start getting the idea of what went wrong, what went right, and what should change before you submit your Regular Decision applications. You can’t change your Rice ED application, but your RD applications are still very much in your control.
4. Submit a compelling Letter of Continued Interest to Rice with Ivy Coach’s assistance. The letter should be submitted within a few days of your deferral — not in the New Year (they’ll think you developed a case of sour grapes!). While most students know they should submit a letter post-deferral, they often submit the wrong kind of letter (and they submit them well into the New Year). Ivy Coach’s Letters of Continued Interest, which go in right away, feature no brags or updates. It’s a big reason why they’re so effective. And if you’ve heard through the grapevine that our letters are weird, you got us. They sure are!
5. In the New Year, bring your already submitted Letter of Continued Interest to Rice to your school counselor and ask if they’ll make an advocacy call on your behalf. This way, they can present you to Rice’s admissions committee as you presented yourself post-deferral. Keep in mind that some school counselors will refuse to make advocacy calls, often citing fairness or equity. But good school counselors will always make such calls. After all, it’s their job to advocate for all their students!

What Not to Do After Being Deferred by Rice

If you were deferred by Rice, we recommend you avoid taking the following actions:

1. Do not call the admissions office to find out why you didn’t get in. They’ll never tell you the genuine reason anyway. Plus, you’ll come across as annoying. Think about it — they don’t have good news to share with you. As such, they don’t wish to speak with you.
2. Do not write to the admissions office to find out why you didn’t get in. If you don’t know why this isn’t a good idea by now, there might be little hope for you.
3. Do not send holiday presents to the admissions office. You’d be amazed what crazy things students do!
4. Do not let your parent(s) call the admissions office. They don’t want to receive a phone call from you. Do you think they want to hear from your parents? And, no, don’t have your grandmother call either!
5. Do not inundate Rice with further communications after submitting your compelling Letter of Continued Interest. Such communications will only drown out the power of your letter and render you a gadfly.

What to Do If You Were Rejected by Rice University

We’ve all experienced the disappointment of rejection, especially for something we truly wanted. But there are plenty of college fish in the sea of higher education. While gaining admission to Rice was worth the effort, a Regular Decision acceptance might be just around the corner from a school that is just as worthy of your attention.

It’s time to think strategically. You’ll first need to understand what went wrong with your application before you can correct the mistakes you made. Might we suggest you turn to Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers for a PostMortem application review to help you objectively evaluate what went wrong and how best to pivot to a highly competitive strategy that will serve you well for schools to come. Let’s turn this setback into an opportunity for success — by equipping you with a strong singular hook, we’ll help you demonstrate to admissions officers at your Regular Decision schools that you mean business!

Next Steps After Being Rejected by Rice?

PostMortem Application Review

After hearing back that you were rejected from Rice, the time is nigh to contact Ivy Coach for a PostMortem application review. But first, take a deep breath. It’s all going to work out. Know that lots of other candidates have been in the same spot before, and they all lived happily ever after. After you’ve taken a moment to rejuvenate yourself, you can dive in with renewed vigor and understand that you’ve been given a blessing in disguise. You have the chance to change your application strategy before you send it off to other schools, and you’re going to want to take that chance. 

During Ivy Coach’s PostMortem, we:

• Help you to rework the current applications you’re in the process of completing. We go through both the essay and non-essay portions of each application and suggest changes as we go. The schools you’re prioritizing will likely change now that you’ve been rejected from your top choice. And you may think your RD applications are pretty much done, but, after receiving a rejection from Rice, why would you want to double down on the same mistakes?
• Work to present you as a uniquely talented individual rather than a well-rounded one. Well-rounded is never a successful strategy in elite college admissions. We’ll be the first to tell you that. If you come across as too well-rounded with a bunch of disparate activities that don’t thread together, you will confuse admissions officers. Instead, you need to pivot to a strategy that actually works: the singular hook.
• Correct the seemingly insignificant mistakes that likely played a part in your rejection decision. Sometimes, the reason for rejection can be incredibly small, but when colleges have such a surplus of applicants to choose from, they can (and will) be really, really picky. For instance, students who brag do themselves no favor in the Rice admissions process. News flash: no one likes a braggart. Writing about how you raised thousands of dollars for a charity or were selected out of a huge pool of applicants for a seemingly prestigious but actually totally unimpressive summer enrichment program at a highly selective university counts as bragging!
• Reevaluate your admissions prospects and consider taking advantage of the Early Decision II round for a school that, while perhaps slightly less of a reach than Rice, hits the sweet spot between prestige and realism. Not all students are right for ED II, and not all schools offer an ED II round. So it’s time to buckle down and do your research in order to determine an admissions pathway that works for you.

Application Assistance

Following your PostMortem session, which is the first step for us to understand what went wrong with your application and how you need to reposition your narrative, we will:

• Overhaul all of your applications with Ivy Coach’s assistance. You have a game plan. Ready, set, execute! Strip all your other applications of the common mistakes and put yourself in the best possible spot for a positive admissions decision. Although we can’t correct every error you’ve made throughout your past four years, there’s a lot we can still fix in terms of your application narrative and how you hope to sway admissions officers to root for you.

What Not to Do After Being Rejected by Rice

Below are five surefire ways to ensure your Regular Decision admission round goes poorly after receiving a Rice rejection:

1. Do not submit your remaining applications as is. A rejection is valuable data as you’re on your admissions journey, indicating that something is wrong with what you’ve presented. Don’t be like the silly people in horror movies who ignore all the signs! This second chance is your only one. There is no third opportunity after Regular Decision deadlines.
2. Do not, under any circumstances, reach out to the Rice admissions office asking why they didn’t accept you. They don’t have the time or energy to give you a straightforward answer, and your enthusiasm will only annoy them. Rice University does not conduct appeals, so don’t waste your time (or theirs). Your decision is final!
3. Do not be too choosy with your choice of Regular Decision schools and/or omit safety schools from your Regular Decision list. There are certain qualifications that make something a safety school, and if you’re not sure how to determine this, our team of former elite college admissions officers can help. Considering not applying to a school because you’d rather not be on the West Coast for college? Think again. We do not tolerate such pickiness at this time of year from rejected applicants. We encourage you to let that rejection open your mind because so often, students who come to us after a rejection end up attending a school that Ivy Coach adds to their list at this time of year.
4. Do not blame your school counselor for an admissions decision that ultimately rests on your shoulders. Sure, sometimes high school counselors aren’t perfect at their jobs (i.e., they will refuse to make advocacy calls on behalf of their students), but they are your top ally in your admissions college future. Alienating them is the worst thing you can do right now. Don’t even think about it!

Rice University Deferral and Rejection FAQ

Does Rice accept, defer, and reject Early Decision candidates?

Yes, Early Decision candidates to Rice are either accepted, deferred, or rejected (a.k.a. denied).

Is a Rice University deferral meaningful?

Yes, as Rice states on its website, “We defer only those applicants whom we intend to reevaluate for admission again later in the process.” So, unlike some elite universities, Rice doesn’t just defer all Early candidates (hi, Georgetown!).

Rice further states, “Admission rates vary from year to year based on the competitiveness of the applicant pool. There is no clear indication of your chances of admission after being deferred; however, nearly every year, we admit a number of students who have been deferred.”

When does Rice typically revisit the applications of their deferred pool?

Like most highly selective universities, Rice returns its attention to deferred candidates towards the end of the Regular Decision cycle, typically in the last two weeks.

What’s the point of maintaining good grades and test scores now that I know Rice might be (or definitely is) off of the table?

Don’t let a deferral or rejection set you back. We know, it can be disheartening and throw you off your game. It’s still absolutely essential that you strive for excellent academic performance as you round out your senior year. Your application will definitely not receive any further consideration if you let your grades slip, and you won’t be a strong candidate for any other schools if you’re boasting Cs, either!

If my child was rejected from Rice, is all hope lost?

No, that’s a terrible attitude to take! We won’t give up on your child after one rejection, and you shouldn’t either. They absolutely have a shot, quite frankly potentially at an even better school than Rice, if they take our advice and turn their application around by crafting that singular narrative with a compelling, powerful hook.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Rice Deferral or Rejection

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission to Rice and other top schools after your deferral or optimizing your case for admission to other top schools after a rejection, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll then be in touch to delineate our go-forward services for deferred or rejected candidates to the Class of 2030.