Current high school students are going through an extraordinary time of disruption, instability and uncertainty at home, in their schooling and in their communities. A core tenet of the Rice University undergraduate experience is a culture of care whereby the students and community look out for and care for the well-being of others. This culture of care extends to our prospective student community as well.
In light of this, Rice will allow first-year and transfer applicants to undergraduate, degree-seeking programs for the 2020-2021 application cycle to submit SAT or ACT test scores, if they choose. Students who are unable to submit tests, or prefer not to submit test scores, will be given full consideration in the admission selection process.
Rice remains committed to a holistic evaluation process, wherein multiple factors in an applicant’s file are evaluated to determine admission to Rice. Recognizing the great variance of educational opportunity across America, our staff uses assessments to identify students from all walks of life with exceptional promise in full consideration of the opportunities afforded them. Using these tools in context has contributed to making Rice one of the country’s most diverse undergraduate institutions.
While standardized tests have long served to provide an external benchmark of college-readiness that provides meaningful information about a student's preparedness for the rigors of a Rice education, they are merely one factor of many that are considered in the admission process. As is consistent with our holistic review, students will be given full consideration with the information they have provided regardless of their decision to submit their test scores.
For more information about our updated testing policies, visit our website.
Yvonne Romero da Silva, Ed.D
Vice President for Enrollment
Rice University