Rice University
TX · Private · South · National university · Top 25 tier · 4,793 undergraduates (small)
Admission rates
Latest admit rates
How much of the class comes from ED
~51% of enrolled freshmen were admitted through Early Decision.
This is a share of the freshman class, not an admit rate.
† Regular round (est.) = (all admitted students − Early Decision admits) ÷ (all applicants − Early Decision applicants).
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Admission rates
ED share of the enrolled freshman class (% of first-years admitted ED, not an admit rate)
Early plans
Fall 2027 applicants
Testing
Testing policy
Superscoring
What this means:
- SAT
- Superscores
- ACT
- Superscores
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Test-optional. Rice encourages reporting all scores.
How to send scores
Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment
Send all scores? Encouraged
School’s words: “Admitted students who used self-reported scores and choose to enroll at Rice will be required to submit official test scores prior to matriculation. ... We encourage students to report all scores knowing that we will recombine the sections to get the best possible set of scores for each candidate.”
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Students submitting scores
‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.
Score ranges (middle 50%)
Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Share of enrolled students submitting scores
SAT composite, middle 50%
ACT composite, middle 50%
Year-by-year data, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
| CDS year | Admitted | Admit rate | ED rate | ED share of class | Est. % submitting | % SAT | % ACT | SAT mid-50 | ACT mid-50 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 2,361 | 8.7% | 15.5% | 42% | 100% | 67% | 33% | Not reported | 33-35 | |
| 2020-21 | 2,555 | 10.9% | 19.6% | Not reported | 100% | 59% | 41% | Not reported | 34-36 | |
| 2021-22 | 2,802 | 9.5% | 18.1% | 39% | 75% | 46% | 29% | Not reported | 34-35 | |
| 2022-23 | 2,730 | 8.7% | 18.8% | 42% | 76% | 53% | 23% | 1500-1560 | 34-36 | |
| 2023-24 | 2,447 | 7.9% | 16.5% | 43% | 72% | 50% | 22% | 1500-1560 | 34-36 | |
| 2024-25 | 2,597 | 8% | 16.8% | 45% | 70% | 48% | 22% | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | |
| 2025-26 | 2,948 | 8% | 11.3% | 51% | 83% | 59% | 24% | 1510-1560 | 34-36 |
Waitlist admit rate
Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.
- 2025: 3%
- 2024: 4%
- 2023: 0.2%
- 2022: 0%
- 2021: 0.1%
Test policy in each Common Data Set
History only. The current policy is under Testing above.
- Fall 2027 Recommended2025-26 CDS
- Fall 2026 Recommended2024-25 CDS
- Fall 2025 Test-optional2023-24 CDS
- Fall 2024 Test-optional2022-23 CDS
- Fall 2023 Not reported2021-22 CDS
- Fall 2022 Not reported2020-21 CDS
- Fall 2021 Required2019-20 CDSAs the school reported it. Not borne out: in the class that entered Fall 2021, 46% submitted SAT and 29% ACT (2021-22 CDS).
Notes
- This Common Data Set's test-policy question covers Fall 2026 applicants.