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Prompt 3

Rice is lauded for creating a collaborative atmosphere that enhances the quality of life for all members of our campus community. The Residential College System is heavily influenced by the unique life experiences and cultural traditions each student brings. What personal perspectives would you contribute to life at Rice? (500 word limit)

If you’re applying to any of the colleges besides the School of Architecture, you’ll be required to answer the longest among the Rice supplemental essays 2020-2021. Pay attention to the words “personal perspectives.” A good way to start your brainstorming process would be to think about your background and experiences. Is there a part of your identity that you feel adds a unique element to your story? 

Rice prides itself on its diverse student body, how do you feel you can add to it? The word “diverse,” while a buzzword, can help you try and figure out the focus of your essay. While it may definitely evoke your cultural identity, sexual orientation or religious views, you can also think out of the box when it comes to diversity. Both cultural differences and “life experiences are mentioned in the question. So you could talk about nearly anything, from what the preparation of food from your family’s culture has taught you about community to how your passion for hiking has changed your worldview.

Then we come to the final part of the question: how would the perspective from your experiences contribute to Rice? Similar to the other essays, don’t talk about what you think admissions officers want to hear. What are you genuinely excited about participating in at Rice? What kinds of activities have you led in high school that you believe have prepared you to continue to make an impact in while at Rice? 

This essay is almost as long as your personal statement, so you have a lot of room to address all of the parts within the question. Don’t forget to research what Rice values in its students and which parts of campus you might be able to contribute to. If you can specify how you’d be an asset to the school within Rice you’re applying to, that’s even better.

Essays for the School of Architecture:

Architecture applicants will not be required to answer question #3 (above). Instead, they will answer questions #1 and #2 above, along with #4 and #5

Prompt 4

Why are you determined to study architecture? Could you please elaborate on your past experiences and how they have motivated you to apply to Rice University and the School of Architecture in particular? (250 word limit)

As the question states, you can highlight any aspiration, experience, or relationships that have fueled your passion towards the profession. Do you have a particular goal when it comes to architecture, such as designing a space shuttle for NASA or the tallest building in your city? Can you describe experiences, such as time spent designing sets for every school play since sixth grade, which helped you realize your love for architecture? Or were you motivated by watching your parents map out blueprints for your home?

Don’t just state what that origin story was in one or two sentences. 250 words is a solid amount of space to transport admissions officers into the time of your discovery - to the museum where you first became fascinated by the interior of a space shuttle. You could write about anything here as long as you address where your wish to pursue architecture arose. 

Don't forget to connect your answer specifically to the School of Architecture at Rice. You could mention how your particular aspirations in architecture would benefit from working with one of the firms that partner with Rice’s Preceptorship program. Or, you could write about how the Rice Architecture in Paris program perfectly ties in with your passion for French architecture. 

Admissions officers should be able to take away your motivations behind studying architecture, and ways you would grow from attending the School of Architecture.

Prompt 5

Please expand on relevant experiences and motivations outside of your academic trajectory that have inspired you to study architecture, focusing on aspects that are not accommodated by other prompts in the application?(250 word limit)

Your answer to this prompt might jump out immediately upon reading it, or you might have to sit down and think about activities related to architecture that call out to you. The Rice supplemental essays 2020-2021 don’t want you to repeat your entire activities list; you need to make a choice. Will you pick an extracurricular because you enjoy it the most, or will you pick an activity that you find especially challenging? You could also write about an activity that brings you both joy and a challenge. 

You may be confused about how much the response should relate to architecture. The key words in the prompt are "have inspired you to study architecture" - if participating in sandcastle competitions motivated your pursuit of the field, that definitely counts.  The activity doesn’t have to be over the top or on a grand scale. It could be something relatively quiet, such as reading about a certain style, drawing model airplanes, or making animated short films about architecture on your computer. As long as it’s authentically you, you can write about any activity. Again 250 words is a good amount to break up your essay into talking about the activity itself, then delving into detail on what you enjoy the most or find challenging.

Additional Tips for Writing the Rice Supplemental Essays 2020-2021

• Don’t repeat the rest of your application - Admissions officers will already have read the rest of your application by the time they get to your supplemental essays. So if they see that you’ve talked about the same topic as your personal statement or have repeated details about an extracurricular that’s outlined in your activities list, they might think you’re one-dimensional and don’t have much to offer. They should come out of the Rice supplemental essays 2020-2021 having learned something new about you. 

• Focus on yourself - All of the Rice supplemental essays 2020-2021 specifically ask about you and your experiences. For any of the essays, you might be tempted to write about someone else - a family member who’s a Rice alum or a famous architect who’s inspired you to study architecture. If you mention them, make sure to keep it minimal. At the end of the day, the school wants to know about you. Don’t get carried away and use all your words talking about someone else.

• Show, don’t tell - This is cliché advice when it comes to writing, but it’s crucial to keep in mind, especially with the prompts that Rice has offered. Don’t just tell your reader the name of an activity that you enjoy or simply state what motivated you to study architecture. Upon reading your essay,   the admissions officer should immediately be able to picture you in your element and watch each scenario you described play out easily.

The Rice supplemental essays 2020-2021 are a great opportunity to provide your reader with more context on who you are, your passions and aspirations, and how you could succeed thanks to a Rice education. Answer the prompts in a way that highlights the aspects that make you unique and portray you as a memorable candidate. Your application can unquestionably benefit from your supplemental essays, completely wowing the admissions officers. So work hard on those responses, and convince the school why you are a student they don’t want to miss!