Rice University is an independent, private university dedicated to the "advancement of letters, science, and art." Occupying a distinctive, tree-shaded, nearly 300-acre campus only a few miles from downtown Houston, Rice University attracts a diverse group of highly talented students with a range of academic studies that includes humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, architecture, music, and business management (graduate study only).

The Texas college offers students the advantage of forging close relationships with members of the faculty and the option of tailoring graduate and undergraduate studies to their specific interests. Students at Rice University each year are drawn to this coed, nonsectarian private university by the creative approaches it historically has taken to higher education.

Rice University is consistently ranked as one of the nation's best teaching and research universities. That's not surprising, since this Texas college shares much in common with the nation's other top universities, including applicants. Rice University applications overlap with Ivy League schools and other schools such as MIT, Stanford, and Duke.