How to Succeed as a Rice Premed
/Everything you need to know about being a Rice premed, including premed requirements, the best extracurriculars, and the Rice premed acceptance rate
Learn how to succeed as a rice premed
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Part 1: Introduction
Rice University sits in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical complexes in the world with over 60 different healthcare institutions and world-renowned hospitals including the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The location, coupled with its close-knit community and extensive academic resources, makes Rice a popular place to pursue premed. In fact, up to 40% of freshman students indicate that they are interested in going to medical school once they graduate. This journey can be challenging though, and less than half of this initial group ends up actually applying to medical school.
There are many opportunities at Rice to engage in activities that can help you shine in your medical school application, including leadership roles, research projects, and clinical experiences. However, it can be stressful to narrow down the experiences that best suit your interests and will help you stand out amongst the thousands of applicants to med school. The rigorous premed courses at Rice are intimidating and designed to be difficult thanks to the tough professors and the large number of high-achieving peers. Although some people wonder whether Rice practices excessive grade deflation, we’ve successfully guided many Rice students into medical school, so we know firsthand that it’s doable.
We developed this guide to help you with all aspects of being premed at Rice, including comprehensive advice on course selection, how to identify and secure the right extracurricular experiences, and how to stay prepared throughout this exciting, yet sometimes anxiety-inducing, process. Our goal is to help you get the most out of your undergraduate time at Rice so you can conquer the med school application process and become a physician.
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Part 2: Rice Premed Requirements
There are many diverse topics that you can study through the available courses at Rice, ensuring that you won’t be bored during your time there. While the subject variety makes it easy to stay engaged, the long list of options can make the course selection process feel overwhelming. Some of your choices will be easier to make than others since, to qualify for med school, you will need to fulfill general medical school requirements.
Most students spend their freshman and sophomore years completing these core requirements, especially if they begin their college journey as premed students. If you’re confident about eventually applying to medical school, this approach will provide you with greater flexibility through your upperclassmen years to better balance final major requirements, upper-level science courses, and other graduation requirements.
The table below shows common medical school requirements and the corresponding Rice courses. There will be some variation in these requirements for specific schools, so try to periodically check the requirements for your in-state medical schools to see if they have any unique requirements. For example, while AP credits are accepted at University of Texas medical schools, Baylor College of Medicine does not accept AP course credits in place of their required curriculum.
| Biology:
One year with lab |
BIOS 201 + 202 (or other upper-level BIO course) + 211 |
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| General chemistry:
One year with lab |
One of the following: CHEM 121/122 + 123/124 OR CHEM 151/152 + 153/154 |
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| Organic chemistry:
One year with lab |
One of the following: CHEM 211/212 + 215 OR CHEM 319/320 + 215 |
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| Biochemistry: One semester | BIOC 301 |
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| Physics: One year with lab | One of the following sequences: PHYS 101/102 + 103/104 OR PHYS 111/112 OR PHYS 125/126 |
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| Math: One semester to one year (calculus and/or statistics) | One of the following sequences: MATH 101/102+ OR BIOE 439 OR STAT 280/305/310/315 |
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| English One year | One of the following sequences: FWIS 101-199 OR Any ENGL course |
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As you can see, several course options often exist to fulfill the same core requirements. The specific classes you choose to fulfill these requirements should be chosen based on the experience you gained before college and your anticipated major. For example, there are honors-level general and organic chemistry courses that are mostly targeted at students interested in completing the chemistry major. While you may be able to enroll in them if you are not majoring in chemistry, make sure that you are aware of the differences between the courses and feel prepared for the level of complexity. Additionally, Rice has two major physics tracks (in addition to honors), with PHYS 101/102, including calculus, which you should take if you are an engineering major.
Sample Rice two-year course plan
We put together an example schedule for a premed student so that you can visualize what your first two years at Rice could look like. Keep in mind that you will also need to take courses in addition to the ones listed to fulfill your major requirements and requirements for graduation, such as at least three courses in each Distribution Group I/II/III, a Lifetime Physical Activity Program (LPAP), and a course that satisfies the Analyzing Diversity requirement.
| Freshman Fall | CHEM 121 + CHEM 123 FWIS 102 BIOC 201 |
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| Freshman Spring | CHEM 122 + CHEM 124 MATH 101 PSYCH 203 |
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| Sophomore Fall | PHYS 125 CHEM 211 STAT 280 |
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| Sophomore Spring | PHYS 126 CHEM 212 + 215 SOCI 101 |
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How to maintain a high GPA as a Rice premed
At a prestigious school like Rice, there can be many pressures to do well in your classes. You will have a busy schedule so you must practice strong time-management skills. You’ll need to balance studying for several premed courses at once, while attending weekly labs and making time for extracurricular activities in order to have a competitive GPA.
While this heavy workload will likely push you well beyond your previous academic experience, you will adjust as you learn about new and interesting topics. You won’t be alone, either; Rice is known for having a collaborative premed community with plenty of resources available to help each other succeed, and it is rare to hear stories about overt competitive behavior between students.
Keep in mind the following strategies when planning your schedule and studying for your classes:
Use your resources inside and outside the classroom: Attending office hours is a great way to get to know your professors and ask for help from them directly or their TAs. Each residential college also has its own peer tutoring community through the Academic Fellows and Mentors program.
Plan your courses carefully: Think about which courses for each of the medical school requirements are best for your background and don’t hesitate to talk to juniors and seniors to determine the associated rigor of the professor teaching the course. You might also want to balance heavier courses with lighter electives or fewer extracurricular commitments to ensure that you still have enough time to study.
Consider alternative schedules: Taking classes during the summer, either at Rice or at the local university in your hometown, is a great way to satisfy your premed prerequisites without cramming them into your schedule and overloading your ability to keep up with the course load. If you’re considering a gap year, you would be able to spread out your premed requirements across four years and perhaps devote more time to MCAT prep or extracurriculars.
Develop strong study & time-management skills: At the end of the day, you will need strong time-management skills and study techniques to succeed. Although it can be tempting to procrastinate studying until the last second, this is one of the worst things you can do, especially if it comes at the cost of sleep. Stay on top of your studies so that you are reviewing the material every week and ensure that if professors release old exams that you take them beforehand to familiarize yourself with the style of questions.
What is the best Rice premed major?
While deciding on your ultimate major might be a stressful experience, in terms of your chances of getting into medical school, there is no specific best major for premed students. Having a major in sciences or engineering will not look significantly more impressive on medical school applications, especially if your grades suffer as a result of taking too many rigorous classes at the same time.
You should follow your own academic interests to select a major that you are excited to learn more about and that you feel like you can achieve good grades in. You will be expected to declare your major during or before your sophomore spring semester, so make sure you take some courses in major areas that you are considering during your first and second years.
There are over 50 undergraduate majors at Rice that you can choose from. While many premeds tend to major in biosciences because the major requirements overlap with med school prerequisites, other popular majors include bioengineering, kinesiology, and psychology. There is no need to limit yourself, though, as we have seen many successful premeds who majored in anthropology, English, and history!
When should you take the MCAT?
Deciding when to study for the MCAT exam and when to take it depends on the courses you’ve taken, when you have dedicated time to study for the exam, and when you want to apply for medical school.
If you do not intend to take a gap year and matriculate to medical school directly after graduating, you should plan to take the MCAT sometime during your junior year. Taking the test earlier in the year also gives you the opportunity to retake it in case you are not satisfied with your score.
You should also ensure that you have a few weeks of dedicated time with nothing to do besides studying before you take the exam, such as during the summer after your sophomore year. As the full-length MCAT exam will take over 6 hours (not including breaks), you want to ensure you have enough time to prepare.
You should aim to complete the following courses before you take your MCAT:
1 year of General Chemistry
1 year of Organic Chemistry
1 year of Physics
1 semester of Biochemistry
As the MCAT includes a lot of Biochemistry, taking BIOC 301 is especially recommended to help in the study process. There is also a section that tests on Sociology and Psychology, so taking SOCI or PSYCH 101 can help prepare you for this, but it’s not entirely necessary. Many students simply take advantage of our MCAT study resources to maximize their score on the exam.
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Part 3: Rice Premed Extracurriculars
At Rice, there are many different opportunities to be involved in premed activities. In fact, there are over 300 different clubs that exist, spanning extracurriculars like volunteering, common interests, and mentorship. It can be difficult to know which extracurriculars to join and which opportunities to pass on.
There are no specific organizations that you must join to be a strong med school applicant. However, you should feel passionate about all of the activities that you are involved in. Free time is precious in college, as time outside of classes could also be spent studying for tests or practicing self-care, and the last thing you want to do is to spend that time on activities that you don’t genuinely care about.
Additionally, it’s better to show serious commitment to a few activities, such as consecutive years of participation or holding leadership positions, instead of having little to no commitment to a large number of extracurriculars. You will also eventually need to speak about your extracurricular activities on your med school applications, and it’s always better to demonstrate genuine passion for them rather than view them as nothing more than a line on a checklist.
This point is especially important because many students tend to approach premed extracurriculars with a checklist. You should ensure that you are involved in three key activities before you apply to medical school: volunteerism & service, clinical shadowing & exposure, and research.
It can strengthen your application to be involved in similar activities across more than one of these different categories, if that’s possible for you to accomplish. For example, if you are involved in neuroscience research, you might also try to shadow a neurologist or try to volunteer with patients with memory impairments, such as patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Rice premed volunteering
There are many opportunities for volunteer work in student clubs and organizations. These may be related to clinical activities or focus on other topics including tutoring underserved children or supporting refugees. It’s especially encouraged to be involved in projects that support the greater Houston community, to go “beyond the hedges” and make an impact outside of Rice.
The Rice Student Center maintains a list of all on-campus clubs. Here is a brief list of organizations and programs for volunteering that premed students have enjoyed in the past:
Rice premed shadowing & clinical volunteering
Clinical exposure is important in order to learn about more of the everyday realities of being in the medical field. Specifically, you should aim to have at least 60-75 hours of shadowing experience before you apply to medical school.
The Office of Academic Advising teaches a course, UNIV 330: Medical Exploration and Observership, which includes classroom lectures about the health professions and shadowing 3.5 hours once a week. This is a great opportunity to get involved in shadowing.
There are also many outpatient and private-practice physicians nearby that you can call or email to inquire about any available shadowing experiences.
Here are some hospitals and medical schools near Rice with shadowing programs or physicians you can contact about shadowing:
There are also other clinical opportunities that may require longer time commitments, including Rice EMS and being a scribe or medical assistant.
Rice premed research
There are so many different research opportunities available at Rice and within the Texas Medical Center that the question is not whether you can do research, but instead where you should do research. You could be involved in research on-campus or venture to one of the many nearby hospitals, such as MD Anderson, Texas Children’s Hospital, or Baylor College of Medicine.
You should first meet with an advisor in the Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry. They can point you in the right direction for finding research opportunities and funding sources to receive compensation for your work.
Another good way to look for research is by scheduling a meeting with your major advisor or on your major’s website. For example, there is a Canvas page for Biosciences research and an updated list of opportunities on the website for Psychological Sciences.
There are a wide variety of opportunities to be involved in research across different fields, so you should follow your true interests! Don’t feel pressured to do wet lab bench scientific research, because there are also many other available opportunities in epidemiological, qualitative, and clinical research. For example, the School of Humanities hosts an annual health research practicum for anyone who has taken at least 9 hours in humanities courses.
If you’re still looking for research opportunities, try the following:
Talk to your connections: Talk to your friends or upperclassman mentors to hear about how they got their research opportunities and what their experiences were like. This can help you determine if you might be interested in working with a certain professor or allow you to hear about new openings that might not have been widely advertised yet.
Meet with professors: Your major advisor and your professors are great resources since they might know about positions in their colleagues' labs that are open and can advise you on how to best approach other professors.
Take an upper-level course: Upper-level courses may give you good opportunities to closely interact with professors so that you can get to know them well. Some courses may be primarily lab-based so that you can gain useful skills or work in a laboratory for a semester to complete a project.
Send cold emails: If there is a particular research lab or professor that you are especially interested in working with, you should email them directly. You may need to email several individuals in order to get a response with someone who is willing to meet with you and who has an opening in their lab, so don’t be discouraged if the first few people don’t respond or don’t have space. We wrote a full guide on how to write cover letters for research positions that can help you with reaching out to professors and other researchers.
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Part 4: Getting into medical school as a Rice premed
As you near the end of your premed path, it can feel a bit like putting together a puzzle – you have all of the parts and just need to figure out how and when to put them in the correct place. Of course, there are guidelines for the application process, but each school will be a little different.
The Rice University Office of Academic Advising (OAA) provides pre-health advising with many resources for premed students. OAA hosts yearly large-group advising sessions for Freshman and Sophomore students about how to best prepare for admissions. It is also helpful for you to set up an individual advising session once a semester with an advisor to discuss your course selection and extracurriculars.
There are many helpful resources on the OAA pre-health website, including a newsletter you can subscribe to that advertises opportunities for research and gap year employment.
If you are interested in getting advice from fellow premed students, which can be especially helpful due to their personal experiences with courses or school programs, definitely reach out to one of the Peer Academic Advisors (PAAs). OAA maintains a spreadsheet that lists the contact information of PAAs based on major, pre-professional track, and residential college so that you can find someone who is best suited to provide assistance for your academic path.
During the academic year before you apply to medical school (e.g., in the spring of your junior year, if you plan to apply without taking a gap year), you will need to participate in the OAA’s Open File process. This process helps you get your application materials ready and will set you up to receive a committee letter from the Health Professions Advising Committee. This committee letter is a personalized letter of evaluation that will serve as a summary of your application to accompany your individual letters of evaluation from professors or mentors. If you are applying from Rice, you will be expected to provide this committee packet through the OAA with your application, unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Rice premed acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Although Rice doesn’t officially publish the acceptance rates of med school applicants, it is commonly regarded as a school whose graduates get in at rates much higher than the national average.
During the 2023-24 application cycle, there were a total of 218 applicants from Rice, which included students directly from college and Rice alumni. Among the accepted students from Rice, the average applicant has a very high GPA and MCAT score. The mean GPA and MCAT from admitted Rice students in 2021 was 3.82 and 517, respectively, compared to the national average of 3.74 and 512 for MD schools.
In order to apply to medical school, you will need to complete your target schools’ academic requirements, have dedicated time for research, volunteering, and clinical experiences, and get your letters of recommendation.
Getting into Texas medical schools as a Rice premed
Rice doesn’t have its own medical school, but it has close connections and joint programs with many medical schools in Texas. For example, while Rice University is not officially affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), it’s one of the more popular medical schools among Rice alumni, especially given the close proximity to its campus in Houston. Although it’s difficult to say whether BCM favors Rice undergrads, there is a large percentage of Rice grads in each class. Baylor College of Medicine is a highly ranked medical school that is competitive to get into, with a median GPA of 3.92 and median MCAT of 518. This means that you’ll have to outperform the average Rice premed student in order to be accepted.
Around 40% of Rice’s student body is from Texas, so it’s no surprise that many of the medical school applicants also matriculate to Texas medical schools, which give strong in-state preferences to applicants. Of all medical and dental school applicants, 58% matriculated to schools in Texas, 16% to East Coast schools, 8% to West Coast schools, 9% to Midwest schools, and 9% to Southern schools outside of Texas.
There is also a combined BS/MD program for Rice students: the UTH-McGovern Humanities Assured Acceptance Program. Students majoring in the humanities at Rice can gain acceptance to the UTHealth-McGovern Medical School if they finish the program requirements and apply in the fall of the year before they graduate.
Final Thoughts
With the large number of other Rice premed students, it can be easy to compare yourself to peers. However, the best way to set yourself up for success is by following your personal interests, instead of participating in activities solely because you think they will look good on your application. Your genuine interests will shine through to help you stand out as a top medical school applicant.
Overall, attending Rice could set you up for great success in applying to medical school, and many students go on to top programs. Even though navigating the requirements of being premed at Rice can be intimidating, you now have some of the best resources to help support you.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
