First-year international applicants are foreign nationals who will complete high school by the end of the current academic year. Foreign nationals are students living outside the U.S. or living in the U.S. who hold, or intend to hold, a valid F-1, J-1, H-1, H-4 etc. visa/status, as well as those pending Permanent Residency status. Rice's international student designation is based on residency or citizenship status rather than where a student lives and studies.

Students who have elected to take time off from schooling between graduating from high school and enrolling in college are considered first-year applicants.
Completion of a high school diploma (or an equivalent) prior to enrollment is required for all new incoming students.
Official high school/secondary school transcripts must include grades from 9th through 11th grade as well as courses being taken in the 12th grade. Early Decision applicants are encouraged to submit first marking period grades, when they become available. Regular Decision applicants will be required to submit mid-year grades from 12th grade, when they become available.

Applicants studying in an international exam-based curriculum, must submit:

All official high school transcripts
Final exam results (for example IGCE/GCSE, CBSE X/AISSCE X)
Predicted exam results, if available
All official transcripts/documents must be issued in English. If not, an official translation of all documents must be provided along with the original language documents. Translations may be done by the institution attended or an authorized/official translator in the country of study.

Official high school transcripts must be submitted by your high school via the application platform (Common App or Apply Coalition with Scoir), through an online ordering system or eTranscript service, or sent via postal mail directly to the Office of Admission. Transcripts will not be accepted by fax or email.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) 100 (Internet-based test)
International English Language Testing System (IELTS) 7
Duolingo 130
Advanced Placement (AP) Exams

Rice University awards transfer credit for the Advanced Placement (AP) Program, which enables high school students to earn transfer credit for college-level courses taken in high school upon completion of AP examinations with a score of 4 or 5. For more information about the AP transfer credit process, please visit the Advanced Placement (AP) Credit page.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Exams

Rice University awards transfer credit for International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations for students who hold the International Baccalaureate Diploma and have obtained a score of 6 or 7 on higher level exams. For more information about the IB transfer credit process, please visit the International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit page.

International Exams

Students who complete various international exams with a grade of A or B may receive transfer credit. These exams include A-Levels, the Abitur, CAPE, CEGEP (Science Option), French Baccalaurat (Science Option), Italian Maturita, and Swiss Federal Maturity Certificate. For more information about the international exams transfer credit process, please visit the International Exam Credit page.