Harvard rejected me, Rice is paying me to go. FGLI pre-med results

Demographics: - Hispanic male - TX - FGLI - single-parent household - public HS Intended Major: Biology (pre-med) Academics: - GPA: 3.95 UW / 4.7 W - SAT: 1490 - Coursework: 11 APs ECs: - Worked at a local restaurant 20 hrs/wk all four years (mostly closed shifts) - Founded a tutoring program for ESL students at my church, 30+ regular kids - Volunteer at a community clinic, ~250 hours - Captain of the Spanish honor society - Mock trial regional finalist Awards: - QuestBridge finalist - RaiseMe scholarship - AP Scholar with Distinction Acceptances: - Rice (Trustee Distinguished Scholarship, full-tuition + stipend) - Vanderbilt (Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship, full-tuition) - UT Austin (Plan II Honors + Forty Acres Scholar) - Texas A&M - UTSA - Trinity University Waitlists: - Yale - Stanford Rejections: - Harvard (REA) - MIT - Princeton Going to: Rice. Visited last weekend and it just felt right. The residential college system reminded me of how my family does Sunday dinner, can't explain it better than that. Reflection: Spent way too much time chasing HYP, cried for a day after Harvard, but honestly Rice is the dream and I don't know why I needed the rejection to see it. Essays carried me, especially the Common App about my mom. Happy to share if anyone wants to read it.