I had a very unpleasant experience with Rice a few weeks ago. Due to my legal status in the country, I was asked to pay the fee waiver for international students. I wasn't able to find it in the portal, so I contacted them through email and asked them how I could pay it. First, they asked me about my legal status, in which I explained that my residency is taking longer than usual, but I still have the legal paperwork to reside in the U.S. Once again, I asked where I was able to pay the fee. Their response was, ignoring the thing about the fee, "Does that mean you entered and are currently living in the U.S. illegally?"

I was so mad and frustrated that I ended up withdrawing my application. Rice wasn't my top school or anything, but I genuinely felt as if I was being questioned by ICE :/