Questbridge Finalist 2016-2017 Results

Just curious about who was or wasn’t chosen as a Questbridge finalist and what your stats were.

Reply in this format:

Decision: Finalist/Non Finalist
Schools Ranked:
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10):
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10):
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10):

Unweighted GPA:
Weighted GPA:
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable):
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science):
SAT II (subject, score):
Rank (numerical or percentile):
All AP test scores:
IB:
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards:

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service:

State:
School Type (public, private, online, etc.):
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Assets:
Extenuating Circumstances:
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student):

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?

Here’s mine:

Decision: Non Finalist
Schools Ranked: University of Southern California, UPenn, Brown, Northwestern, Columbia
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): I spent a lot of time and effort on them, so I’d say around a 9-10
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 7-8 because I’ve only known these teachers for a year
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 8-9 because we know each other pretty well

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.815
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): NEW SAT - 1440 composite, CR+W = 690, M = 750, total essay = 20/24
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): did not take
SAT II (subject, score): I took Bio E and Math II on October 1, so I don’t have my scores yet.
Rank (numerical or percentile): 58th percentile out of 111 seniors
All AP test scores: Macroeconomics = 4, US Gov = 5, Literature = 3
IB: did not take
Senior Year Course Load: High School courses = APUSH, AP Calculus AB, AP Language,
Dual Enrollment/College Courses = General Chemistry 1 and 2 + labs, Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 + lab, Introduction to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, English Composition 2
Major Awards: National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar

Extracurriculars: Guitar, vocals, swim team, pre-med club (president), Interact club (secretary), music club (co-vice president), KIDS club (a community service club at my school that volunteers at a special needs childrens’ center), newspaper, HOSA, NHS, NEHS, Mu Alpha Theta (math honors society)
Job/Work Experience: Substitute guitar teacher at my music school
Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer at local hospital, volunteer musical mentor for the Friendship Circle band (musical group composed of special needs children and youth), MC for my music school’s recitals and competitions, volunteer musical performer at a special needs school, children’s activities coordinator at the local library

State: FL
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Approx. Income: $32k
Assets: None
Extenuating Circumstances: I recently moved to the US and currently live here as a permanent resident. My younger brother has autism, so our family revolves around taking care of and providing for him.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): none

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think that I wasn’t selected as a finalist for several reasons. Firstly, my percentile rank is well below the average percentile for Questbridge finalists. This is because the non-US school I attended in 9th and 10th grade did not offer any APs or honors courses, and the school I am currently in fosters a rigorous and competitive two-year program composed of only 111 seniors. Most of my classmates come from magnet schools with many APs and honors courses, so they have much higher weighted GPAs than I do. I also did not emphasize heavily on finances in my application, as my circumstances are more personal and family oriented. Despite the outcome, I am glad that I applied for Questbridge because it gave me a head start on my college applications and enabled me to really reflect on both the college application process and myself.

Good luck to all who have been selected as Finalists, and if you were not selected as one, remember that you are still amazing!

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Northwestern
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): I’d say Essay 1 was about an 8 because I got A LOT of feedback on it and it was very personal, but my second one was like a 5
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9; I waived my right to view but my teachers are very eloquent writers and liked me a lot.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): Can’t accurately rank

Unweighted GPA: 96.15
Weighted GPA:100.31
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): old SAT - 1380 (690 CR/690 M - 24 on essay)
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science):
SAT II (subject, score): Took Math 1 and 2, haven’t gotten scores yet
Rank (numerical or percentile):11 out of 667
All AP test scores: Chemistry (1), World History (3), US History (3), Lang and Comp (4), AB Calculus (5)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: Physics 1 AP, Government AP, Macroeconomics AP, Stats AP, Independent Study Mentorship Honors, Debate 2 Honors, English IV AP, BC Calculus AP
Major Awards: College Prep Scholar, National Hispanic Recognition Program, AP Scholar Award

Extracurriculars: orchestra for three years, President for Mu Alpha Theta, captain of University Interscholastic League Academics Team, member of NHS, debate team
Job/Work Experience: started working at a movie theater this past June about 15 hours a week, still work there
Volunteer/Community Service: I really haven’t done much, I would help my debate team and academics team fund raise and set up for competitions but that’s it really

State: Texas
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public
Ethnicity: hispanic
Gender: female
Income Bracket: ~34k
Assets: ~900 in child support a month
Extenuating Circumstances: divorced parents, single mom supports me and my brother, plus we have a new baby coming in december. we had to move out of our apartment and in with my grandparents bc we couldn’t afford it anymore with expenses for the new baby and all that
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): none really

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist: Honestly I really didn’t think I was going to get it. My AP scores weren’t amazing and my SAT scores was subpar compared to Ivy League levels. But I believe that my essays truly showed my passion for education and my extracurriculars showed my love of debate and mathematics. I think my responses to the Short answers and essays saved me.

Decision: Non Finalist
Schools Ranked: None (applied for regular decision)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 7
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9? I didn’t look at it. One of my teachers missed the deadline to submit her letter of rec.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): idk

Unweighted GPA: 3.9
Weighted GPA: 5.35
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): New: 1420
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): Submitted 29.
SAT II (subject, score): 690
Rank (numerical or percentile): 1/650
All AP test scores: Did not submit, but mentioned I was an AP Scholar with Distinction
IB: NA
Senior Year Course Load: 10 AP Classes and a few college classes
Major Awards: Book award from top tier ivy league school, (state) Science fair award winner, Speaker for a global organization.

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community Service: 450 hours

State: Prefer not to mention for safety reasons
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Multi-racial
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 40-50k
Assets: Very very high (this is what probably ruined it for me)
Extenuating Circumstances: Medical bills
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): Foreign-born, multi-racial

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I have a lot of assets. And my second recommender missed the deadline date (but I don’t think this had much of an impact.) I’m not surprised by the results, so I’m not disappointed. Congrats to all those who got in!!

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: 12 so I won’t list all haha
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8-9
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9-10
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9-10

Unweighted GPA: 3.98
Weighted GPA: 4.74
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): NOPE
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 35, 25, 36, 35, 36
SAT II (subject, score): NOPE
Rank (numerical or percentile): 1/355
All AP test scores: eight 5’s and one 4
IB: NOPE
Senior Year Course Load: AP:capstone, stat, psych, lit, art, bio only remaining class is honor government
Major Awards: National merit semifinalist and AP college board awards(I did fill all 10 spaces on QB though)

Extracurriculars: Quiz Bowl(described this as my greatest commitment), Debate, Math Team among others
Job/Work Experience: NOPE
Volunteer/Community Service: Retirement Center(Essay #2 was about one specific moment from this activity), Camp Counseling

State: FL
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: little over $55,000
Assets: NOPE
Extenuating Circumstances: Talked about my school before I immigrated to America and having to leave US for a bit very briefly in an essay nothing too extenuating
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): Only that my immigration status narrows down my college and aid options a lot I explained this in additional info section other than that though nothing else this is actually why I am so grateful and surprised since almost 80% are first gen, free reduced lunch, median income in the 30ks and I am not

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think I had some stellar recommendations, based on what my recommenders told me. I also worked on my writing for months and months - the short answers really showed my personality very in-depth even in the few words. Essay #1 was all about my passion for education and Essay #2 showed a completely different, noncollege and finance related side of me. So basically, I think it came down to the writing-both my own and that of my recommenders.

Feels nice to finally be able to fill out one of these results thingamabobs

Decision: Finalist/Non Finalist: Finalist

Schools Ranked: Stanford, Yale, Princeton

Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 9~ for the first one. I have been writing this essay for months and I am very pleased with it. But I am a biased source haha. Got a lot of positive feedback. For the second one, 7-8? Not completely sure. I talked about stuff that were very fresh for me and personal so I think that helped show my true self.

Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): My Psych teacher rec was really good probably a 9, I had him last year and this year. I saw a copy of a rec he gave me for a summer program and loved it, I assume this one was really similar. My other rec from my calc/calc 2 teacher was probably pretty normal. 7?

Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): I got a brand new counselor this school year. I literally had not met her before when she wrote my rec. I gave her a really long document about me though, but it still was probably really generic.

Unweighted GPA: 4.0

Weighted GPA: 4.35 (Can’t take weighted classes until junior year, considered really high at my school)

SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): New SAT 1380, took again in October

ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science):

SAT II (subject, score):

Rank (numerical or percentile): 5/500~

All AP test scores:

IB: IB Mathematic Sl- 5
Senior Year Course Load: IB Calc 2, IB Psych 2, IB Japanese 5, IB Modern world history, IB Senior English, IB Chem 2, Gov/Econ
Major Awards: Just small school stuff

Extracurriculars: President of 2 clubs, VP of 1, Officer of 3 others
One of the clubs that I am president of I am really passionate about. The club raised about $15,000 for a girl who had the same cancer my mom died of.

Job/Work Experience: Busser at a Hotel, Paid Communications Internship (But I don’t want to go into communications so this didn’t really mean much.)

Volunteer/Community Service: 400-500~, Meals on Wheels, Homeless shelters, Food pantry, special Olympics, more

State: OR

School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public

Ethnicity: White

Gender:Female

Income Bracket: ~$12,000

Assets: none

Extenuating Circumstances: Homeless during part of high school, mother died.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First Generation

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist? I felt really good about my essays. I worked really hard on them and I think my effort paid off. I also think I had the type of life story that Questbridge wants (homelessness). I was worried I wouldn’t be accepted because of my SAT score, but it all worked out

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Princeton, Yale (I didn’t want to be binded to a school, so only ranked those)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): I wish I spent a little more time on them, 7-8
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8-9
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9-10

Unweighted GPA: 3.97
Weighted GPA: 5.51
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): New: 1470 (720, 750)
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): Composite: 34 (Essay: 20 English: 35 Math: 32 Reading: 35 Science: 34)

SAT II (subject, score): Math Level 2 (790), U.S. History (570, I regret taking this one)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 1 / 700
All AP test scores: Human Geography(4), Microeconomics(4), Calc AB(3), U.S. History(4), Computer Science(4),
Calc BC(5)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: Procedural Programming (Honors), Spanish 3 (Honors), OOP Java Programming (Honors), AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government, Introduction to Philosophy (Dual Enrollment), Physics w/ Calc 1 (Dual Enrollment), Lab component of Physics (Dual Enrollment), Calculus 3 (Dual Enrollment)
Major Awards: State Programming Competition (1st), College Prep Scholar, Quest for Excellence Awards, AP Scholar with Distinction

Extracurriculars: Computer Science Club, State Programming Competitions, Political Club
Job/Work Experience:I work during the summer and during the school year
Volunteer/Community Service: I volunteer for Congressional and Presidential political campaigns

State: FL
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public, but I also take online courses
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $55,000
Assets: Minimal
Extenuating Circumstances: Familial health problems
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First gen

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
My test scores are a little low, so I think I was selected due to my hooks and the way I expressed them in my essays.

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Columbia, Brown, Yale, Vanderbilt, Emory, University of Southern California, University of Virginia
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8/10, 7/10… I got a lot of feedback and I am a strong writer to begin with. I really exposed myself, and these were definitely a big strength
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 10/10 on both… I read one of them because she had me proofread before she submitted it and the other I know was good because she loves me and was the one who wanted me to apply for Questbridge to begin with.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 7/10. I know she likes me and she knows me more than most counselors because she taught me last year, but this is her first year as counselor so it’s iffy.

Unweighted GPA: 98.43
Weighted GPA: 103.47
SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): CR+W: 630 M:520
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): (going in order listed) 29,25,31,28,28
SAT II (subject, score): N/A
Rank (numerical or percentile): 6/197
All AP test scores: They’re all bad. Lang (3), APUSH (2), Physics (2), Psychology (1), APWH (3)
IB:N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc AB, AP Macro, AP Lit, Intro to Women’s Lit, Mastery Band IV, Advanced Band II, Honors Humanities, Essentials of Biotechnology
Major Awards: Nominated for Governor’s Honors Program, Georgia Certificate of Merit, Most Improved Band Member 9th and 10th Grade, Grade Level Winner for Young Georgia Authors

Extracurriculars:
Marching Band-Section leader (9-11), Drum Major (12)
National English Honor Society-Secretary(10), Vice President(11), President (12)
Student Leadership- Assistant Head of Operation(11), Head of Operation (12), Head of Outreach Committee (12)
Athens Youth Symphony- Principal Trombone (10,12)
Job/Work Experience: Waffle House (December 2015-Present)
Volunteer/Community Service:
Volunteered with Be The Match organizing swabbing drives

State: Georgia
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~40,000
Assets: Minimal
Extenuating Circumstances: Raised by single father of three kids who is also a truck driver
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student):
First gen
Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I was honestly so surprised I was chosen. I think it all comes down to my determination and overwhelming successes despite those around me. I did a good job of exposing myself in my essays and being very detailed about things that I haven’t spoken about in years. Also, in my second essay I wrote about my greatest achievement and that was when my band was successful. I am constantly not only lifting up myself, but others, and that was definitely a highlight of my essay. I spent 3 months grueling over this application, and it most definitely paid off. I couldn’t be anymore thankful! Now I just have to get matched!

So cool you were on math team too!! I love seeing girls in stem

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Pomona, Rice, Macalester, Vassar, Swarthmore, Haverford, Williams, Carleton, Columbia and UPenn but Pomona is my first choice!

Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): First one maybe 8 cos I talked about doing an internship for free because they couldn’t hire me cos of my immigration status and I got a lot of good feedback. Second was maybe a 9 as I talked about my hatred of working with others (lol I really do but I’m getting over it) and together we made a website for sexual assault survivors.

Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): Waived my right to see it so I have no idea but I think one of them would be generic cos the teacher uses a template and even though he has taught me for two years he still will write a generic one. But both are from AP teachers
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): Have no idea but she is nice so yeah.

Unweighted GPA:3.85
Weighted GPA:idk
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable) 1240, 1250
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science):didn’t take
SAT II (subject, score): didn’t take
Rank (numerical or percentile): school doesn’t rank
All AP test scores: AP Lang 4, APWH 3
IB:School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load:US History, AP Physics, English 12, Pre calc, Found of Tech,AP Psychology, Chemistry, Art
Major Awards:just school stuff

Extracurriculars: Yearbook, Founder of Computer science club at my school,NHS, NSHSS Ambassador, Peerforward
Job/Work Experience:Tutored my brother in the 3rd grade
Volunteer/Community Service:over 200 hours spent during the summer

State:MD
School Type (public, private, online, etc.):public
Ethnicity:African
Gender:F
Income Bracket:$39,000
Assets:none
Extenuating Circumstances:I live with my step mom and step brothers, my parents are in Nigeria and i think that’s it
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen in U.S, girl in STEM? ,

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist? I feel like I got it because my short answers were very creative at least i think so. I wrote about being inspired by Grey’s Anatomy and how I would love to meet Jack and the Beanstalk haha i really would though. But I really had fun with the whole process even though I only heard about it 3 weeks to the deadline. I am thankful for the opportunity and hopefully I get matched. For those who are also considering Pomona please create like a thread or something cos I kinda wanna know who else is interested in Pomona. For those of you who didn’t, I believe you didn’t get it cos something even better is coming your way(i believe in fate lol) okay bye. Again if you are interested in Pomona we need to talk or something

@Fawziyah amazing that your parents are in Nigeria and you are so successful here! Also quite impressive that you managed to pull the app together in 3 weeks-mine took over 3 months!

lol thank you. I would never have even started if I didn’t get the brochure in the mail.

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Yale & Stanford.
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 7. I used my essay for College Prep, which was good, but in my opinion not great.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9-10 for both, although I waived my rights. I trust my AP Physics teacher and AP European/US History teacher to write stellar recommendations.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 10, most likely. My college counselor has talked to me extensively, and she has gone above and beyond to help me.

Unweighted GPA: 4.0.
Weighted GPA: 4.65/5.0.
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): New SAT: 1390, 700, 690, 21/24.
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 33, 36, 36, 32, 31, 34 (Superscore).
SAT II (subject, score): Will take in December.
Rank (numerical or percentile): 2/445, or top 1%.
All AP test scores: Human Geography (5), European History (5), World History (5), English Language (5), Physics I (3), Spanish Language (3), Statistics (5), US History (5), Seminar (3), Biology (4), Psychology (5)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: All AP. Computer Science Principles, Physics II, US Government, Microeconomics, Calculus BC, English Literature, Chemistry, Research, and Spanish Literature. Likely going to also study for Physics C: M and Physics C: E&M.
Major Awards: AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinctions, National AP Scholar, National Spanish Exam with Gold (II, III) and Silver (IV), and National Merit Commended Scholar (was not on application).

Extracurriculars: Environmental Club (President), HOSA (Board member), Rho Kappa (Board member), STEM (Verizon App and TEAMS Engineering team leader/captain), National Honors Society, Beta Club, and Cyberpatriots.
Job/Work Experience: Worked as a hostess which somehow included dealing with finances of a restaurant.
Volunteer/Community Service: At least 12 hours of community service, required by my school’s Honors Academy. Mostly tutoring, Race for the Cure, Habitat for Humanity, and general school service.

State: Tennessee.
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public.
Ethnicity: Asian.
Gender: Female.
Income Bracket: ~20,000.
Assets: 6,000 in checking/savings of household.
Extenuating Circumstances: Godmother set my apartment door on fire and burglarized my apartment. I dealt, and still struggle with depression. Father almost deported. Took care of my father’s business for six months while he was incarcerated for a crime. My father lives in New York while my mother lives with me. He lives in New York to support us, and the distance strains my family. Grew up in government housing.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First generation college student, taking online classes,

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think I was selected as a finalist because I went above and beyond to try to challenge myself academically. I didn’t let my circumstances hold me back. I utilized the additional information section to further elaborate on personal issues and feelings. I try to include as much home as possible in my essays.

Congratulations and good luck on the Match results in December!
(Now I just have to finish essays for college applications. Yikes!)

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Yale; non-binding schools bc I’m not ready for that level of commitment :^)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): First one 6-7/10, second one 8-9/10; honestly, both were pretty rushed, but I got a lot more feedback on the second essay.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): Both were 10/10, my English teacher really liked me and writes fantastic letters of recommendation. The other rec was my Chemistry teacher/Science Team Coach, who I’ve known since freshman year and developed a very personal relationship.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 10/10. We’ve known each other all of high school; I adore her and she adores me.

Unweighted GPA:
Weighted GPA:4.615 (5.0 scale)
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable):
I’ve taken both twice, but these are my highest scores on each:
Old SAT: 2200, R:700, W: 730, M:770
new SAT: 1580, CR+W: 780, M: 800, essay: 21
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, reading, science): 34, 29, 36, 36, 30, 35
SAT II (subject, score): Biology M: 800, Math II: 800, World History: 780
Rank (numerical or percentile): 3/535
All AP test scores: 10 5’s. Listing out all of them takes up a lot of space ;n;
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government, Organic Chemistry, Medical Microbiology and Pathophysiology, AP Statistics, AP European History, Symphony Orchestra, AP English Literature
Major Awards: Siemens National Finalist, Two time Chemistry Olympiad Finalist with Honors, Gold Presidential Service Award, Three Time Top 2 Placing in State Science Meet

Extracurriculars: orchestra, scientific research, applied sciences club, science team, math team, computer science team, academic decathlon, NHS
Job/Work Experience: interned in science lab every summer since freshman year at local university, freelance tutor
Volunteer/Community Service: 500+ hours, camp counselor, volunteer chamber quartet gigs, helper at VBC for local church

State: TX
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public, ~2100 total students
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <$50,000
Assets: minimal
Extenuating Circumstances: parents divorced, dad has high medical bills from an accident
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen in US, participation in research?

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think my research experience and immersion into STEM really stands out, and my test scores also helped. Based on a lot of what I’ve heard, I was afraid my family’s income was relatively high, but I guess I still made it. Big congratulations to the finalists, and best of luck to those who unfortunately did not make it. Completing the QuestBridge Application was a huge accomplishment in and of itself. The real journey begins here c:

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: University of Southern California, Tufts University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pen., Wesleyan, University of Virginia, Swarthmore, Colorado, Carleton, Davidson, Grinnell, and Dartmouth
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): Biographical- 10. It’s honestly the best essay I’ve ever written. I focused on my experiences with homelessness, evangelical creationism, and extreme political correctness. Ultimately, I ended by explaining that - by using my sister as a gleaming example - I persevered. Ethical Dilemma- 8. I elaborated my interactions with a school system that viewed merely being white as a punishable offense. Inversely, I discussed the stark differences noted upon introduction into a primarily white southern school district. In the end, I pointed out that neither extreme serves as an alleviation.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): Teach #1: 10. She works with my father and has known me for years. Teach #2: 7. He barely knows me and doesn’t seem to enjoy me. I only used him because I (by a landslide) scored the highest in his classes.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 5. I will say that my counselor seems to enjoy me for my past academic successes. However, she’s painfully incompetent at explaining why she likes me. Her essay likely hurt my overall application.

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: School doesn’t calculate
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): 1330 composite
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): Submitted a 27; recently scored a 29
SAT II (subject, score): None.
Rank (numerical or percentile): 1 out of 58
All AP test scores: AP Bio (3)- I had a 99 in this course, so my teacher is probably the odd-man-out here.
IB: School doesn’t offer.
Senior Year Course Load: College Algebra, College English Comp. 1, College Psychology, College English Comp. 2, English IV, Anatomy, Physiology, Medical Interventions (basically AP anatomy), AP Chem, AP Calc., Biomedical Innovations (basically a course dedicated to an extensive year-long science experiment. I’m testing autistic children for cognitive defects).
Major Awards: Nation Hispanic Scholar; highest averages in AP Bio, trig., pre-calc., geometry, public body systems (basically anatomy); won essay contest for a scholarship and trip to DC this past summer, placed 1st in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking @ speech and debate/forensics state tournament junior year (and a lot of other 2-4 placings at state in OO and CX), HOSA Volunteer Service Award

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: I worked at a local college as a custodian over the summer in order to save money in pursuit of attending said college the following year.
Volunteer/Community Service: 150+ hours

State: Oklahoma
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Small public school
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$30,000
Assets: None.
Extenuating Circumstances: I was homeless when I was younger, so I’m academically behind. Furthermore, I’ve taken every AP class offered within a 30 mile radius. If it isn’t shaped like a football, my local school board won’t fund it.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First gen.

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I believe that three factors shoehorned my finalist status: essays, academic persistence, and ECs. I was blunt during my writings. Additionally, the largest amounts of time spent writing focused on the opening/closing sentences. Keep in mind that the staff reading these essays have to sit tirelessly at a desk reading stacks of essays. If you don’t stick out, your application becomes null. Academically, I’ve trekked through quite a bit. With the limited resources I’ve had, I find my scholarly foundation adequate. Finally, ECs surely paved the way. From civics to HOSA, I hold over 10 Presidential/near-Presidential positions. Leadership certainly shone here.

TLDR; I’m a poor hispanic with bad ACT scores who almost certainly got picked because of essays.

Hi everyone! Congrats to finalists!

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Rice, UChicago, Columbia, Yale
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8’s for both I think…I wrote about my “immigrant” background and my community, the RGV
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): Not sure. Waived my right to read them and I’m not sure they’re reliable. Going to say 6 and 6.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: n/a
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): n/a
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 32 (35 (E), 36®, 31(M), 27(S)
SAT II (subject, score): n/a
Rank (numerical or percentile): n/a
All AP test scores: AP World History (3), AP US History (3), AP Eng. Lang (2), AP Physics (1)
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Eng. Lit., AP Bio, AP Euro History, AP Govt, AP Microeconomics, AP Calculus AB, College Algebra
Major Awards: competed at regional and state levels for Literary Criticism and FBLA, respectively, nothing spectacular

Extracurriculars: Double Varsity athlete, FBLA (secretary), Agricultural Sustainability Club (President), NHS (VP), Masterminds, Literary Criticism (UIL)
Job/Work Experience: secretary at private company
Volunteer/Community Service: ~150 hrs, mostly at school

State:
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public charter
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: female
Income Bracket: ~20,000
Assets: n/a
Extenuating Circumstances: n/a
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen college

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
My AP scores are horrible…honestly, I think I made it because of my low income. My essays were OK, but I need to step it up for the Match applications.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Hey everyone! Here’s my stats:

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton (all very strong political schools)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 9 because they were pretty emotional and even made my own self tear up while editing them haha
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): I’d say 9.5. My math teacher really knew me really well because I was the only junior in his class and I was really close with my psychology teacher because she’s just so freaking nice. I think they know me deep enough and know my future plans well enough to correlate that to my personal traits that not all of my teachers would have written about.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): I’m very close with my counselor, so I’d say 9.5 as well. She knows I really care about college and I’m sure that she reflected in her essay. We are pretty much best friends! (:

Unweighted GPA: 3.92
Weighted GPA: 4.45
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable):
Old: 560 R, 680 W, 690 M, (1930, essay: 9), New: 640 CR+W, 700 M
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): N/A
Rank (numerical or percentile): around 2/300, top 10% of class
All AP test scores: didn’t send because I sucked on them, but I’m retaking/taking around 5 this year.
IB: not offered at my school
Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP Computer Science, AP Physics, AP Stats, Concert Choir during my lunchtime, AP Eng Lit, Honors World
Major Awards: Harlan Virtual SC Semi-Finalist, ummm I honestly don’t remember what I put but I don’t have that many huge recognitions that I can think of atm

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community Service: church volunteer, hospital volunteer, and local blind center

State: MD
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: is it ok if I don’t mention?
Assets: I think none? not sure what assets are sorry
Extenuating Circumstances: none
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): major depression in middle school (hence the emotional essay)

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
As you all can tell, my standardized tests are a hot mess. I honestly tried extremely hard to forget about Questbridge since I submitted my application because I just knew I wasn’t going to get it, but I did and it was really a surprise to my skeptical self. I just thought my SAT and not-submitted AP’s were gonna hurt me a lot, but in terms of being selected as a finalist I think I was chosen because of my demonstrated willingness to change the community around me and to continue learning as me and not as someone else. I think my essays showed strong ambition and the willingness to take on future challenges and so even though I wasn’t the highest achieving applicant, they (thankfully) were able to see that I had a lot of potential to become successful with the right tools. I talked about some very emotional depression issues in my long essay and so I think that was the deciding factor for Admissions. Did anyone else spend an immense amount of time on those short questions trying to squeeze in characters and words? xD

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •New SAT I (breakdown): 1300/1600 (650W, 650M)

•ACT: 30C (35W, 26R, 26M, 31S) with 8/12 writing; Retook in school on Sep 27, waiting on scores; will take Dec ACT

•GPA (out of 100): 94.6 (unweighted), 99.2 (weighted); upward trend

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14/409 (top 5%)

•AP: 9 total- Four 3s (Biology, World History, English Lang, Seminar), Three 4s (Psychology, Human Geography, US History), One 5 (Spanish Lang), One canceled (English Lit)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov’t (1st sem), AP Macro (2nd sem), AP Stats, AP Spanish Lit, AP EnviorSci, AcaDec

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Hahahaha

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

 -Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America; Texas Officer (10,11,12): My biggest commitment, to be honest. I've gotten to speak in front of hundreds of people, represent my state at nationals, attend leadership and summer workshops to organize and prepare for the meetings (competition), and travel (for free)

-TRiO Upward Bound (11,12): College prep program at local community college for first-generation, low-income students. They hold a lot of helpful workshops, help us through college and scholarship applications, and provide free tutoring and fee waivers

-Science Bowl: Secretary (12), compete in science competitions, and I organize our trips and meetings

- Teen Court (10,11,12): Bailiff and clerk: assist with the inner workings of the system, maintain order in the court and oversee the office

-Action Plan Committee (10): Student representative; worked with faculty and business representatives to form future goals

-NHS (11,12): didn't put on the application, but just do charity work. The reason I'm still participating is because I want the stole at graduation 

•Job/Work Experience: Current, unpaid, required internship

•Volunteer/Community service: ~100ish hours (didn’t report)

•Summer Activities: FCCLA summer camp(10,11), national voting delegate at nationals

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):

    -Biographical: (8/10) Wrote this the day the application was due. Tried to input as much detail as I could, narrative-style, but eventually devolved into more informational to be able to fit everything in. I talked about how we don't actually have as much money as it seems we do and how my perspective on life changed when we went to go visit my family in my parents' country and touched a bit on my dad spiraling into alcoholism. Looking back on it, it wasn't that bad.

    -Topic: (10/10) Picked the prompt that said "What do you admire most about your community? What would you change?" I wrote this one the day before the application was due. Took me 7 hours and most of it was spent staring at the screen stressing about what to write next. I talked about what I loved most about my ethnic culture: how they don't let financial difficulties break their spirit (lol, sound familiar?). This essay is chock-full of narrative and vivid details, probably the best essay I've ever written.

    -Short Answer: (9/10) Probably spent more time on these than I should have. But again, I used narrative as much as possible; and in the places I couldn't, I emphasized details. The second short answer, "If you could meet any fictional or historical character, who would it be?" was my favorite. I basically described, in a story-like form, that I would ask Jesus humanity's burning question. I didn't pick Jesus because I'm religious or anything, but because I thought it'd be cool to have the answers to the questions everyone wants to know straight from the source.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: This teacher convinced me to finish my application and volunteered to do my teacher Rec; didn’t get to see it but I’m sure he wrote beautifully

•Teacher Rec #2: 9/10; super sweet recommendation; didn’t talk about what I did, but did talk about my personal qualities and my attitude

•Counselor Rec: Didn’t get to see and I didn’t really know him that well, but I told him extensively about myself

•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): TX

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public, “magnet”

•Ethnicity: Hispanic

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: 64K (household of 6)

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays, no doubt. I think more of my self shined through because I basically had no time to have people review and edit them, so everything I wrote was 100% genuinely me.

•Weaknesses: Test scores and extra curriculars seem weak, especially coupled with my income. The huge disparity in scores is due to trying a completely terrible strategy in reading and not getting to a whole passage. Same with math.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: My essays and short answers were amazing. Had it not been for this, and they had just considered my other stats, I have no doubt I would’ve been rejected. I also used a lot of the additional information section to talk about the extra costs we have to carry on due to my dad being self-employed, so that may have lowered our living situation in the eyes of the admission? officers.

Colleges ranked: Doing RD

General Comments: USE THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SECTION!!! Seriously, this is the most-neglected part I think of the application. USE IT! They WILL read it and take it into consideration. If you’re like me and your income is at the threshold, still, apply. The reason I wrote my essays last minute is because I stopped halfway, in the beginning, thinking my income was going to get me rejected. If it wasn’t for my teacher that told me I should try anyway, I would’ve missed an amazing opportunity. Lol, please don’t do what I did. Also, when writing your essays, do as best as you can to tell your story in the form of a narrative and with as much detail as possible.

Good luck to all of those reading this in the future looking for advice. To all of those that didn’t make it, YOU’RE STILL AWESOME. And to all of us that did, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

PM me if you have any questions

I completely forgot EC’s:
Mu alpha theta president
NHS President
Alto section leader of concert choir
french nhs
varsity math team captain
academic challenge
relay for life
SGA 1st VP
SLA
4 sports, one of which I played earlier and quit
I can’t remember which ones I chose to put on my app since there weren’t enough spaces unfortunately

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: 12, I won’t put them here. I’ll probably end of removing some of them. My top is Colorado College.
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8/9 Biographical - I talked about the homeschool community I was raised in that was ultra conservative, how I did not learn to read until the third grade, and my dad worked out of state for five plus years so that my family could keep our house. I then talked about how all of my learning challenges made me turn to film and making movies. It was a lot to fit in, but it turned out really well. Community - I talked about how I was the only white person in my neighborhood growing up and the pros and cons of that.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8 and 7 - I know one teacher very well but the other can only really speak on my work ethic.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 7ish

Unweighted GPA: 3.77
Weighted GPA: 4.22 (My school district decided to start weighing GPAs the day after the Questbridge application was due so I didn’t get to submit it.)
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): 1330 (660 Math, 670 critical reading)
ACT (composite, english, reading, math, science): 30, 35, 28, 27, 28
SAT II (subject, score):
Rank (numerical or percentile): 11%
All AP test scores: Physics 1 (1), Human Geography (3), World History (3), Government (2), APUSH (3), English Language (4), Macroeconomics (4), Chemistry (2)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, and AP Psychology
Major Awards: AP Scholar, and semi-finalist in an essay competition my freshman year.

Extracurriculars:
Theatre (9-12) By the time I graduate I will have been in at least 8 school productions. This includes my school’s first-semester play, second semester musical, and one act play for UIL. I wrote a lot about my involvement in performing arts so that probably helped. This actually takes up most of my time (10+ hours a week). Also, if I wasn’t involved in theatre my grades would probably be a lot better
Varsity Choir (10-12) - Auditions are required. We go to several nursing homes and alternative housing and perform, plus competitive concerts.
NHS (10-12) - I was the historian and head of the planning committee (I planned the induction ceremony for new members, not really a big deal though) my junior year, and this year I am the vice president. I also started a mentoring program for students who need tutoring after school once a week.
Mock Trial (9-10)
Job/Work Experience:
Summer Internship at a well known Law Firm (40+ hours a week) this past year- I wouldn’t have listed my mock trial info I had not done this internship, but I think they correlate well with one another.
Lifeguard at a local pool (10)
I also talked about how a mentor of mine allowed me to shadow on a music video and a photo shoot.
Volunteer/Community Service:
200+hours although I didn’t really talk about that much in my application
I went to Guatemala and helped rebuild a medical clinic, literacy camp in Atlanta and a bunch of local community stuff.

State: TX
School Type (public, private, online, etc.):Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 55k
Assets: 0
Extenuating Circumstances:
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student):

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
To be honest I was completely surprised. My AP scores and rank were below average, but my essays and short responses were what I think pulled me through. I talked about what I was passionate about and I’m sure they saw that. Congratulations to everyone who was selected!

If you’re someone who is thinking about applying to Questbridge next year but scared you’re not going to be a finalist, APPLY. Just remember, the stats you see on CC are from a small fraction of finalists - You never know what could happen.

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Yale, Princeton, Brown, Tufts, UChicago, UPenn, Rice
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8/9 The larger one was about how I grew up with and overcame my developmental disability (Autism). My second essay was the community prompt, and I talked about how my community’s unity and forced traditional has caused an atmosphere of discrimination.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 7 for both. I knew them both really well, but they know nothing of my personal life.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 7 He barely knows me, but he admires my determination.

Unweighted GPA: 3.748
Weighted GPA: 4.148
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable):
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): comp 34, essay 8, eng 35, math 35, science 29, reading 36
SAT II (subject, score):
Rank (numerical or percentile): 10/335 weighted
All AP test scores: 5 APUSH, 4 APBIO, 4 APEURO, 5 CALC AB, 5 APLANG, 4 AP PSYCH
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: APAG, AP CALB BC, DE Stats, DE Poli Sci, AP LIT, Spanish 4, DE Cultural Diversity, DE Communication, Political Debate 4 (All DE are semester courses) I’m also doing a self-study of AP MacroEcon.
Major Awards: NHS

Extracurriculars: Debate (public forum captain), Girl Learn International chapter (club/org for gender equality & human right) (Founder, Co-Exec. Director), OMUN, Community Service Club (President)
Job/Work Experience: Cashier at Kohl’s
Volunteer/Community Service: A lot of local volunteer work

State: Ohio
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <20,000
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: Raised by a single mom with cancer. Her illness and the recession basically wiped out her small business.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): My Autism

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist? Along with the test scores and classes, I have a unique story that they’ve probably never heard before.