**2015-2016 Questbridge COLLEGE MATCH Results**

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

Here is the (old) 2014-2015 QB College Match Results Thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1713370-2014-2015-questbridge-college-match-results.html

Thanks to @Marrissa, for making such a nice template! :slight_smile:

Oooh, are you guys ready for Tuesday, December 1st? (I couldn’t wait, so I put this together…)
Good luck to you all and post your results when you get them!
(Ya know, so future QB kids can see where they line up!)

Remember to remove spaces in brackets before posting!!

[ size=6][ color=green][ b]Decision: Matched**[/color][/size]
[ size=6][ color=red][ b]Decision: Not Matched**[/color][/size]

[ b]Match to:**
[ b]Schools Ranked:**

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW):
[ *] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci):
[ *] SAT II (Type, Score):
[ *] Weighted GPA (out of ??):
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ *] Senior Year Course Load:
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ *] Essays:
[ *] Teacher Recommendations:
[ *] Counselor Rec:
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ *] Income Bracket:
[ *] Assets:
[ *] Property:
[ *] Extenuating Circumstances:
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[ /list]

[ b]Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:**

2

Here is a comment that lists the number of QB Scholars and from what schools, in 2013-2014: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/16647885/#Comment_16647885

Thanks to @nostalgicwisdom for collecting that information a year ago!

From thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1555797-questbridge-national-college-match-2013-2014-p1.html

3

More from the amazing @nostalgicwisdom for those of you (like me) who are obsessively freaking out over December 1st (2014-2015): http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/17822023/#Comment_17822023

From thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1643854-questbridge-national-college-match-2014-2015-p1.html

Please add/cite any little tidbits or facts you can find, for the curious, “I CAN’T WAIT” souls out there. :slight_smile:
(And be sure to give credit where credit is due!)

4

Does anyone know how many finalists there were this year?

5

4,895 out of 13,264 students became Finalists.

6

So I have a serious question.
If you ranked the four non-binding schools, do you still get matched to only one school?
Or can you still see if you got matched to any of the other schools as well?

For example- if you got matched to MIT, which is first-ranked, can you still technically find out if you were matched to any of the other three schools?

7

@marmoset I think you are matched like any other student, but you can choose whether or not to accept the match. I don’t think you’ll get a choice of all four.

“matched students are not obligated to attend the school, and may apply to other schools through Regular Decision and wait until the spring to decide where to enroll.”

“The Match offer from Stanford is a non-binding offer. Students who Match with Stanford are allowed to submit Regular Decision applications to any other institutions.”

“MIT’s Match is not binding. MIT selects students that we feel will thrive in our community and, of course, we hope that they elect to enroll. Students Matched with MIT, however, may apply to other schools Regular Decision.”

“No. While we hope that Princeton will be your school of choice, students who are matched to Princeton are still allowed to apply to other schools Regular Decision.”

8

Decision: Not Matched

Schools Ranked: Yale, Princeton, Stanford, UChicago

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2290, 10, 790, 700, 800
    [    ] SAT II (Type, Score): Spanish, 800; US History, 800.
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8.
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): Have taken 9 AP courses, but no exams due to financial constraints.
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP US Government, AP World History, AP Biology, AP Statistics.
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NHRP scholar, National merit commended student, Questbridge Finalist, Questbridge College Prep Scholar.

[ b]Subjective:**

[ul]

[] Job/Work Experience: A job a few summers ago, and worked online for a data privacy company for a while.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteering at a foundation to help students at poor schools.
[] Essays: I thought my two QuestBridge essays were very good, but my school-specific ones were somewhat weaker.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Probably weak, as I study in an online school and barely know my teachers.
[li] Counselor Rec: Probably weak, even though I am probably the school’s best student in its history.[/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] School Type: Online
    [    ] Ethnicity: Hispanic.
    [] Gender: Male
    [    ] Income Bracket: 2014: <$20,000, 2015: $45,000. 2016: $65,000. Family of 11, soon to be 12.
    [] Extenuating Circumstances: Have lived out of the US for the last 11 years, have had to struggle to attain an education, and have had to help with younger siblings.
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM.

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I don’t know. Might have been my income, or my GPA, or something the AOs didn’t like about my essays. Good luck to all who weren’t matched and congratulations to those who were. Hopefully I can get accepted someplace I can afford via RD.

9

Decision: Not Matched
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Northwestern, UPenn, UVA, Brown, Dartmouth

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): (2060/2400, 10/12, 680/800, 670/800, 710/800)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci):
    [list]

[] SAT II (Type, Score): N/A
[] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.349/4
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ?? (~3.3)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 25%/750
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP GoPo (3), APCSA (4), AP Psych (5), AP Lang (5), APUSH (4), AP Physics 1 (2), AP Physics 2 (2), APES (4), AP Stats (4).
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Eng STEM, AP Physics C, AP Lit, Advanced Strength Training, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): SkillsUSA National Conference Technical Drafting 13th Place, SkillsUSA Illinois Conference Technical Drafting 1st Place
[/list]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): SkillsUSA (President), NTHS, Club Council.

  • [li] I used to do Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, Math Team, EMPOWER, NHS, I.D.E.A. drafting competitions.[/li][/ul]
    [li] Job/Work Experience: Engineering Internship, Sophomore year[/li][    ] Volunteer/Community service: N/A
    [] Summer Activities: National SkillsUSA Conference, personal projects
    [    ] Essays: 7/10 for bio, 9/10 for the “talk about yourself” essay
    [] Teacher Recommendations: Engineering teacher 10/10, Env Sci teacher 10/10, Psych teacher 8/10
    [    ] Counselor Rec: GENERIC

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <16,000
[] Assets: Nothing
[] Property: Renting home
[] Extenuating Circumstances: family status
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Woman interested in manufacturing engineering lol? brother went to columbia university?[/li][/ul]
Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: Bad GPA, like, really bad GPA. Time for some last minute damage control (my grades still aren’t good…). Congratulations to everyone, and remember: there’s always regular decision!

10

@sharkgirl. I’m sorry you didn’t match. Your accomplishments are great and I’m sure we’ll both get accepted somewhere great in RD.

11

@DominicBayer Man, I don’t know how you didn’t match! You’ve got the scores, the GPA, extenuating circumstances… I hope you find somewhere great to go through regular decision!

Here’s a page of some colleges you might want to look at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission

12

@sharkgirl. Thanks for the kind words and for the link. Good luck with the RD process, too!

13

Decision: Matched to UPenn!!!

Schools Ranked: Yale, UPenn, Brown, Northwestern, Columbia, Tufts

Objective:

ACT: 35, first try, no coaching, thought I was just going to retake it anyways. Honestly just did my best and didn't even look at a practice version of the ACT beforehand. Was sooo surprised when I saw the score

SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): (superscored): 2310, 11, 720, 800, 790
SAT II (Type, Score): None taken.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0.
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Spanish Lang (3), Calc AB (5) English Lang (5), taking currently: Psych, Macroecon, Calc BC, US Gov, English Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB College Prep Scholar, AP Scholar w Honors, National Merit Semifinalist (probably soon to be Finalist), Florida Girls State Attendee

[ b]Subjective:**

Job/Work Experience: 15 hrs/week during sophomore year at nursing home, 30 hrs/week junior and senior year at a restaurant. Currently Intern with a cardiologist through a school program.
Volunteer/Community service: 160+ hours through multiple clubs; Interact club grades 9-11, Math Honor Society 9-12 (VP for 12), Literacy Council 11-12, Venice Green beach cleanup club 11-12, founder and pres, Spanish Hon Society, National HS, among other clubs that I honestly don't remember right now
Essays: I used the same one from my College Prep App and spiced it up, used it for my Common App one too. Good essay honestly, probably an 9. Rest of my essays were pretty thoughtful and I believe I'm pretty talented with writing.
Teacher Recommendations: Great, one was written by an experienced lawyer and PhD in history who just teaches at our school b/c he actually enjoys it; other was written by my Lang teacher who I shared my life story with so she probably nailed it.
Counselor Rec: Probably above average, don't know her too well, but I took the time to tell her about my life and she's a good writer too

Other

School Type: Public, about 2000 students
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 2014: <$30,000, 2015: $20,000. 2016: $20,000. Family of 4, single mom, I'm the youngest of 3 and my siblings are in college as well
Extenuating Circumstances: Nonexistent father, mother had breast cancer in 2002, worked as a nurse, had to quit in 2014 due to complications with chemo,etc
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 1st gen american, mother from canada and father from communist slovakia. Female that applied for Applied Mathematics as well

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I emphasized how I wake up at 6, am literally busy the entire day until 10-11PM, do my homework, and do it all again day after day. I also articulated my passion for my interests very well, spent lots of time on the essays. I also have gotten 800s in the Math SAT section both times I took it; it probably showed them that it’s not by chance that I do so well and that I would thrive in their Applied Mathematics program. I also was accepted despite having gotten a disciplinary referral in my junior year for a silly and stupid teenage mistake; UPenn thankfully saw I was a 16 year old typical teen at one point and forgave me for being dumb! Overall I just gave it my all, emphasized my ability to set my mind to a goal and accomplish it, and kept my grades up! Best of luck to everyone else!!

14

Congratulations, @Crowsnester! Your accomplishments are really spectacular and you deserve to attend UPenn.

15

Decision: Matched

Match to: Rice University
Schools Ranked: Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Rice University, Vanderbilt University

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2200, 7, 720, 770, 710
[] ACT First Time: 35, 7, 35, 36, 34, 36
[] ACT Second Time: 35, 28, 36, 36, 35, 34
[] SAT II (Type, Score): Chemistry, 800; Math II, 800
[] Weighted GPA: N/A
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/203
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (4), European History (4), Chemistry (5), Calculus AB (5), US History (5), Language and Composition (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Accounting 1, AP Physics, Business Law, Students as Mentors, Anatomy & Physiology, Advanced Strategies of Rhetoric and Research (Dual Enrollment), College Literature (Dual Enrollment), Web Design, Forensic Science, Teacher Aide [My course load was light because I’m also teaching myself 3 AP courses this year, since my school doesn’t offer them]
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Missouri Scholars Academy, Missouri Boys State, National Merit Semifinalist [/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Club (President), Science Club (Treasurer), Authors Club, Gay Straight Alliance, National Honor Society
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: A few hours of community service through NHS every week. About 4 hours of math mentoring a week. I take out my school’s recycle bins every week, and run fundraisers through GSA for minorities in need. I also supervise my severely autistic younger sibling for at least 30 hours a week if that counts here.
[] Summer Activities: Missouri Scholars Academy before my junior year. Missouri Boys State before my senior year. Working on a novel as well
[] Essays: Both essays I’d say were 9-9.5 out of 10. I’m typically a great writer (100% on every high school English paper since freshman year) but I rushed both essays during the two days prior to deadlines. Then I went way over word count and had to delete a lot.
[] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10 from both my Physics and my AP Language teacher, I’d guess. The former has had me every year and we’re very similar to each other. The latter only taught me junior year, but she always used my essays as examples for other classes and even emailed the principal one of my essays once.
[li] Counselor Rec: 8/10. I think I’m her favorite student at our high school but I have a feeling she mostly copied my resume.[/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] School Type: Public, average size
    [    ] Ethnicity: Caucasian
    [] Gender: Male (though I identify as genderless, and I think I had mentioned that in either the QuestBridge application or Rice supplement)
    [    ] Income Bracket: Custodial parent makes around 40k annually. Non-custodial parent makes around 50k, but since I was matched I’m guessing that his income wasn’t significantly considered.
    [] Assets: House, though almost all of it is still owed
    [    ] Property: House
    [] Extenuating Circumstances: Divorce, severely autistic younger brother, depression and anxiety (though I said I had overcome them in my bio essay)
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): The aforementioned extenuating circumstances I suppose.

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:

My academics were presumably a large part of it, and my essays were very well written. Which is good since I didn’t do so well on my ACT and SAT essays (I’m much worse when the essays are timed). I didn’t think I’d be accepted (relatively high income if my non-custodial parent is looked at, not a racial minority, not first-gen, and only applied to 6 colleges instead of 12 and they were all more selective ones), but I sure am glad my college admissions process is finally about finished.

16

Decision: Not Matched

Schools Ranked: Yale, Stanford, Scripps, Tufts, Wesleyan, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Columbia, Vassar, Pomona, Princeton, Brown

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2230 (CR 750 / M 700 / CW 780)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 32 (E 35 / M 29 / R 35 / S 28)
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): Lit: 770 / US History: 720 / Math 2: 660
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 3.98
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 42/760
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (4), Bio (4), Calc AB (5), US History (4), Macro (3), Micro (4), Physics 1 (3)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Spanish Lang, AP Euro, Honors Gov, Honors Art History, another art class
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, NMSP Commended Student, 8 years of the same national piano award, misc. community/school awards

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): GSA (president 12th), feminist club (president 12th), 2 leadership/student council things (director of fundraising 10th-11th, VP 12th), piano out of school
[] Job/Work Experience: 6 years of babysitting (lol)
[] Volunteer/Community service: LGBT center (100ish hours); local food pantry (40+ hours)
[] Summer Activities: community college course, volunteering, working
[] Essays: 9.5/10 (my school is a writing-focused program and I worked on them for months)
[] Teacher Recommendations: English teacher: 8/10 (rushed but she knew me well); Calc teacher: ?/10 (probably pretty good? teacher is a weird guy though)
[li] Counselor Rec: 10/10 (she has known me and my family/our personal situation really well for 3 years)[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: very large Magnet/Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Woman
[] Income Bracket: ~20k
[] Assets: very little
[] Property: 0
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Parents have been divorced for 8 years, both are low-income. I spend 99% of my time with my mom, and my stepdad (her husband) is unemployed. Also I’m not first-gen on paper bc my dad has a degree but he’s barely in my life so.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I have a serious chronic illness (why I have relatively low AP scores and GPA, easier course load this year, no job, etc.) and I assume it’s ~inspirational~ that I’ve still done relatively well.[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I definitely have a lot of disadvantages in some areas but I’m privileged in some other areas. This whole process felt like it could’ve gone either way the whole time, and I know match wasn’t my only chance. Whatever happens I feel good that I did it!

17

Decision: Matched

Match to: Stanford University
Schools Ranked: 1. Stanford, 2. Caltech

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2300 (720 CR, 800 M, 780 W)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): n/a
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): 800 Math Level II, 800 Physics
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.4
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics B (5), Physics C: Mechanics (5), Spanish Language and Culture (5), United States History (5), Chemistry (5), English Language and Composition (5), Calculus BC (5) w/ AB Subscore (5)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature and Composition, Multivariable Calculus/Differential Equations, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government and Politics, AP French Language and Culture, Astronomy, Band, Jazz Band
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing other than county math competitions, regional honor bands, Summer Science Program 2015, AP Scholar with Distinction, some school awards.

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching/Pep Band (Drum Major), Concert Band (1st bassoon), Jazz Band (principal bass), Varsity Cross-Country, Varsity Track and Field (distance), Astronomy Club (President), Math Club (President), National Honor Society (Secretary), Coding Club (Secretary), California Scholarship Federation (member)
[] Job/Work Experience: n/a
[] Volunteer/Community service: Community Parades, not much else
[] Summer Activities: Summer Science Program, marching band
[] Essays: I didn’t spend an insane amount of time of them, but put a lot of effort into them and really tried to be completely honest about about my goals and why I love doing what I do.
[] Teacher Recommendations: All phenomenal recs from teachers I’ve liked and have connected with, didn’t know that just talking to my teachers would be so important because I like to do it anyway
[li] Counselor Rec: Excellent, know her very well and have spent time talking to her[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Large, >2500
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic (Mexican parents)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 35,000-45,000
[] Assets: n/a
[] Property: n/a
[] Extenuating Circumstances: n/a
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, 1st generation college, well-rounded[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I love doing everything that I do and wanted to show colleges my passion for math/science as well. Guess decent test scores too…

18

Decision: Matched

Match to: Colby College
Schools Ranked: Carleton, Colby, Bowdoin, Grinnell, Colorado, Vassar, Tufts, Pomona, Haverford, Oberlin

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1890 (didn’t send)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 31
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): US History, 710
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.6
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science, AP English, Civics, Art
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a (College Prep Scholar :))

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girls Who Code Club (Co-President), Yoga Club (VP), Jew Club,
[] Job/Work Experience: Packaging Assistant
[] Volunteer/Community service: Animal Shelter, Homeless Shelter, Food Bank
[] Summer Activities: Girls Who Code SIP, travel
[] Essays: I’m bad at judging my own work, but I worked hard on them (8/10s?)
[] Teacher Recommendations: Asked AP Calc and AP English teachers, I love them both but we are not very close. (8/10?)
[li] Counselor Rec: She’s nice and tried hard (9/10)[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Small Charter School
[] Ethnicity: Indian and Trinidadian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: ~30,000
[] Assets: n/a
[] Property: n/a
[] Extenuating Circumstances: low-income minority, subjected to bad environments
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation American[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I was really shocked and so happy to get my top choice! I kept telling myself to not get too excited, but I actually did it. Hard work really can pay off; I feel so relieved. This is my first post on cc though I’ve browsed many discussions. Since I read all these College Match posts from earlier years, I thought I would contribute to other future aspiring QB Scholars. To everyone not matched, good luck in QB reg decision, I’m sure you’ll end up where you are meant to be. :slight_smile:

19

Decision: Matched

Match to: Amherst College
Schools Ranked: Princeton, Brown, Amherst, UChicago, Haverford, Oberlin

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1940,6, 680, 680, 580
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 29, 25, 33, 31, 25
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): Math Level 2 630, Math Level 1 620, Physics 520, Chemisty 570
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.264
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.844
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):not available
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Lang (4) Spanish (4)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis):
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP English Lit, AP Calc (School doesn’t allow for any other classes so this is the most rigorous course load) taking English Composition at Rutgers
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Just Questbridge Finalist

Subjective:

  • [] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Rutgers 4-H Teen Council from 10-12 grade, JV tennis in 10th, Varsity tennis from 11-12, ODASIS SAT Prep Program 11
    [    ] Job/Work Experience: Intern at Assemblyman’s Office last summer and I am a work assistant in a cancer research lab
    [] Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at the hospital from 10-12, Volunteered at the library over the summer, do a few walks and help out at special Olympics events adding up to 250 hours, tutored physics after school last year and will tutor again this year which I didn’t ask to get the hours for
    [    ] Summer Activities: Worked at the lab, volunteered, had the internship, prepared for the Rutgers English course tennis practice
    [li] Essays: They looked only at the QB app so[/li]I feel my biographical essay was an 8. It tied in important lessons in tennis to a few important aspects of my life such as why I wanted to be a doctor and the importance of being humble.

    I give my second essay a 7. I explained how the loss of my father in my life for the last 2 years because he was deported and how it affected me mentally and physically

    Short Answers: 7
    I tried to not take myself too seriously when answering them. I wrote about climate change for the subject that intellectually excites me and I explained why I wanted to meet Percy Jackson
    [li] Teacher Recommendations:[/li]Teacher Rec #1: 8 PreCalc teacher- I know that she was pretty fond of me and I worked the hardest in her class.

    Teacher Rec #2: 5 physics teacher- I am pretty sure he wrote good things but I did not know him too well and he is known to write very generic recommendations

    [li] Counselor Rec:7 She had a meeting with us to find out more about us personally so she basically wrote what we[/li]said

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[] School Type: Magnet High School
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic (Mexican)
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <$15,000
[] Assets: 0
[] Property: 0
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Currently living with just one parent, help take care of my disabled brother, in debt from father’s legal bills
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):URM[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I have no idea. I did not expect to be matched since my scores weren’t that awesome (compared to the middle 50%). I feel anyone who want to apply to these great schools should try even if they fall a bit short. I did not think any would match me, much less my number 3 school. I feel my situation along with my essays really helped.

20

Decision: Matched

Match to: Tufts University
Schools Ranked: Brown, Dartmouth, Northwestern, Amherst, Rice, Williams, Tufts, Vanderbilt, UPenn, Emory, USC, Virginia

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1870 (650 CR, 620 M, 600 CW)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 31 (30 E, 29 M, 33 R, 30 S)
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): US History: 700
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.913
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/414
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology (4), Statistics (3), Physics 1 (3), US History (5), Language (5), US Government (5)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Human Geo, AP World, AP Calculus AB, AP Environmental
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, QuestBridge Prep Scholar, QuestBridge Finalist

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government
[] Job/Work Experience: Worked under the table for the neighbor during junior year doing odd jobs
[] Volunteer/Community service: n/a
[] Summer Activities: n/a
[] Essays: Put a lot of time and effort into essays, really stressed hardships from poverty, hardship, homelessness and how I was able to succeed through hard work. 10/10
[] Teacher Recommendations: Teachers told me they wrote very extensive recommendations and both knew me very well, though I think my APUSH/AP Govt teacher wrote a far better recommendation since he knows me personally and had me for 2 years, so an easy 10/10 from him. Probably 8/10 from my Calculus/Statistics teacher, he doesn’t know me as well but was qualified to write it.
[li] Counselor Rec: Probably the weakest component of the entire process, my counselor doesn’t really care about anybody and slapped my recommendation together in one day, easy 3/10.[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
[] School Type: Public urban, over 2000
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: Less than 10k/year
[] Assets: House and a car
[] Property: Own our house, but we bought it for 14k after saving up
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Was homeless in Alaska before coming to NC, intense poverty, parents divorced and haven’t seen father in 12 years, mother unemployed w/o education, lots of crime in our neighborhood
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation to go to college [/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: Honestly, I had doubts on whether I would be matched since my test scores weren’t the strongest and my school didn’t offer certain classes (AP Chem, AP Bio). I also didn’t have the opportunity to take AP classes in freshman year, so I felt that it would look like I wasn’t pushing myself hard enough. Regardless, I think I wrote very strong essays and was able to convey my life story very well. That and having just above decent grades/scores is what I think allowed me to be matched to Tufts! I was absolutely elated to be accepted to Tufts and I think hard work really does pay off. I hope my profile can give future College Match applicants an idea of what to expect.

To those who weren’t matched, remember you have a good chance in QuestBridge Regular Decision! Good luck to everybody! :slight_smile: