**2015-2016 Questbridge COLLEGE MATCH Results**

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
21

Decision: Matched

Match to: Stanford
Schools Ranked: Yale, Stanford, Princeton

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: 2120 (730 CR, 660 M, 730 W 8 essay) I know
[] ACT never took
[] SAT II: 760 Lit, 700 USH
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93 UW
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Physics (2), AP Lang (3), APUSH (4), AP Drawing (4) I explained my AP Physics score in the additional information section of the application. Teacher covered half of the material needed to pass AP exam, and although I raised money to get a tutor, it was too late to help much.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: (hardest offered) AP Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP Government, AP Spanish, AP Biology, Religion
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Spanish Exam Gold Medal, Science Olympiad, QuestBridge CPS, QuestBridge Finalist, will be published in a scientific paper, some minor awards[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): *My school limits leadership positions to one per student per year, so I don’t know how helpful this will be. Women in Math and Science (secretary 11th, co-president 12th), Writer’s Workshop Los Angeles (10th – writing school for adults; first high school student to enroll), Queen’s Council (12th – student recruitment type of thing), National Junior Honor Society (9th), National Honor Society (10th-12th), other things.
[] Job/Work Experience: Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) for two months. Analyzed therapeutic potential of two drugs on DIPG brain cancer.
[] Volunteer/Community service: UCLA Hospital volunteer
[] Summer Activities: Summer after 10th: Harvard Summer School (I raised $7000 to attend two summers ago. Earned 8 undergraduate credits). Summer after 11th: Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
[] Essays: Biographical essay: 9.5/10. I thought it was good. It had a nice ending. I talked about how some unusual circumstances shaped my life. My story’s kind of personal so I’ll leave it at that for now. More info in “extenuating circumstances.”
Additional Essay: 10/10. This was honestly some of my best work. I described my experience this past summer at SIMR. The first sentence was: “That kid died yesterday.”
[li] Teacher Recommendations: Haven’t seen any but I’ll give predictions.[/li]Math teacher: 10/10. I never saw it, but he’s a great guy. He taught me sophomore year but we remained close. He knows me well.
AP Bio teacher: 9.5/10 I’ve only known her for a semester, but I told her my story and presented my research to her. We get along well, too.
Additional Rec: 9.5/10 It was from another math teacher of mine (it wasn’t really an additional rec – just one that showed up on my QB app that wasn’t in Common App)

[li] Counselor Rec: Honestly 11/10. I didn’t see it, but she told me she wrote things like “top student in 25 years” and “this student belongs at an Ivy.” [/li][/ul]

Other

[list]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: Private, Catholic, all-girls (I get financial aid)
[] Ethnicity: Half Mexican, half Egyptian
[] Gender: F
[] Income Bracket: ~30K this year
[] Assets: 0
[] Property: 0
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Used to be homeless. I moved out of my house to focus on school, etc.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation, previously homeless, (semi)Harvard-educated, Mexican-Egyptian girl endeavoring to become a physician-scientist. lol[/li][ /list]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
It was God, honestly. The ONLY reason I’m posting this is to encourage applicants with less-than-beautiful test scores to KEEP ON GOING. Do not lose hope! Do not let low test scores discourage you! Just look at my SAT math score (and AP Physics score), feel better about yourself, and then plow through QuestBridge Regular Decision! And for the essays and short answers … I would be lying if I say I didn’t heavily scrutinize my short takes, like the “favorite books/movies” questions. In the end, I realized all I needed to do was be honest. As for the 250 word essays, I tried to show my quirky/curious side. I literally wrote a philosophical piece about snails for one of them (in a science-y way, but still). I think my essays made up for my lack of decent scores (at least by CC standards). I believe in you!

22

Decision: Matched

Match to: Tufts
Schools Ranked: Vanderbilt, Yale, Columbia, Rice, Emory, UVA, Tufts

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): N/A
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 29 (36E, 29M, 26R, 25S, 33W)
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): N/A
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.420 (Regular 4, Honors 4.5, AP 5 system)
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/344
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (3, 5 AB subscore), Macro Econ (5), Micro Econ (5) US History (5), Human Geo (4), AP Gov (3), AP Language (3)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP psych, AP stats, AP lit, Speech & Debate, Finite Math, Ancient History
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with distinction, 5th in state for Tennessee public forum debate, QB Finalist, NSAD merit of Outstanding Distinction

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech and Debate (Captain), Student Body Government (student body historian), Scholars bowl, Track, FBLA, DECA, National Honors Society
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 years, bag boy
[] Volunteer/Community service: 300 hours as speech and debate tutor and worked in food pantry
[] Summer Activities: Volunteer work, working
[] Essays: Pretty solid, talked about lack of education and open minded individuals in my town and my desire to escape circle of poverty and ignorance.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Pretty solid as well. Speech and Debate coach has known me four years, and AP Language teacher and leader of student council organization known me for two.
[li] Counselor Rec: Weak, didn’t know me very well; maybe talked to her twice. [/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Tennessee
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White, Hispanic
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: <25,000
[] Assets: none
[] Property: none
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Mom has serious neck issues, came from an abusive household and can’t work. Come for a city that doesn’t value education. Dad lost job in recession. Very limited resources.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen, Speech and Debate four years, poor community, hispanic, super ambitious [/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I believe I was match because I showed that not only had I made the best out of my situation, but I had a serious level on ambition. Speech and Debate has given me the ability to be very persuasive and so I used that skill to show that despite my low ACT score, I would be an extremely competitive undergraduate student. I also gave them a very vivid description of the racism, sexism, islamophobia, and homophobia that exists in my community, and how I’ve struggled to be open minded and not fall into the pit of ignorance that most of my colleagues have.

23

Decision: Matched

Match to: Northwestern!!!
Schools Ranked: USC, Columbia, UChicago, Stanford, UPenn, Brown, Northwestern, Swarthmore, Pomona, Dartmouth, Emory, Tufts

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): I’m not too sure if universities got my earlier scores or November ones, I sent both, Early: 2210 (E 8/ CR 780/ M 740/ CW 700). November: 2330 (E 8/ CR 790/ M 750/ CW 790)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 25 (E ?, E 36, M 35, R 35, Sci 35)
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): (Molecular Bio, 760), (Math II, 800), (Literature, 790)
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): Unavailable
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): (Biology, 4), (Chemistry, 4), (Physics 1, 4), (World History, 5), (US History, 5) (Calc BC, 5), (Lang, 5)
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov/ AP Macroeconomics, Distance Calculus, AP Lit, AP Spanish, AP Physics C, Graphic Design I
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB Prep Scholar, AP Scholar w Distinction, NMSP Commended, State Honor’s Program Finalist, State Awards, Smaller School Awards

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Art Honor Society (President, By far, my most important club), Science National Honor Society (Senior Officer), Beta, NEHS, Blogging
[] Job/Work Experience: Freelance Artist
[] Volunteer/Community service: Service Activities w my club
[] Summer Activities: State Honor’s Program, Writing Novels/ Pursuing Art (No jobs though)
[] Essays: Preettty good, about how my parents being immigrants has affected my life and what I want to do. I had my English teacher read them over. But I accidentally randomly added a comma, so don’t worry too much if you make a typo! 9.5/10
[] Teacher Recommendations: Recommender 1: SO SO GOOD!! Me and this teacher’s pretty tight, and he’s always so encouraging. I didn’t read his recommendation, but I know he said I was ‘one of the best’ students he’s ever taught and he’s probably a great writer (English teacher). (10/10) Recommender II: Physics teacher, she’s so nice, pretty much like a mom… She probably said really nice things about me <3 Don’t know how good she is at writing tho? Probably good but not great (8.5?/10) As for supplements: Art teacher who I’ve know forever and sponsor of my club, she likes me (9+/10)
[li] Counselor Rec: She knows my family really well, I think she likes me. Again, didn’t get to read it. (9/10)[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): GA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian/Vietnamese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: ~50k
[] Assets: 0
[] Property: 0
[] Extenuating Circumstances: two siblings in college
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation, Asian American[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched and general comments: In my essays, I talked about wanting to pursue journalism and my interests in human rights. Northwestern has an amazing journalism program, so probs why I was accepted (I wrote an amazing Why Northwestern essay… so good…). Other supplements that I did were not as good; I could have done better in all of them. So take the CommonApp very seriously!! Also, if you didn’t get matched, it’s okay! That just means you get to choose the college that you attend on your own terms!! I’m so excited to go to Northwestern, it’s unbelievable

24

[ size=6][ color=red][ b]Decision:NotMatched**[/color][/size]

[ b]Schools Ranked: Columbia, Vanderbilt, Rice, USC

[ b]Objective:**
[ list]
[ *] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2130, 9, 680, 750, 700
[ *] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 33, 11, 34, 35, 27, 35
[ *] SAT II (Type, Score): Math 2-790 Physics-700
[ *] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 6.45/4.0
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85/4.0
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/444
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (5), Environmental Science (4), World History (4), Psychology (4), US History (4), Physics 1 (4), Statistics (4), English Language and Composition (4)
[ *] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[ *] Senior Year Course Load: AP Economics, AP Chemistry, AP BC Calculus, AP Politics and Government, TV Production
[ *] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Anne Frank Humanitarian Award
[ /list]

[ b]Subjective:**
[ list]
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government (Junior Class VP and executive board, Senior class treasurer), NHS (treasurer), Social Studies Honor Society (VP), Science Honor Society (treasurer, Quiz Bowl Starter), Varsity Basketball, Tutor, Political Efficacy and Debate club (President and Founder)
[ *] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: 300ish hours, coaching youth basketball, freshmen orientation counselor
[ *] Summer Activities: Engineering Camp and Basketball (lots of basketball)
[ *] Essays: Probably the strongest aspect of my application 9/10
[ *] Teacher Recommendations: Good, teachers were absolutely infatuated with me. 8-9/10
[ *] Counselor Rec: I’m her favorite student, she loves me to death 10/10
[ /list]

[ b]Other**
[ list]
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): FL
[ *] School Type: Middle of the road Public
[ *] Ethnicity: White
[ *] Gender: Male
[ *] Income Bracket: 40k-60k
[ *] Assets: N/A
[ *] Property: Some land, I can’t really recall the value
[ *] Extenuating Circumstances: Mother abandoned family, mother dealt with substance abuse, lived by myself sophomore year
[ *] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[ /list]

[ b]Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:** EFC over 0, largely unimpressive stats for the schools I ranked. It makes economic sense for the colleges to not match the kids with EFCs over 0, they can simply admit them through RD and get as much money as possible out of them, save the matches for the kids who couldn’t pay anyways! I’m happy for the experience and opportunity, best of luck to everyone going forth!

25

I have no clue what I’m doing lol, maybe that’s why I didn’t match.

26

Decision: Matched

Match to: Stanford
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Yale

Objective:

  • SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1980, Essay 9, CR 640, M 660, CW 680
  • ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): Comp 31, Essay 6, Eng 35, Math 26, Read 34, Sci 29
  • SAT II (Type, Score): N/A
  • Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.2/5
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
  • Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/74
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): Lit (4), Lang, Calc A/B, 2D Design (I get weighted credit for dual enrollment in my local community college. The courses I took there are World Civ. 1, World Civ. 2, English 100)
  • IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
  • Senior Year Course Load: AP Lang and Comp, AP Calculus A/B, AP 2D Design, Spanish 2, Digital Media Directed Studies, Physics, Integrated Studies Project
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF 4th Award Biochemistry, Hawaii State Science Fair 5th Overall 1st Bioengineering, Daniel K. Inouye Innovation Award, Questbridge College Prep Scholar, Questbridge Finalist.

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Fair (Hawaii Delegate at Intel), School Study Help Blog (Founder, Main Blogger), Student Council (Treasurer 3 years), Religious Seminary (Class President), Air Rifle Team (District Rep. at States), Science Supply Inventory Project (Founder, Main Participant), Farmhand on Family Farm, School Tennis Team 1st Rank, Pacific Asian and Affairs Council (Treasurer), National Honor Society (Treasurer)
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A (My farm work isn’t exactly this)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Study Help Blog (10 hrs/week), Science Inventory Project (2hrs/week)
[] Summer Activities: Intensive farm work to support my family
[] Essays: 9/10
Common App: Talked about how living on a farm on an underdeveloped island restricted my academics and how I adapted around it to succeed in high school. My hook line was “I have a complicated relationship with watermelons.”
Dear Future Roommate: I wrote about getting caught dancing to K-pop in the school bathroom.
What matters: Being confident academically despite my meager background.
Intellectual Growth: The first time learned the value of time by missing out on ice cream as a child. I had a random word in one of my opening sentences. I literally had a heart attack when I saw it the next day.
[] Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 One was the science teacher I had as I was doing science fair. She was also my swimming coach for one year. We know each other really well and are on great terms. The other was my math teacher for the past 3 years. He has a really great opinion of me and highlighted that I’m my ability to think abstractly and direct myself.
[li] Counselor Rec: 7/10 I’m not that close to her, but I know that she thinks highly of me. I’m not sure what she wrote about.[/li] [/ul]

Other

  • [] State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii
    [    ] School Type: Small Public School (350ish kids)
    [] Ethnicity: Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, lots of other random things.
    [    ] Gender: Female
    [] Income Bracket: $35,000-45-,000
    [    ] Property: N/A We don’t own the farm land.
    [] Extenuating Circumstances: I live on an isolated underdeveloped island and have to work on farm to support my family.
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

**Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:/b
My essays and recommendations were really strong. I put extra effort into letting my natural voice shine though in my essays, and I wasn’t afraid to take a little risk in writing about the bathroom experience. My circumstances are pretty unusual too. I’m probably the first person from my island to apply for this scholarship.

On a side note: Good luck to everyone who got matched and everyone who didn’t. You guys have come so far. I know you have bright future ahead.

27

Note for future applicants:
Don’t let the statistics discourage you. Honestly, compared to a lot of the kids on here my test scores suck. I used to get depressed about it, but eventually I realized that moping about what I couldn’t achieve wasn’t getting me anywhere. I realized that writing about my quirks could be my defining quality. My advice to you is to find something that’s unique to you and play it up. Don’t try to duplicate what you see. Carve your own path to success.

28

Decision: Matched

Match to: UPenn (!!!)
Schools Ranked: UPenn, Yale, Columbia

Objective:

  • SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1720 (600, 600, 510). I retook in November and got 1900, but it was too late by then.
    ACT: 29
    SAT II (Type, Score): Bio M (640) and Lit (670)
    Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.06 out of 4.2
    Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.76
    Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 14 of 300
    AP (place score in parenthesis):
    IB (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4)
    Senior Year Course Load: IB Lang, IB History, IB Spanish, IB Math Studies, Physics Honors, IB TOK, IB Visual Arts
    Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge finalist, quest bridge college prep scholar, 1st place at UPenn debate tournament, National Honors in Spanish

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (captain), various girls activist organizations, Student council, class treasurer, broadcasting organizations, national honors society, interned with several judges and courts as well as the school counselor.
[] Job/Work Experience: n/a
[] Volunteer/Community service: volunteered at my old middle school
[] Summer Activities: volunteered at my old middle school
[] Essays: 9/10. My QB essay was finished at 2 a.m, but it was really amazing. I tried to show different aspects of myself on common app and on QB. My quest bridge essay focused on my background and how that empowered me, and my common app essay was a political essay/social commentary. My Penn writing supplement was specified to how the specific programs at Penn would help me with what I discussed in my first two essays. Overall, I used the both applications to show every aspect of who I was.
[] Teacher Recommendations: 7/10. I asked two teachers who knew me well enough for the QB app, then I had my favorite teacher write me another one for the common app (although Penn only required the two from QB).
[li] Counselor Rec: 8.5/10. I know my counselor really well because I interned for her and assisted her with our school scholarship page. However, she waited until the very last minute to start it, so I don’t know how good it was. [/li][/ul]

Other

  • [] School Type: public, medium sized, inner city, broke lol
    [    ] Ethnicity: Black/Indigenous
    [] Gender: Female
    [    ] Income Bracket: <30,000
    [] Assets: 0
    [    ] Property: 0
    [] Extenuating Circumstances: Parents separated, dad is a vet and was homeless for a while, relied on my mom financially for a while, substance abuse in my family, unemployment
    [    ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation college

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
I tried to tell my entire story on my application. I came to this website to give inspiration to all the people out there who maybe don’t have the highest test scores and aren’t in a bunch of nationally recognized organizations/ starting orphanages in Africa. I never could really afford test prep, and I did the best I could with what I had. My scores are mediocre, my GPA isn’t exactly 4.0. However, all of my achievements point to my passion for certain things, like management, marketing, public speaking, social justice etc, and I also made sure to highlight those themes in every essay. Also, I was really praying to get into Penn, so I made a lot of decisions when I wrote my Common app and QB essays with the idea of impressing Penn in my mind. Penn is located in my hometown, so I made sure to emphasize that connection repeatedly, and that may have played a huge part in it. I never in a million years thought I would win the scholarship, never thought I would have a post on college confidential amongst the 2300 SAT and saving-kittens-from-trees types, but here I am with a full scholarship to my first choice. So if you think you have the personality, the dedication, the strength and a knack for writing essays, as well as a defining background, don’t be afraid to apply because you never know where that decision may take you! Now my only problem is not letting senioritis get the best of me :smiley:

29

Decision: Matched

**Match to: Wesleyan University! **
**Schools Ranked: 2: Wesleyan University and Carleton College (in that order) **

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): n/a
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): I submitted an ACT with a composite 31 (Eng: 35, Math: 26, Read: 34, Sci: 30, Writing: 11)
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): n/a
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 3.96/4.0
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96/4.0
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/94
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): since there’s only AP in senior year, I have no AP test scores to report
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a at my school
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP World, AP Lit, Calculus, Instrumental Music IV, Spanish II, CBA, Library (I took two science courses last year, Pre-AP Chem and A&P, so no science class senior year)
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): College Prep Scholar

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band/Orchestra (First Chair, Section Leader Percussionist), Beta Club, Student Council (Treasurer), Library Club (President), Spanish Club, Tennis (Regional Competitor), Quizbowl (Starter), Beta Scrapbook, APPLE Upward Bound Participant
[] Job/Work Experience: Maintenance Worker/Janitor Crew at the elementary school during junior summer (two months, Mon-Fri, 7-3pm), casual part-time throughout my life at my nana’s antique shop
[] Volunteer/Community service: Read to Elderly at Nursing home, Concessions (in total, +80 hrs)
[] Summer Activities: work, mostly
[] Essays: 9.5/10 (Probably the leading part of my application, worked on them with an English teacher for months upon months)
[] Teacher Recommendations: 9/10 (Pre-AP English and Biology/A&P teacher-- I got highest average in A&P)
[li] Counselor Rec:8/10[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Arkansas
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: ~40k (2 siblings)
[] Assets: none
[] Property: provided by employer, my parents own nothing but a car or two, and they have virtually no savings
[] Extenuating Circumstances: My dad doesn’t have a degree, and works on my grandparents’ farm (where we live-- they pay for everything because my parents are in way too much debt)
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Aside from a couple of teachers, I received virtually no support for applying to competitive colleges and was called foolish and stupid for even wanting to apply out-of-state.[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: I think the fact I was from a small town in Arkansas was a huge boon, and probably that I had gone through a lot of scorn for my desire to attend college out of state. Also my essays, honestly, I worked so so so hard on them-- plus I applied and got into travel programs from both of my ranked schools, so I got interviews (that went really well, if I may say so) and made connections with admissions officers. I got matched to Wesleyan, I believe (my top school, woo hoo!) because I want to be a film major, as my essays reflected, and Wesleyan’s film program is amazing.

I’m so excited to be a match student and I’m thrilled to be a Wes Match, and I wish the best of luck to anyone who didn’t get matched-- if you can apply to QB, you can do anything. I’d love to talk or help anyone who has questions about the Match process or Wesleyan-- and if you are going to Wes, shoot me a message! I’m totally pumped to start making connections among my future classmates.

30

Decision: Matched

Match to: RICE!! School of Engineering
Schools Ranked: MIT, Northwestern, UPenn, Yale, Rice, UVA, USC, Tufts, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 2nd time 1930, 8?, 650, 660, 620
    1st time- 1790, 8, 590, 570, 630
  • Only submitted my SAT scores to schools that required all scores
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 2nd time 30, 26, 35, 27, 30, 28
    1st time 27, 6?, 31, 25, 31, 22
    [] SAT II (Type, Score): 590 Bio E and 610 Math 1 *Only submitted to schools that required it
    [    ] Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.25
    [] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
    [    ] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1% of 400
    [] AP (place score in parenthesis): Gov -3, Lang -3, World -2, Psych -4
    [    ] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc, AP Lit, Dual enrollment Sociology, Physics, Basic Guitar, Computer Networking
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge College Prep / Finalist? and Industry certifications for computer networking. Other than that, just small local awards

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Captain of varsity soccer team, VP of national honor society and national art honor society, teen choir member
[] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[] Volunteer/Community service: coaching soccer to 3 to 6 years olds, nursing home, teen court, tutoring
[] Summer Activities: programs related to engineering / various hackathons
[] Essays: Wrote about my success despite the circumstances I am in for the biographical essay; then I wrote about one of the achievements I am most proud of (coding competition)
[] Teacher Recommendations: Subjective
[li] Counselor Rec: Also subjective[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MD
[] School Type: Public, 2000 students
[] Ethnicity: Black
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: <30,000
[] Assets: I wish
[] Property: Negative hundred thousands
[] Extenuating Circumstances: Single-parent household
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments:
I was considering not doing NCM because a.) low test scores b.) I had to submit a noncustodial parent waiver and heard it is hard to have it approved. In the end, I did it because I saw that I had nothing to lose. So for all those reading this, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE apply! You won’t know the decision until you try!
And another piece of advice is don’t stress about things you can’t change. I was really disappointed in my test scores (especially for math since I want to be an engineer) but I had exhausted all the fee waivers available to me. So I moved on to another part of my application: the essay. I really made sure the essay reflected who I was and described my passion for engineering.
Oh and also, make sure you only rank the schools you would not regret attending! I already heard of one person complaining about the school they matched to and I just can’t fathom why they ranked it in the first place. In my case, I was matched to my fifth school but I couldn’t be happier! I really did research on all the schools I applied to and made sure to apply to the fly-ins of those that provided it.

Anyways, congratulations to all the new Quest Scholars! And good luck to those continuing with the college application process! Remember, everything happens for a reason.

31

Decision: Matched

Match to: Colorado College (only ranking)

Objective:

  • [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): (1980, 8, 780, 630, 570)
    [    ] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): (33, 8, 35, 28, 35, 33)
    [] Weighted GPA (out of 5.0?): 4.6
    [    ] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
    [] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17/71 (ranking isn’t very important at my school because everyone is a top student; anything below a C leads to expulsion)
    [    ] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (4), APUSH (5), AP Eng. III (4)
    [] Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Music Theory, AP Eng. IV, Hon. Spanish III, Hon. Recording Engineering, Intro to Engineering Design, Hon. Pre-Calc
    [    ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB finalist, AP Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Commended Student

Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): GSA (Founder & Vice President, 11th & 12th), NHS, school choir, live sound engineering & stage management (technical director, 12th), robotics club
[] Job/Work Experience: none at time of application, current internship for audio/visual company
[] Volunteer/Community service: tutoring, sound engineer for school concerts, assistant sound engineer for non-profit organization, organizing various school events
[] Summer Activities: music lessons, hiking,
[] Essays: 9/10, reviewed by english teacher and counselor. The first was about being a second-generation immigrant and always feeling somewhat out of place until I began studying music and performing. The second is about a situation at my school where I fought to get an anti-transgender policy changed and ended up succeeding.
[] Teacher Recommendations: APUSH teacher: 9/10 (doesn’t know me too well, but I consistently did well in her class and on the AP exam), Algebra 2 teacher: 10/10 (did well in her class, knows me well, also NHS advisor)
[li] Counselor Rec: 10/10 (has been my biggest advocate since I met her, like a mother to me)[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): NC
[] School Type: small, performing arts magnet (public)
[] Ethnicity: Mostly black (dad is a black Jamaican; mom is black, Spanish, and Native-American)
[] Gender: female-to-male transgender
[] Income Bracket: ~20k
[] Assets: none
[] Property: none
[] Extenuating Circumstances: My father was an immigrant, deported when I was 10. Mother has health problems, unemployed, with 4 other children. I also have chronic health problems, which impacts my ability to attend school regularly.
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Transgender, 2nd-gen immigrant[/li][/ul]

Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: Looking at these other applicants, I’m surprised that I even became a finalist. I attended an overnight stay at Colorado College before submitting rankings, met the admissions staff and attended an interview. Weirdly enough, it seemed like they all knew who I was before I got there; one counselor in particular seemed very interested in my story. I chose CC as my only ranking because none of my other choices were QB partner colleges. Regardless, I’m happy to be a Tiger now, and I’m excited for what’s to come.

I hope this and other responses in this thread help any future applicants. In the beginning, my “stats” made me feel discouraged and like I had no hope of getting matched. Just know that you all are more than your stats, and as long as you play your cards right, it’ll all work out in the end.

32

Decision: Matched

**Match to: University of Chicago
**Schools Ranked: Columbia, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania (ranked in this order)

**Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I: Comp 2180, Essay 11, CR 690, M 740, CW 750
[] ACT: Comp 32, Essay 12, Eng 31, Math 34, Read 33, Sci 30
[] SAT II: Biology E 690, Math 2 710
[] Weighted GPA: 4.5
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[] Rank: 6/703
[] AP: European History (4), Calculus AB (5), Biology (4), United States History (4), Psychology (5), Environmental Science (3, self-studied), English Language and Composition (5), Calculus BC (5)
[] IB: School doesn’t offer IB
[] Senior Year Course Load: Dance Team, Physics Honors, AP Government, Associated Student Body/Leadership, AP Economics, AP Chinese
[] Major Awards: College Prep Scholar, San Bernardino County Top 1% Junior, countless of dance awards at local, regional,state, and national levels for competitive school and studio dance teams; KAR Artistic Dance Scholarship, Varsity Dance Team’s Most Inspirational, AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction

**Subjective:

[list]
[] Extracurriculars: Varsity Dance Team (Captain), Studio Competition Team, Key Club (Activities Director), Leo Club (Vice President), Let It Be Club (Activities Director), National Honors Society, California Scholarship Federation, Associated Student Body (Commissioner of Bulletin-spoke on the intercom to the entire student body everyday/Commissioner of Link Crew-helped freshmen adapt to the high school environment), Halo Dance for Autism Club, Secular Student Alliance, Modeling, YouTuber (close to 1 million views)
[] Job/Work Experience: Dance Teacher and Choreographer, Tutor, Model
[] Volunteer/Community service: Key Club, Leo Club, Let It Be Club, Homies for Homeless
[] Summer Activities: dance, tutoring, summer school, modeling, making YouTube videos
[li] Essays: QB Essay 1/Common App Personal Statement: talked about how my father’s drug and gambling addiction fostered motivation for me to succeed, constantly moving and being homeless for a short period of time taught me to appreciate education as a constant in my life while everything around me was constantly changing, how dance taught me to explore my creative capacity within a society and education system that limits artistry, and how coming from a low income family forced me to learn in unconventional ways[/li]
U Chicago Essay: prompt was “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” I talked about how the current U.S. education system and dependence on social media limit the innate human ability to explore creativity capacities. I included how I was able to observe a huge difference in how the young children I teach in my dance classes learn to how I learned as a young child.

[] Teacher Recommendations: both were pretty good recommendations 8/10
[] Counselor Rec: new counselor but she wrote a pretty good recommendation 7/10
[li] Outside Rec: Dance Studio Owner/Employer 10/10 REALLY GOOD REC, Non Profit Organization Founder 9/10[/li][/ul]

Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: Chinese
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: around 40,000
[] Assets: none
[] Property: none
[] Extenuating Circumstances: idk
[li] Hooks: unique jobs/extracurriculars? (modeling isn’t exactly a typical “nerd” activity lol)[/li][/ul]

**Why you think you were matched/not matched and general comments: well-rounded **