[aB][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color]**
Schools Ranked: NONE
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 1st one - 5 = I had to rush this one due to Hurricane Harvey. I’ve been reading it again a few times after I had to submit it and the more I read, the more I cringe. 2nd one - 9 = I think this was a very transparent essay and I’m proud of it. I took risks on all my essays and short answers, in the end, they didn’t pay off but its OK. Had my Lit teacher read both essays, said they had good voice and were great, but ever since I submitted it I knew it was not up to my standards.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8-10, I’m really close to both of them and gave them both like 6 pages of a different info sheet about me. You never know though
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9, really close with her as well compared to other students.
Unweighted GPA: 3.81/4
Weighted GPA: 4.58/5
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): didn’t take
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 31C, 26E, 31M, 32R, 33S, 8W
SAT II (subject, score): none
Rank (numerical or percentile): top 8% 61/837
All AP test scores: 5 Stats, 5 APUSH, 4 Bio, 4 Lang
IB: none
Senior Year Course Load: PreAP Psych(AP next semester), AP Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Euro, Debate (took AP Econ and Gov during the summer)
Major Awards: none
Extracurriculars: Boy Scouts (9-12th), Debate (10-12th)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community Service: 250+ hrs, mainly at the nursing home and hospital
State: TX
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Large public
Ethnicity: SE Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Exactly 40k
Assets: 5k, but family 100% owns house (250k)
Extenuating Circumstances: none really
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen
Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
Kinda surprised. My stats are up to par. I think my biggest downside was my essay. I’ve always realized that I’m a very self-critical person, but I think my QB Essay 1 was a huge letdown. it was disjointed and really awkwardly written. Another “downside” is my school and location, in my school profile, it stated I lived in a middle/upper-middle-class town, which is true. I had no disadvantages academic wise, my school is top notch (#2) in my large metropolitan area. It also might be that we own our house completely.
My ECs were lacking as well. I stupidly put 2 different volunteer hospital programs as 2 ECs even though they were both hospital programs. I wasted a valuable slot in my ECs. I also stupidly put “family responsibilities” as 5hrs/week. I completely underestimated my time looking back on it and I think it made it seem really fishy. I don’t know what I was thinking, probably that I didn’t want to look like I was whining, but still managed to do that later in my Additional info section… rip
Looking back, I think I exaggerated my extenuating circumstances, in a pool of people who have their parents divorced, drug addicts, or they’re raised by single parents, or even lower income than I am, or have ailing family members to take care of, I mentioned like 2 times that my mom had neck problems and that I had to take care of the house, but when compared to everyone else’s finalist circumstances, mine seems like chores and I think QB saw that. Coming from a well-off area, but not being well-off per say, I thought my life was a bit rough, but now I realize that I am truly blessed after reading everyone’s story. Way more people deserve this more than I do.
Last thoughts: I’m surprisingly taking this pretty well, probably since I didn’t rank. Oh well, time to finish my ED. I’m reminding myself about the posts where a QB alumni(?) said that he knew a lot of his friends who were at his alma mater who didn’t get into QB, but got into his school. I know I can improve on my Essay #1 and turn it into my ED school, but not fully sure if I should use my QB app… lot’s of inherent mistakes
