2017-2018 Questbridge National College Match Finalists

anyone who was a CPS get rejected from the National college match?

yes some high scores got rejected

@HappySquirrel thanks a lot! Still, some schools I want to apply to require the common app or coalition app. It’s kind of weird that both my academics and low-income status did not qualify me for QuestBridge.

@tooksattoday1 my SAT score was within that 50% range. However, I still didn’t get QuestBridge.

I am only going to apply with my QB app:
Here is the list of colleges that you can apply to USING ONLY QB (NO COMMONAPP ETC)

If you are NON-FINALIST:

∆ Amherst
∆Bowdoin
∆Clareton
∆Colby
∆Colorado
∆Grinell
∆Malcestor
∆Oberlin
∆Pamona
∆Rice
∆Scripps
∆Swarthmore
∆Vassar
∆Williams

If you are FINALIST:

∆ALL OF NON-FINALISTS LIST
∆Davidson
∆Dartmouth
∆Emory
∆Haverford
∆MIT
∆Tufts
∆Vanderbilt
∆Wellesly
∆Wesleyan
∆Washington and Lee
∆Yale

what is the benefit of applying to these colleges with the qb application? also what is the benefit of applying to qb college partners for RD using qb if you are not named a finalist anyway? thanks!

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1280 (680 Reading) (600 Math)
ACT (breakdown): 30 (33 Reading) (33 Writing) (26 Math) (30 science) [Didn’t get to submit these scores tho since it was released after the deadline]
SAT II: 670 Lit; 690 US History; 540 French [I’m better with comprehension than grammar]
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (3) APUSH (4) AP Lang (4)
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Gov
AP Bio
AP Lit
AP Psych
AP French
AP Calc BC
Chinese I
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
College Prep Scholar (this count? lol), Scholastic Gold Key in Poetry; AP Scholar; Honor Roll etc. (Nothing fancy)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Lions club (Secretary and Treasurer); Peer tutor; community tutor Job/Work Experience: Worked at fast food for a summer
Lots and lots of family responsibility.
Volunteer/Community service: Salvation Army; Habitat for Humanity; NHS; Blood drives; Church volunteer etc.
Summer Activities:
Honors Institute; Hispanic College Program; More volunteer work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’m an okay writer I guess. I tried not to whine but show myself as determined. I think that was appreciated.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I had my french and APUSH teachers write it; waived my right to access. I hope they were good. My french teacher has known me for 3 yrs and APUSH teachin lady ain’t nothin but a darling. Bless her.

Teacher Rec #1: Idk, hopefully above a 5
Teacher Rec #2: Again, hopefully above a 5
Counselor Rec: It was more informational than vouching, so I guess a 6.

Other:

Intended Major: Philosophy then Law school
State (if domestic applicant): VA
School Type: Rural public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 25-30K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Gen

Reflection
Even though I was picked as a Prep Scholar, I was still very worried I wouldn’t make the cut.
Strengths: My essays
Weaknesses: Scores and maybe teacher recs. I don’t go out my way to bond with people…
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
I think I showed I’m a hard worker, only pointing out issues in my life that I’ve overcame. I avoided pity-parties, since reading those kinds of essays make me cringe. I emphasized my values of hard work, grit and tenacity, since they are a big part of my life. Basically, life sucks for some people so suck it up and do something about it.
I’m fairly “average” but maybe they found it refreshing?

@lensonoda Exactly! That’s the only reason I got it. My scores suck. If I had 1500+ I would’ve just applied to a top school for ED. I think I read somewhere that someone’s son didn’t make it to finalist, then applied early to Yale and was accepted. So finalist is not truly indicative of merit, just need I guess.

@lensonoda that’s a good theory! I’d also applied to CPS with similar scores and whatnot, and also got rejected there. Perhaps they’re looking to find those who would be overlooked score-wise?

@MasterOfAll Hey, if you’re still wondering about the numerical value of recommendation, there is no official numerical rating. These ratings are based on how the students thought of their teachers and counselor recommendations personally (Essentially, QuestBridge does not “rate” your letters of recommendation). Hope this helps!

Same question as @tooksattoday1 . Could using Questbridge to apply to those colleges as non-finalist help? I might send Questbridge an email to ask about this.

@HappySquirrel
How confident are you on your application will decide that!! Do you want to reduce the hassle with QB, or you can start new with COMMONAPP…

I definitely don’t think that having high test scores would get you rejected from QB :)) . Especially since the middle range of ACT composite scores is 28-32… I know/met a lot of people with a 33-36 who got in. Plus it isn’t easier to get in through QB. QB only matches so many students. Not to sound rude or anything, but you can’t put us down and say that QB only accepts students who probably can’t get in on their own just because you got rejected. We both worked really hard on this app and deserve as much credit as y’all. BTW, it is easier to get into a school EA/ED/REA than it is to match to a QB school.

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1440 (700CR + 740M) one sitting

ACT (breakdown): 31 (34E | 31M | 36R | 24S) one sitting

SAT II: Never took
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Homeschooled so…

Weighted GPA: 4.11

AP/Senior Year Course Load: Physics AB (-) Calculas BC (-) Computer Science A (-) Computer Science Principle (-) Statistics (-) World History (-) US History (-) Biology (-) Environmental Science (-)

Grade 11 Courses: Took 3 A Levels: Economics (A) Business (A) Maths ©

Grade 9-10 Courses:Took 8 O Levels: Urdu (A) Pakistan Studies (B) Islamiat © Economics (A) Business Studies (A) Commerce (A) English as Second Language (A) Maths (A*)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): School topper before I quit formal schooling!

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 1- Social Media Strategist for family business in Pakistan, 2-Podcast Host 3- Novel Writer 4- Learning Coding 5- Runner

Job/Work Experience: 1- Dunkin Donut (40 hours) 2- Local Dress Boutique (12 hour per day, family trouble) 3- Freelancer (had a team based on peers when I was 15 back in Pakistan helping young kids earn)

Volunteer/Community service: None,

Summer Activities: Worked at Pakistan’s top marketing firm as content writer

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Mail essay: 9… I got the key here… QB likes kids who are positive despite of hard circumstances, so gave a cheesy, twist to my life story… I am a good writer so… I gave it a really good end where I write how books are my vista into a world with no trade off between better life and family (immigration). Gave a general but well structured overview of my life from beginning…
Second Essay: 10…Wrote on my city Karachi, Really passionate about revolutionizing Pakistan’s education system which is in literal ruin - and damn I have suffered through it - through Internet education etc… One of the best pieces I have ever wrote
I really miss my family in Pakistan and so I am motivated to make things better at home so less people are forced to immigrate and it really reflects through my app

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Counselor Rec: Mother wrote it… Doesn’t count anyway

Teacher Rec 1: Local high school counselor… She saw me suffer! She has seen everything I have been through… How hard I tried to get enrolled in high school after coming here. How we went without bread after my step-father’s sudden medical emergency, how I had to start this awful job to support my parents (she come to my Dunkin all the time), she knows my ambitions, my hardships over the years, she saw me distressed after applying for colleges last year, she was contacted by my harvard interviewer and was sure I will get in but I couldn’t send my scores there, she saw me heartbroken after gettong rejected since the disparities were huge with American education system and decide to do APs and work on my ECs and Scores… She has been the only person ever to understand

Teacher Rec 2: Local High school counselor’s junior: same goes for her too

Other:

Intended Major: Triple Majors in Business(Finance Concentration), Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence Concentration) and Literature

State (if domestic applicant): GA,
Country (if international applicant): USA and Pakistan

School Type: 1 - A trust school for poor kids in a third world country until 7th grade
2- Started self schooling myself after that (not calling it homeschooling because there was absolutely no one in my home to teach me) gave O and A Level exams as a private candidate (grade 8 - 11)
3- Self studied AP and SAT curriculum after arriving in USA (grade 12)

Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 25k for 3
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Self schooled?

Reflection

Strengths: Decent ACT, Self-schooled, awesome writer
Weaknesses: ECs Suck, I am old and my schooling got delayed (20 rn and in 12)
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Essays and short answers… Bluntly, i presented myself as a very raw, person and cunningly made myself look good lol… But every little detail about my unusual situation was somewhat described and it worked… I was rejected last year and I knew what mistakes not to repeat this once

@ finalists even if I submitted all my test scores to questbridge do I have to send all my scores officially to the schools I ranked? Or is score choice applicable in this case?

Also are we supposed to send AP scores too?

@JohnyFromChicago Check with the individual school, some want official SAT / ACT scores and others don’t. Also, schools typically don’t want official AP scores until you enroll.

@JohnyFromChicago It depends on the school! I received an email from Wesleyan (a test optional school) asking me to fill out a form by October 24th saying if I want my test scores to be considered or not.

@aspiringgirl Sorry if my theory sounded insensitive! I was accepted with a 1510 and pretty good ECs in my opinion, so it was just a speculation. I wasn’t trying to say that we didn’t deserve the title based on merit, but rather that QB wanted to make more room to accept the applicants with 1200s who were homeless starving refugees, etc. The people who make it through EA definitely don’t have the same demographics as Questbridge finalists. You have to remember that these schools have 13 year old geniuses or people with huge businesses applying, so it’s natural that more people would get in through ED than those who have been disadvantaged their whole lives, which is reflected on their applications.

Have y’all been getting emails from your ranked colleges?