2021 QuestBridge College Prep Scholars **Results**

Hey guys! If you applied to the 2021 application for College Prep Scholars, post your results here! [this is taken from the 2019 thread.]

Decision: Accepted / Rejected (choose one)

Basic Stats
SAT I (Comp, Essay, EBRW, M ):
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):
Major Awards:

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Bio Essay (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):
Short Questions (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):
Academic Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):
Character Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):

Other

State (if domestic applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Assets:
Property:
Extenuating Circumstances:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

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

After June: What were you awarded + what summer programs did you get into?

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SAT: Didn’t take
ACT: Didn’t submit
SAT II: Didn’t take
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 2.8
Rank: (n/a)
AP: Haven’t taken
IB: School doesn’t offer
Major Awards: None

Subjective:
Extracircculars:
-Upward Bound (MCAC)
-Student Voice Team/ KY Education Storytellers
-National History Day (Made it to State)
-Freelance Writer
Job/ Work Experience: None
Volunteer/ Community Service: None
Summer Activities: None
Teacher Recs: One from JROTC Teacher, Another from a Math Teacher
Counselor Rec: None

OTHER
State: Kentucky
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Non-binary
Income Bracket: No idea, but I’m low-income with an income of about 17,000
Assets: A trailer for about 40,000
Property: None
Extenuating Circumstances: None really
Hooks: Austistic, First-gen

I was rejected
My essays weren’t that good. I think I’ll need more time to redo them. Since my school is making it to where students can repeat their current high school year, I’m going to work on my essays over the year and reapply, hopefully. My GPA and PSAT (which I got a 1110 on) were also pretty low. My GPA’s main problem is my Freshmen year and science/ math classes, where I tend to get lower grades. I’m planning on retaking those classes during the summer, so I can boost my GPA.

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I think that’s a good idea. Ask your school guidance counselor if it’s possible to have the other classes removed from your transcript once you’ve retaken them.

If you try again next year, ask for help here on CC. You might be able to find someone who will review your essays for you before you submit them.

@harrypottereatspie were you accepted or rejected?

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hi :)) i was accepted. i’ll put my stats and everything in a reply, hold on

Decision: Accepted

Basic Stats
SAT I (Comp, Essay, EBRW, M ): 1470 (750 EBRW, 720 M)
ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): did not take
SAT II (Type, Score): n/a
Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.1 W
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (TBD), AP Lang (TBD), AP Chinese (TBD)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Major Awards: Scholastic Art & Writing, Critical Essay: 2020, Regional Gold Key + 2021, Regional Honorable Mention

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: speech & debate, Red Cross, Key Club, FARMS (local org), bullet journaling Instagram account
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: mostly with above ECs
Summer Activities: n/a
Bio Essay (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why) : 7.5/10, this essay got me into a lot of trouble with my parents but i feel like it told the truth. wasn’t worth it though, could have written on another subject. it was also written the day before deadline.
Short Question #1 (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 8/10, pretty solid. kind of personal and tied it into my scholastic essay.
Short Question #2 (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 9/10. kind of personal and its not very exaggerated. it expressed my career goals well.
Short Question #3 (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 10/10. talked about my speech and debate community and i thought it was very well written.
Academic Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 8/10. from my sophomore English teacher. she worked with me on my scholastic essay from 2020 so i was more engaged with her but the school year ended remotely so that kind of didn’t work out.
Character Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 9/10. from my speech coach who I’ve known since freshman year + always helped me even when i wasn’t able to attend speech sophomore year n tried to get my parents to come around. i got to read this, it was really nice.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: medium sized public, average rank
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: nonbinary but Female for apps
Income Bracket: 40k for family of 5 w/o pandemic aid
Assets: don’t know… cars?
Property: n/a
Extenuating Circumstances: not a lot? COVID loss of hours i guess
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not entirely first gen but first gen to go to college in America? none otherwise.

Why you think you were accepted/not accepted and general comments:
I think I was strong academically and my short questions and essays helped. I’m not really sure what distinguished me from the pack, I have half of a hook and average stats for Asian Americans. Overall I just think its the writing that helped me a lot.

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**Decision: Accepted

Basic Stats
SAT I (Comp, Essay, EBRW, M ): 1330, 690 EBRW, 640 M
ACT: N/A
SAT II (Type, Score): N/A
Weighted GPA (out of ??): 4.15 out of 4
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): My school doesn’t disclose
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/291
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (5), AP Lang (TBD), APUSH (TBD), AP Spanish Lang (TBD)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Major Awards:
National Spanish Exam Silver Medalist, Rowing Award, HOBY Conference, Harvard Kennedy School Youth Leadership Conference

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Community Service Club (social media manager and publicist)
Racial Equity Taskforce (board member)
Mock Trial
Rowing
Elementary After-School Program Coordinator

Job/Work Experience:
Paid Interpreter for English-Portuguese (3 years)

Volunteer/Community service:

Organized school supply drive to bring supplies for students in need
Organized a food drive to distribute food for community members
110+ Hours of Community Service

Summer Activities:

Paid Intern for a Social Justice Summer Program (3 months)

Bio Essay (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):

7- It was kind of rushed because I submitted it an hour before it was due lol. I made sure to talk about 2 main life events that affected me and how I used those experiences to pursue my passion for law and language justice. My struggles have encouraged me to become an immigration attorney and legal interpreter someday.

Short Questions (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):
7- I talked about how my identities have shaped the way in which I view the world. I emphasized how I’m willing to collaborate with others and listen to people with different opinions. I discussed topics that I am truly passionate about, things that keep me up at night thinking.

Academic Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):

9- I have a really good relationship with the teacher that wrote my academic recommendation. She knows me both in class and outside of class. I participate frequently and wrote a brag sheet that included what I wanted her to write down.

Character Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):

9- same reasons as the question above

Other

State (if domestic applicant):
Massachusetts

School Type:
Public

Ethnicity:
Cape Verdean (Black)

Gender:
Female

Income Bracket:
Significantly less than 65k/year lol

Assets:
None

Property:
None

Extenuating Circumstances:
Both of my parents experienced some severe illnesses and we immigrated to the US in 2015

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
First gen college student in the US, underrepresented ethnic group

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

I think I got accepted because my essays showed character development. I did not just write a sob story without any context. I truly emphasized how my struggles helped shape my passions and what I plan on doing in the future. I also got rec letters from 2 teachers that I am very familiar with and wrote a brag sheet. Last but not least, I’d recommend future applicants to just be authentic and use your real voice, not what you think they want to hear.

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forgot about this thread but since i can’t edit my original response: i got no response from the summer programs and didn’t get any of the QFE awards. im from cali which is a big state, no chance for the state one. i also rushed my short answers and essays which may have gotten my foot in the door but wasn’t good enough for the summer programs and scholarships.

Decision: Accepted

Basic Stats
SAT I (Comp, Essay, EBRW, M ):1260 (650 EBRW, 610 M)
ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): Didn’t take it
SAT II (Type, Score):n/a
Weighted GPA (out of ??):4.139
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):55/764
AP (place score in parenthesis):AP World History(4), AP US History(TBD), AP Physics 1(TBD), AP Lang (TBD), AP Calc AB(TBD).
IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a
Major Awards:Academic Scholar (2 years).

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Teacher Assistant at church, Women of Knowledge and Empowerment Society (member), NHS.
Job/Work Experience:n/a
Volunteer/Community service:n/a
Summer Activities:n/a
Bio Essay (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):7/10, good story terrible execution, could have been more narrative/descriptive.
Short Questions (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):9/10, gave a very different answer since I had a different perspective on certain issues because I grew up in a foreign country.
Academic Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why):10/10 I didn’t read it but I trust the teacher, I had her for Spanish in 11th grade and I was one of the only students who kept my camera on during zoom( I was basically a kiss ass).
Character Rec (if comfortable, rate 1-10 + why): 10/10 same as academic recommendation but this was from a rigorous class (AP Physics 1) which is why I believed it had a lot of value.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Georgia
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:African-American
Gender:Female
Income Bracket: 18k family of 4
Assets: I don’t know
Property: House
Extenuating Circumstances:none
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Fist to go to college in America, moved to America in 9th grade from a country with an very different curriculum.

Why you think you were accepted/not accepted and general comments:
I think the biggest thing was my income bracket cause I don’t think my stats are that impressive (compared to other applicants). I lacked a good amount of extracurriculars.
**To whoever that’s applying, just be sincere and even though you don’t think you’re good enough APPLY- it’s not going to hurt you anyways. My college prep application reduced the amount of work I had to put into my national match application. It just makes you college application process easier. You have your recommendations figured out, you can even reuse your essay!!! **

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I was pretty upset about being rejected, but I still applied for NCM. We’ll see how that goes…

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