<p>First off, my family is Asian. My dad lost his job around 2 years ago, and my mom is a registered nurse. She makes between 60-70k a year. She's currently in school still, and I have a toddler brother.</p>
<p>On the QB stats page, it shows that more than 90% of finalists and more than 95% of matched recipients have a family income of LESS than 60k. </p>
<p>Just by this stat alone, I am kind of skeptical of my chances of getting accepted to Questbridge.
I think my achievements are definitely good enough though.</p>
<p>My main worry is that I will get accepted as a finalist but not matched (since only around 10% of finalists are eventually matched). If this happens to be the case, I won't be able apply to other colleges via ED or EA (which would hurt my chances of both acceptance and financial aid, right?), such as Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, etc. </p>
<p>Also, one of the partner colleges that I have in mind, Wellesley, has a free online application (application fee waived either way), so would it even make a difference if I applied to Wellesley via QB (i.e. would the scholarship package be better?)?</p>
<p>Do you think it's worth it for me to apply to Questbridge?</p>
<p>Also, if I get accepted as a QB finalist but NOT matched, would that help my chances of getting accepted via RD forwarding than if I just applied as a normal RD applicant?</p>
<p>I know this post is really long and complex, but I really appreciate all your help!</p>
<p>You do not have to participate in the finalist round AND the match round. I would recommend you to apply for finalist status and not for the match round. About half of QB applicants become finalists, but you, and your essays, have to be truly exception to be matched. Plus, I have heard that you need a 0 EFC to be matched at most schools, and I don’t think your EFC is 0 with a 60-70k income. If you do decide to do the match round and fail to get matched, you can apply ED2 at your school of choice (although acceptance rates are lower than ED1). </p>
<p>After you’re a finalist, go ahead and ED your school of choice (acceptance rates are exponentially higher than match rates). A lot of kids go this route. If you’re scared about being locked into a school via ED (i.e. you’re concerned about their financial aid, or you’re 100% sure that you want to attend a particular school), you can still forward your QB app to QB schools in the regular round. As a QB finalist, your application fees to QB schools will be waived and it’s a nice little hook on your application too. </p>
<p>I’m pretty sure all the QB schools meet 100% demonstrated need, so your financial aid package will most likely be CoA - EFC. Match recipients get a full ride (you can’t get better than that), but you’ll get a hefty chunk of financial aid even if you do not apply to the schools via QB. </p>
<p>As a QB finalist who did not participate in match last year, I didn’t get into any QB schools in the regular round. With a >20k family income I was hoping to get into one of them for their generous financial aid, butI was rejected from Northwestern, and waitlisted from Emory and Tufts (but turned down the waitlists (Go Blue!)). Was the grueling process worth it? Probably not. The free apps and small additional hook was nice, though. But do I regret it? Absolutely not. Questies are a group of very interesting people and a great support network throughout the entire college application process.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your answer! </p>
<p>Does being a QB finalist help your chances of getting accepted during RD?</p>
<p>Also, what is ED1 and ED2? I’ve never heard of that. o.o</p>
<p>I’m confused about the match process. Say you’re selected as a finalist. Do your ranked colleges look at your financial needs before deciding whether to accept you? Or do they simply see if you’re good enough to be accepted. That is, are you saying that I’m definitely not poor enough to be matched?</p>
<p>If not, is it even worth it to apply to QB (how much does being a finalist help me)?</p>
<p>Thanks. ^^</p>
<p>QB finalist status is a little something extra on your app, although I can quantify how much it’ll help (so yes, it increases your chances for RD even if it’s ever so slightly).</p>
<p>ED1 is the first round of ED; apps due around early Nov and you get a decision mid Dec. ED2 is the second round. Usually due the same time as RD apps, but you get a decision in Feb as opposed to April. Again, ED is binding so you take what you get. You won’t get to compare financial aid packages (not much to worry here since QB schools are really generous), but the acceptance rate for ED is higher than RD/match.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the not-poor-enough thing. When I was applying, there was a lot of buzz about how getting matched at some schools require you to have a 0 EFC. If that’s the case, then you’re not poor enough to be matched. Although this may not apply for all the QB schools in the match process though, so do your research. </p>
<p>I think you should go ahead and apply. Do match if that’s what you want, but don’t get your hopes up! Unless your application is stellar or you have a great story to tell (fellow friend was matched this year to Columbia; his stats are ridiculous and he was homeless for a big portion of his life). Keep in mind, not getting matched isn’t the end of the world. Friend of mine was bummed when she wasn’t matched but ended up landing into Brown and Princeton. Similar stories are all over the QB Facebook group for my year. Tons of kids got into QB schools with full rides despite not getting matched. Best of luck!</p>