right, I agree…
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I loved it too, I almost choked on my tea
Does anyone know how Questbridge finalists are chosen in general? Do they just weed out the people that are below their cut-off line, or how does that work?
I know that level of financial hardship as well as additional hardships factor in. In addition, ranking just Ivies+UChicago (or a similar university) rarely works even if it’s the only way to bypass the REA/SCEA rules.
understood. You think they’d be favorable to someone who ranked less “prestigious” schools has a better chance then? That’s what I’ve been doing at this point, I actually am not being too picky, because I know all of their schools are great, even if some are more prestigious and such. I just want to get into a college lol.
Okay, I have a question lol. I have appeared once more.
This is more general, but are freshmen REQUIRED to live on campus? Like, they don’t have the option to live elsewhere? And how does that work in the light of Questbridge?
Because I have some family very near to certain college campuses in which I’m super interested in, who’d love for me to stay with them. It just seems easier, and I know my dad would rest a bit more, considering his mistrust for the very scary college students that may corrupt me. I’m just not sure how that would work for scholarships though…
It depends on school. Some allow students to live of campus. Other will allow to live of campus only if your parents live nearby (the do not care about relatives and will go by your DL address only). Many want freshman be on campus with mandatory meal plan (it is the way to make money…).
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THe QB colleges require students to live on-campus, in part because unlike HS you’ll be doing things till Midnight (there’s a reason university libraries are open till Midnight, 1, or 2 am or even all night during finals).
You’ll have classes, but also office hours, labs, study groups, review sessions, club meetings (and those are very important to building your resume), career center appointments, etc. Lots of connections are made in the dorms and in activities, which are not optional (they are optional in that no one will whup your behind if you don’t go, but to find a job and use these elite colleges’ networks, you have to be involved.)
Residential colleges work hard at building community and it can be quite advantageous to feel that you “belong”.
I’d say to deal with the “residential” problem in a “cross the bridge when you get to it” manner, ie., if you’re selected for QB AND matched, then you can look into the types of dorms and how to convince your dad.
BTW, studies show students who live on campus do better grade-wise and professionally after graduation (in part because if you live at home you can’t possibly get the same work done as you would in the library; if study group is 8-11pm and you leave halfway through you miss out on a lot; home problems or duties don’t impinge on your studies; and networking is just much harder.)
Would someone from your community or an imam help in convincing him? Planning ahead, you can try thinking of who could be “in your corner” if youre lucky enough to get selected for QB and matched.
Aren’t there examples of other girls around you or from families he respects, who didn’t “get corrupted” by college students?
BTW, even if you live on campus, you DO NOT have to join a sorority (did he get the idea from watching films?) and you CAN ask for a Quiet Floor, or a Substance-free/Health floor so that other students are in line with those deal-breakers for you (or your dad).
Outside of QB, students who live 25 miles from campus are usually allowed to live with their parents and commute,but it is harder for them to belong to the college community, the time spent on commuting is not time spent studying, the time at home is time not in the library, etc., so that it places you at a competitive disadvantage compared to freshmen on campus; it can absolutely be done but it’s harder than if you live on campus, at least freshman year when you really have to switch gears compared to HS.
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Even colleges where it is required for 1st-years, they wouldn’t “take attendance”. In other words, while you might not be able to opt out of the 1st-year dorm (and pay for it), it likely would be perfectly okay if you chose to sleep-over at nearby family occasionally.
My daughter’s first-year roommate was more absent than present. If she didn’t stay with family in town, she stayed with her boyfriend.
Another kind of unrelated but nagging question I’ve been having; in the additional information section of my QB application, I may have ended up writing a small essay more than anything. It was all pretty important info, but I just wrote it in a weirdly poetic way which I’ve realized only essays sport. Is that to my disadvantage?
I am not sure what either of those statements mean, but there’s nothing you can do about it now, so don’t worry about it.
Very true. I understand that, but it’ll take a bit of reassuring for my dad to accept it. I’ll try to get whichever college I get accepted into’s Islamic group, if they have anything like that, and be in contact with them.
My dad got the idea that I’m going to go party and have other people in my room who shouldn’t be, etc etc. Not sure how exactly he got the idea, but my mom went to a college for a short time right before I was born, and she kind of feeds him some of the badder things going on there.
I mean that I… wrote a small essay in the additional information section lol? Not sure how to clarify. And the other thing, I meant that my response in the additional info part was more like an essay than a question-and-answer sort of thing.
That’s fine to put an essay in that section. No worries, at all.
For future apps, you can keep that essay if you like it and it isn’t redundant info.
If you are in a QB like program - it’s going to include room and board. After all you have significant need or you wouldn’t qualify.
If you decide to live with a relative, I guess you’d have an on campus place to crash.
If you are lucky enough to match, it’s a huge win.
Don’t play games with components like housing. Ask for accommodation that meets your personal/religious needs but I wouldn’t try to remake the entire system.
Good luck.
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It’s fine as long as the essay provided additional info.
Was your mom at an elite college or in the Honors Dorm?
If she wasn’t, her experience was likely very different from what yours would be.
(Some freshman dorms really are zoos with kids getting wild but NOT ALL and in particular NOT the Honors dorm, the substance-free/health living dorm, nor the Quiet Floor!)
Yes you should definitely contact the various groups that the college may have that relate to your background and would reassure your father (Muslim Student association, the on-campus imam if there’s one -likely-, North African student association…)
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Often, schools with on-campus residential requirements require it for the first year only.
I think most schools have living options that might make your dad more comfortable.
For example, at Oregon State University, where my daughter attends, students can request to live in a women-only or men-only wing. The Muslim Student Association was helping students who wanted a Muslim roommate to connect with each other. There is also an International Living Learning Community dorm (but you don’t have to be an international student to live there). Some of the rooms are singles, but I don’t know how difficult it is to get one.
After you receive acceptances, research each school’s specific offerings. The Muslim student group at each school may be a good resource. And then you can give your dad a proposal that he might make him more comfortable.
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My mom went to University of Oregon for some time, I believe. I also think her approach on college was not the same as mine at all. She just wasn’t going to study, but to be free, lol.
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Interesting. I think my dad will HAVE to accept what happens. He knows it’s not a joke, and he has agreed thus far with what I have been saying about college.
I’m starting to get acceptances from my safety schools/ fit schools, like since October 1st. Is that normal? From a few of them, I also got scholarships. I just applied to these for fun almost, during the beginning of the school year, once I saw some of them emailing me.
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By the way, what time is QB supposed to come out with finalists?