College Counselor says I shouldn't apply, I think I should.

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
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<p>Okay so today I'm talking to my college counselor about if I should apply for the College Prep Scholarship.</p>

<p>He told me, "Well you have to think about it, this scholarship is for those that are dirt poor and extremely smart." I was like, okay I mean I'm not the smartest person in the bunch, but I'm not the dumbest. My grade average is about an 88 and mind you, I'm in private school. </p>

<p>I feel this dude doesn't know me at all. First of all, its just my mom and I and my mom only makes about 28-30 thousand a year, for both of us. My tuition to go to private school is way more than my mom's yearly salary. </p>

<p>So I asked him,
"I am smart, so I don't understand what your saying. I'm not rich like these other students that you counsel"</p>

<p>He looked at me and was like,"Okay I'm not saying you shouldn't but don't get your hopes up."</p>

<p>I found that so so ignorant. Like seriously your suppose to be my counselor and obviously I can't afford college, but your shooting down one of my only options. I know its not for college, but it gives me a look on if I will be able to go to college from Questbridge.</p>

<p>So I nodded and shrugged off what he said. </p>

<p>I am not the smartest. I know this. On my PSAT, I got a 178(Not as high as others but who cares) my gpa average is an 88 and I take one AP and 2 honor courses. I have regular spanish and I take a seminar kind of class for science.</p>

<p>Im not stupid, and I feel I have a great personality. Maybe I am taking to much of his words in because everytime he tells a student" Don't get your hopes up high" whenver they apply to a college, they get in with no help from him......</p>

<p>I'm just frustrated. Is he an idiot or am I the idiot..........................I'm thinking the first. lol</p>

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<p>291 views…no response…come on people! Atleast say something negative…lol</p>

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<p>you don’t know if you don’t try. I had a similar situation. My guidance consoler was always nice to me but she saw me applying to all of these schools and told me that she didn’t think i would get it so i should apply to this no name school. i felt really devastated that she would say something like that but i’m glad my mom helped me to pick myself up because the same school that she thought i wouldn’t get in i got into it and got some high scholarships too. the bottom-line is keep going for it if ur truly want to do it. i did quest bridge and unfortunately did not get into their program. i think ur counselor knows its pretty competitive but he still needs to be careful of how he tells his students this. it doesn’t get any better in college because the consolers if anything are worst about things like that. just keep ur chin up and back straight and keep pushing foreword. if u don’t get in u don’t get in but at least u TRIED! If u don’t then u might keep thinking aww man i should of applied or what if i did apply. Everyone in that program has a story and has different circumstances so go ahead and give it a shot! :slight_smile: Best of luck to you!</p>

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<p>I mean the counselor is calling you stupid, you sound like a pretty intelligent person. I would still apply, just to see. Although I think your counselor is pretty experienced with the college admission process, and could be giving you realistic feeback.</p>

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<p>I think your counselor is 100% wrong. You should definately apply to QuestBridge. It is a fantastic organization, and if you don’t try, you will never know if you could get the scholarships. I really feel QuestBridge changed my daughter’s life!</p>

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<p>My D was selected for the QB college prep scholarship program in 11th grade and is currently an unmatched QB finalist in 12th grade. There are some great summer program opportunities offered through the QB college prep program. </p>

<p>Your household meets the income requirements and you have decent grades so give it a shot. If you’re the first in your family to go to college or a URM, that also seems to be helpful in this program. </p>

<p>What about your other parent’s household? You’ll be asked for financial info from the other household in the QB college prep scholarship process, in the QB college match process next year, and in all your regular college apps next year. Be prepared with this info. If you need to get a noncustodial parent waiver for QB, they accept that much easier than most colleges will, especially QB colleges. You could end up being qualified as a QB finalist based on your household finances but still not receive Good financial aid down the road from colleges if your other parent’s household is added in.</p>

<p>If your household’s EFC is zero or extremely close to it, it helps in the QB college match program. Some of the partner colleges will only select students with zero EFC in the match part of the process. Students with higher EFC may still get admitted thru the RD process. </p>

<p>Get your teacher recommendation from the teacher who you think will give the absolute best LOR for you. Be aware that when doing the QB app in 12th grade, they’ll need a LOR from your school counselor so do not get on that person’s bad side! Your counselor will also be writing a LOR about you for pretty much every college app except public universities. The counselor needs to be your new best friend for the next year so keep them on your side. Let your counselor see how your willing to work hard for this and DO IT! </p>

<p>A general profile of last year’s college prep scholars:
[College</a> Prep Scholar Profile](<a href=“QuestBridge”>QuestBridge)</p>

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<p>Do it. I didn’t know about the College Prep Scholarship until it was too late to apply, but I applied for the Questbridge National College Match program almost on a whim and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.</p>

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<p>I wonder if you understood the counselor’s feedback accurately. Perhaps the counselor was encouraging you to consider other options that might be a more likely option.</p>

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<p>I am somewhat familiar with the program. While students with better grades are typically selected, your grades seem easily strong enough to apply. There is another great scholarship available to students in certain cities, offered by the POSSE Foundation. The scholarship is based on need and leadership potential and provides hundreds of full rides every year. You should see if your city has a chapter and apply there as well. Good luck!</p>

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<p>OK, I was College Prep Scholar last year and I was matched to a wonderful school this year . I think you should try 100%. I had a different situation because my GPA was really high but not my SATs (around 2000) so my counselor said the same thing to me BUT I knew myself better. I were taking SATs after 1.5 years in America, didn’t know English before so it was really hard for me to compete with other students. I wrote a really compelling essay about my struggles with the language, explained everything and THEY CHOSE ME. If you have a story to tell, don’t listen to anybody else. You are not a number!!! YOU are an individual. Apply and good luck!!!</p>

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<p>With your stats and story, it is NOT impossible to become a Questbridge match finalist. Getting the scholarship itself will require much more competitive stats, activities, essays, etc., but honestly, many of the college match applicants apply to just become a finalist because there are some good benefits as a finalist (free college apps to top colleges and according to the questbridge records, about half the finalists get into the
partner schools). However, if you find a college that you want to attend and guarantees to meet 100% of your financial need, I strongly recommend you to apply early to that one school. There are many great colleges out there that can give you near full rides for students with EFCs of 0 (and you probably are right now) so there is no need to apply to the extremely competitive questbride program. My advice to you is do a lot of college research!</p>

<p>I hope that your counselor will recognize the brilliant sides of you and help you out more prudently :slight_smile: best of luck!</p>

<p>partner schools, and more)</p>

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<p>Oops excuse the typos up there xD I was using my iPhone</p>

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<p>It’s free, always apply. Worst case scenario is that you aren’t accepted, in which case you still have three essays already completed for the regular admissions process.</p>

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<p>Thanks Guys, </p>

<p>Well I am going to still try!
My dad is in texas and I haven’t seen him since i was in 10…I don’t think he matters except for the child support he gives…sometimes…</p>

<p>Siliconmom, </p>

<p>I understood pretty well…I talk to him on a constant basis and I’m pretty sure I know what he meant. If he was encouraging me for other options, he would have mentioned some…but he never does that.</p>

<p>Marval, you are very inspiring. I try to tell myself that everytime I think about college. Its hard being in a private school where everyone can afford tutors for classes and SATs but I can’t. I do this all on my own and with no help. </p>

<p>But thanks everyone. I love this part of CC because everyone is so helpful…</p>

<p>Okay now back to my homework and less procrasinating.lol</p>

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<p>ABSOLUTELY APPLY!!!
I cannot stress this enough!
The college prep scholarship literally changed my life!</p>

<p>I was never considered smart, sure, i took the hardest classes but i averaged a 3.6-7 GPA with a 29 on the ACT, i was accepted.
You know why? Because they want unique, passionate, ambitious, interesting, and intelligent(intelligence is in no way correlated with education) people.
If you express in your essays what a unique person you are, they will surely accept you.</p>

<p>PLEASE APPLY, seriously!
Also, tell your counselor to go **** himself</p>

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<p>farzaad13, I am completely agree with you.
ilovemyego23, my advice to you is to work really hard during the summer on your essays because I believe the deadline for QuestBridge is September, 30th. And what is important try to take ur SAT subject tests (at least 2) before this summer. And definitely try to do the best on the first SAT test u take. Just PM me if u need more info =)</p>

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<p>I felt the same way, but let me tell you something. I was chosen as a finalist and I had some pretty low stats. 3.38 gpa unweighted, and 1640 sat. Somehow, the QB staff saw something in me. It’s worth a shot, don’t get discouraged.</p>

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<p>Take it from a kid who felt hopeless. Your essays count for a lot during the selection process, even if you don’t have the greatest stats like I did.</p>