<p>I am very interested in applying for the College Match program, but I was curious if many of you got into your top choice out of the colleges you ranked. There are many schools that I would love to go to on the Partner College page, but, as of now, Rice or Northwestern would be my top choices. Of course, I still have to visit colleges and then make a definitive choice on my top school, but from research these seem like the best Partner Colleges for me. If I was chosen as a finalist and matched to the other 6 schools, I would still be ecstatic, but I think I would be a little disappointed that I didn't get into my top choice. Has anyone been in this situation?</p>
<p>Well, with College Match, you don’t have to rank eight colleges. You can just rank Rice and Northwestern, if you prefer. Also, some schools (Yale, Stanford, Princeton, M.I.T.) have a non-binding policy, so even if you get matched, you aren’t forced to go.</p>
<p>Honestly though, I wouldn’t recommend doing College Match. It’s extremely competitive, and while you can’t really be rejected, the chances of acceptance are very low. I ranked Stanford and Yale only and was not matched. I think in Yale’s e-mail, they noted that only seventeen people were matched, but as many as seventy Questbridge Finalists ended up getting accepted the year before. And all of the partner schools will give you roughly the same amount of financial aid whether you are matched or not.</p>
<p>True Story: Most Quest Scholars were Quest Finalists who got rejected in the College Match Round. The minority of kids who got matched is very small. </p>
<p>Even though I wouldn’t have been so fussy about getting into any of the colleges I ranked. I’ve heard(somewhere on the these forums) that there were students who were bitter about getting matched to a second choice school when they knew they could have just gone RD and gotten into their first choice school without Questbridge. So take into account the strength of your own stats on their own.</p>
<p>And as iabass said your financial status doesn’t change because of what you’re classified as; a nonmatched or matched. You still have expressed need and if you get into a QB partner school you’ll definitely get a similar aid package.</p>
<p>I have to agree with iabass, don’t bother with the college match. I only ranked Brown and MIT, and I was deferred from both during the match round. MIT rejected me, but Brown (and about 6 other QuestBridge colleges) accepted me. The thing with MIT (other than the fact I simply couldn’t compete with some of the math/science wizards there) is that I could only use my QuestBridge essays, which were honestly pretty bad. The match round starts very early, and you won’t be able to modify the majority of your applications after you send them. Give yourself the extra time to work on your essays and applications.</p>
<p>Chances are, the college match will do more harm than good. If you don’t get matched you will feel pretty bad until regular decisions roll around. If you do get matched, it may or may not be to your first choice school, and for most QuestBridge partners, the decision is binding.</p>
<p>would you guys still suggest applying to be a finalist?</p>
<p>Absolutely. I’d say that for most people, it is a big hook to be a Finalist, especially since you can forward your Questbridge application to the partner colleges you’re applying to. So in addition to the Common Application and supplements you’re sending to those colleges, they also get to read your Questbridge essays, which will give them a better understanding of your situation and character. Also, even though colleges are need-blind, they’re always looking to expand their socioeconomic diversity, so you’re getting an advantage just by having that designation. It is a bit of work (one eight hundred word essay, two five hundred word essays, and several short answer questions), but if you’re a solid applicant, it’s not too difficult to become a Finalist as long as you fit in the income bracket.</p>
<p>Though I will say that for me, it didn’t help that much, and I ended up getting rejected by most of the colleges I had hoped to get into. But this is just one case, and I can attribute that to many other factors. I’ve seen plenty of other people who were helped by Questbridge.</p>
<p>I ranked MIT first but I was not matched on December 1st. My friend who got in told me that only eight applicants were matched. However, I applied for EA(that’s an option for applicants who have ranked MIT) and got in two weeks later.
In short, apply for the college match. Even if you are not matched, you still have a good chance in getting into your top choice schools.</p>
<p>To the original question: yes, my daughter is in this situation. I would just like to offer this as a word of caution as you proceed through the application process: remember that to be matched is a tremendous gift - a dream come true. It is about the opportunity to attend one of the best colleges in the world when you otherwise may not be able to. There are several hurdles you need to clear: first be named a QB finalist. Then be matched. If not matched, then be admitted to one of these top notch schools probably with a wonderful financial aid package. The key is be prepared to be disappointed; chances are you may be no further ahead in the end after spending many, many hours writing essays, tracking applications, sending CSS financial aid forms, and communicating with each college. </p>
<p>My daughter was selected as a QuestBridge Finalist. We were lucky to learn about QuestBridge last September and once she started researching the schools, had her heart set on one in particular. She was not matched, but of course went through regular decision to that school and about 10 other QB partner schools. She would have been delighted to attend any of them. However, this has been a tough week - she was rejected at all but 1, where she was waitlisted. So even being named a finalist (does anyone have the stats for that this year - maybe 2,000 out of 7,000 or so??) does not guarantee you anything. If I remember from the past five year QuestBridge stats, about one-fourth of the applicants end up being admitted with either a match or a great package. So odds are against you from the start.</p>
<p>It was beyond words to dream of attending a QuestBridge Partner school. On the positive side, the process was good in that it helped her to better define her goals. On the downside, being named a finalist gave her false hope of thinking any one of these schools would come through. She should have spent more time on local college applications - which she is doing now. So, right now, we are exactly where we were last August - after a thrilling roller coaster ride - wondering how we will manage to pay for tuition at the local community college. We are in the exact situation QuestBridge was designed to remedy - but in this crazy competitive admission game, she ended up not even close to where she wanted to be.</p>
<p>Vnorovy,
I am really sorry to hear about your D’s situation! It must be extremely disappointing (and frustrating). She must be a great student to have gotten so far in the process. Any hope she will get off the waitlist and into the school from her dream list?</p>
<p>I guess the moral of the story is, for students who are beginning this process, also apply – outside of QB – to a couple of lower tier schools with merit aid.</p>
<p>On another note it sounds like she is very determined and motivated and that you support her fully, so I can’t help but think that she will succeed. It just may take a bit longer to get to where she can engage her obvious intelligence and talents.</p>
<p>Congrat’s on taking everything so well that you can make the positive contribution of helping the rest of us with what you have learned. I wish your D the very best!</p>