It is very successful- it has been around for quite a while and the 35 member schools rely on it to ferret out low-income candidates to boost their socio-economic diversity profiles. Part of its success is the “finishing school” training they give. Member schools get properly-conditioned students ready to hit the ground running, not doe-in-the-headlights misfits who spend all of freshman year saying “I can’t believe I’m here” and trying to learn the ropes. For you, the February-March Questbridge Scholar thing is the ideal place to start.
You may wish to use their ‘College Match’ program- I would, but not for 8 schools, just for Northwestern and Yale. Either way, they will indoctrinate you to the process, structure the process, take care of fees, and help you to put together an application that puts your best foot forward.
Either way, do those 2 things!!!
