Do I have chance of Questbridge?

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

<p>I'M SORRY ABOUT HOW BULKY THIS IS. I know that no being in their right mind would EVER want to read all this crap. Just skim it over if you have a moment.</p>

<p>I hate to post this considering the holistic and subjective approach Questbridge seems to take. I'm not mistaken; I know that no one can provide a definitive response. However, I need some commentary from any of you that have experience or insight regarding who is selected (insight that is independent of the general numbers they have provided on their website). </p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>ACADEMIC RECORD</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Caucasian</p>

<p>Graduation Year: 2014</p>

<p>GPA:
(u) ~3.7
(w) ~4.8</p>

<p>Projected Rank: ~80/850 -- This is rather uncertain. At the last ranking I was 83/935, but my GPA has slightly improved and at least another 80 kids will drop out/leave before graduation. I will probably stay in the top 10%. Many minority and low-income kids at my school are encouraged to leave for refinery/physical labor jobs or graduate early through a truly ineffective alternative school. Conversely, you'll find that nearly all of our top students are substantially upper-middle class. It's very frustrating. </p>

<p>SAT/PSAT: I won't take the SAT until October (and I know that could really hurt my chances). However, my PSAT was a 194 (71 - 53 - 70) and I've been told that it almost directly correlates with the SAT. Given practice tests, I think the highest I could possibly score on my SAT is 2000 (75-55-70). I hate to sound arrogant, but I really doubt that I would score lower than a 1900 (1250 composite). </p>

<p>AP tests:
3 on World History
3 on US History
5 on English Language and Composition</p>

<p>AP Courses (9-12): World History, US History, Government & Economics, Statistics, English III & IV</p>

<p>Honors Courses: Geometry, Biology, Algebra II, Chemistry, Physics, English I & II, Spanish II, Theatre III & IV, Academic Decathlon (2 years)</p>

<p>Volunteer: ~87 hours from endeavors ranging from technical theatre assistance to craft making in underdeveloped (i.e. "ghetto") areas</p>

<p>Writing Skills: Please understand that I am not over-estimating myself when I claim that I have above-average writing skills when compared to the standard student. My avid reading habits and interest in literary theory have nurtured reasonably impressive skills. I'm not delusional, undoubtedly there are better writers applying into the program. I just think that my essays may give me a competitive edge.</p>

<p>Officer positions:
Youth for Christ President (9)
Vice-President for Business Professionals of America (10)
President for BPA (11)
Secretary for Chemistry Club (11)
Media Coordinator for Theatre Club (12)
Co-founder of Literature Club (12)</p>

<p>Other clubs: Theatre Club Member (9, 10, 11), Volundeers (volunteering program open only to grade 9), Academic Decathlon (11, 12), UIL One-Act (10, 11, and eventually 12)</p>

<p>Awards Received:</p>

<pre><code> UIL One-Act
- 2012 state recognition at fourth place (5A)
- 2013 region recognition (5A)
- individual acting recognition at zone and district competition ("All-Star Cast" and Honorable Mention")

  Business Professionals of America
    - 2012 bronze medals in Extemporaneous Speech & Public Relations
    - 2013 silver medal in Global Marketing Team
    - 2013 bronze medals in Prepared Speech & Business Management

</code></pre>

<p>Recommendations: I have a few teachers that I could receive excellently written recommendations from. I'm not concerned about this.</p>

<p>FAMILY INFORMATION</p>

<p>Annual Income: $28,037 (not including my father's social security which is $1250/month + $725 for me)</p>

<p>House Occupants (including myself): 6</p>

<p>Other Information: My sister and her daughter live with us and she earns around $13,000/year. In February my cousin moved into our garage but she has terminal cancer so until she receives disability, she cannot make any considerable effort toward paying for any living expenses.</p>

<p>Mother: She obtained her Bachelor's in Communications in 2010, but beforehand she was an uneducated employee at a horrible school district that kept my family's income below the poverty line. Her health is in moderately bad condition; she has been admitted into the hospital three times in the past 6 months.</p>

<p>Father: He will turn 70-years-old in November. His highest level of education was a GED he earned after dropping out of the 8th grade. Unfortunately, his health is in horrible condition. He has survived 2 heart attacks, a stroke, and suffers from cirrhosis of the liver.</p>

<p>Personal Health: At age 12 I was diagnosed with stage II hypertension brought on by hitherto undetected kidney reflux disorder. Because we could not afford insurance when I was a younger, doctor visits were infrequent. My right kidney is now completely non-functioning and I am dependent on medication. </p>

<p>I'm sorry that a lot of this information may be superfluous. If the bulk is annoying, oh well. I just want to know if applying is worth my time or if I am overvaluing myself.</p>

2

<p>I think you have as good a chance as anyone</p>

3

<p>some of this information is very…very…confidential. please ask a moderator to edit your post and remove confidential information…</p>

<p>on topic, I think you have a great chance to be named a finalist :)</p>

4

<p>The lack of scores will hurt you, but a solid PSAT should help. Becoming a finalist is realistic, but I don’t think you will be matched (you will barely have enough scores for most of the schools and you are relying on doing great the first time).</p>

5

<p>Thank you for your feedback everyone. I would definitely agree that being matched to a top school is way too far of a leap, but I’m not going to be silly and rank Yale or anything like that. I’ve ranked some of the least competitive schools on their list.</p>

<p>Is it too confidential? I’m not really fussed because I can’t imagine what harm could come from posting it, but if a moderator needs to delete this post then that’s alright. Perhaps I’m just a bit too desperate for feedback from people who have been apart of the program. ;P</p>

6

<p>Things like your DOB, exact income, etc… it might be easy to pin down who you are. But if you’re comfortable with it, that’s all good :)</p>

<p>I mean, to be fair, it’s not like you have no chance at all of being matched to a school like Yale. If you really do like it (like to the extent that it’s your top or second favorite), then you should rank it! Match is full of surprises for everyone. People have been matched to Yale with 1500 SATs, and more than not people who have a really high SAT (2250+) end up not being matched anywhere. May I ask what schools you are interested in? :)</p>

7

<p>You actually can’t be matched to any school other then Bowdoin (test optional) because you will not meet the testing requirements for the other schools.</p>

8

<p>If you are selected as a finalist doesn’t QB allow you to add to your profile before the college match procession? By that time I will have received my scores on the SAT and SAT Lit & US History. If you can’t do it then I’m screwed. :|</p>

<p>Honestly I am interested in any school that would offer me good scholarship. I’m not exactly in a position where I can logically criticize any of these establishments as unfit for my schooling; I have no way to fund college otherwise. If I can’t find scholarship through QB I’ll probably go to a cheap state/community college. Any private school that would accept me is unlikely to provide enough aid. </p>

<p>I suppose that if I had the right to be choosy my top institution would be Rice, Yale, University of Chicago and Columbia. I’d be darn happy to attend any of the colleges if I got a full ride though!</p>

9

<p>…How are you taking both SAT 1 and 2? she was referring to the fact that most schools require SAT subject tests as well. October is the last day test scores are accepted for Match, so if you are missing one you won’t be eligible to apply to both schools. </p>

<p>If you don’t have either or already, you might as well just do the ACT + Writing instead so that you can still do the match.</p>

<p>All 4 are massive reaches. The only caucasians I know being matched to Yale or Columbia had stellar SATs (2200+). Have you looked at liberal art colleges? What are you interested in studying? I could give you suggestions and you can explore them in your own leisure.</p>

10

<p>" Any private school that would accept me is unlikely to provide enough aid. "</p>

<p>This is completely wrong. Most of the QuestBridge schools would give you close to a full ride if you were admitted, be it through Match or RD. If you need clarification on this I’d be glad to give it to you.</p>

11

<p>Great. I just realized that I can’t even apply through the match! It was a nice thought. :stuck_out_tongue: I’ll have to do RD. I hate to complain when going to any school at all is a privilege but I just wish my school had educated us more on these matters. I doubt my counselor even knows what a subject test is. I hardly know what it is.</p>

<p>If I did the ACT + writing my score would be so low that there would be no point in applying. My math skills are truly limited.</p>

<p>The only liberal arts college that I’ve considered applying to is Sarah Lawrence College and they offer very little financial aid. </p>

<p>My strongest interests are the performing arts, psychology, literature and anthropology. I’m also fond of law, politics and criminal justice.</p>

<p>Should I apply to the match anyway so that I can do the QB regular decision after I’m rejected or is that the same as just applying to the college?</p>

12

<p>If you think you can do well enough on the other sections you can compensate for a low math score. On my first ACT I got a 27 despite a 25 on math…</p>

13

<p>I’d do the QuestBridge application anyway. Even if you can’t do the National Match, you can send in your applications for 35 colleges for RD. Automatic fee waivers + opportunity to be a Quest Scholar is a big pro. I’d explain on the app that you didn’t know about the testing eligibility and you can’t qualify for Match for most schools as you only have the SAT, so that they know you need finalist even more. Don’t rank any schools. If you become finalist that’s wonderful- free apps to 35 of the best colleges and universities in the country. If you don’t, some of the QB schools will let you forward your app in regardless, for free. </p>

<p>All of the QB partner schools meet 100% of demonstrated need, I think. So they are all affordable for low income students. The RD package tends to be pretty similar; it might have a bigger work or summer contribution, and some loans, but it’ll be cheaper than attending a state school.</p>

<p>Your interests are strong at any liberal arts college, honestly. I’d expand your list a bit and evaluate all 15 or so of the excellent liberal art colleges. They all are actually very different from one another (non-academically, that is), and scattered all around the country, so I don’t think it’ll be tough to find the ones you like most.</p>

14

<p>Thank you. Now that I know I can at least submit my SAT score I will do the match for the heck of it; after a more thorough investigation of the partner colleges I decided to rank University of Virginia and Scripps.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all other applicants.</p>