Hey everyone. I’m currently finalizing my QB National College Match application. My counselor, who is super open to me, told me that my family might make too much to qualify for QB but it’s worth a shot. That kind of put me down because I’ve put a good amount of time into this application (I understand a lot of my writing material can be used on the common app and other supplements).
Family of 4 (one sibling) income: ~$65K (used to be lower)
Savings & Investments: Let’s just say it’s over $100K.
Circumstances: Financially support family members in foreign country.
Here is a brief overview of my academic profile if it’s relevant.
GPA: 4.0 W, 4.6 UW, Rank 3 of ~700 students
SAT: 2290 (730 CR, 770 M, 790 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 780 USH
AP Tests: All 5s - Chem, Physics 1, Eng Lang, USH, WHAP
Race (IDK if relevant): African-American
Okay I’m going to reiterate the requirements for Questbridge:
Grades and rigor of high school curriculum:
Primarily A’s in the most challenging courses available (usually including Honors, AP, and/or IB level courses.)
Class rank:
Top 5-10% of your graduating class.
Standardized test scores:
SAT (CR+M) scores > 1240
ACT composite score > 28
We also recommend submitting any AP, IB, or SAT Subject Test scores. Review the standardized testing requirements for each college.
Additional Criteria:
We also look for evidence of strong writing ability, intellectual spark, and determination through essays and teacher/counselor recommendations.
Also, about finances:
Finalists typically come from households earning less than $65,000 annually for a family of four, and often less. This is not a strict cut-off and we encourage students who feel they have faced significant financial hardship to review these financial details carefully to see if they may qualify.
I’m going to tell you right now, I think you shouldn’t worry. You meet ALL the criteria, do you not? Think about it. I wouldn’t worry whatsoever. I do feel like you meet all the necessary requirements! I don’t believe that your family makes “too much” at all. They are right on the line, but you even said that they made less before. Did you mention that anywhere in your essay? Maybe explain why your parents make more than they did before?
@bloxJacket Thank you haha. And yes, I’ve explained all of our financial circumstances. It’s really our savings/investments that worried my counselor, not our income. Either way, nothing I can do about it. I’ll submit the app and see what happens. Thanks again!
My son had 4 friends apply for QB. 3 were denied for income reasons and it was savings/investments. They all had retired parents who were just drawing social security so income was low and 2 of the 3 were supporting families abroad. 1 made it but didn’t match anywhere. You have the app almost done may as well send it in and see. The good news is that 2 got nearly full rides to excellent schools anyway. The other 2 got partial scholarships but the family was able to use some of their other assets too I think. My son felt like they weren’t really being honest about their situation anyway though and that they had other assets they did not declare because they seemed decently well off. The one who was clearly the least well off without seeing numbers was the one who matched so we felt like QB did a good job of selecting finalists who needed it most.
@acdchai Hmm, that’s interesting. Welp, I’ve accepted that I’ll most likely be rejected for similar reasons. Not really bummed since it doesn’t affect my common app, I’m just a little upset I wasted so much time on the NCM application. Thank you!
You have great stats, OP. I hope you give it a try. Be sure to cite previous years’ income.
And to echo others you have excellent chances of admission to generous need-based aid schools. Run net price calcs to see how savings/investments would play out at different schools.
@mom2collegekids I’m not sure. I calculated my EFC, and it came out at about $6K. From what I’ve seen, the EFC doesn’t need to be near 0 to be a finalist, but I’ve heard that it needs to be near 0 for any of their partner colleges to accept you in the national college match. For that reason, I’m not sure what the benefit of QB will be for me.
