Do you guys suggest Questbridge?

<p>I'm really in need of financial aid. I can barely afford anything..still by faith I attend a private high school..(but I get sponsored).
I'm an upcoming senior with a 3.74 and only a 1590 SAT score..610 for literature subject test.
I'm expecting to get all of these up.
I was class president last year, part of choir, involved in community service, founder of the drama club
years before I was in gymnastics..I'm involved in the church community
This year I plan to be School Vice President & be a contender in the Miss Black Mass pageant..etc</p>

<p>The schools I'm applying to are Tufts, BU, umass lowell, umass amherst, brown, Andrews U, Brandeis, Framingham State, Northeastern U, and syracuse</p>

<p>Since, the Questbridge scholarship is a partner with Brown University, I was wondering if I could sign up with just one college..I won't be mad if I had a binding scholarship with Brown. If I don't get in, could I still go to any other college and apply for regular decision?
Can I only apply for one college through Questbridge?
What are the pros and cons?
What are the complications?</p>

<p>For the College Match, you can apply to up to 8 schools, but if you’re matched to a college you are bound to attend. If you don’t get matched, you can apply to as many Questbridge schools as you like through regular decision (including the ones you weren’t matched to)</p>

<p>Yes, you can rank one school though the Questbridge application really is intended to be a early decision/action-like app. where you can apply up to 8 schools rather than just one.</p>

<p>If you don’t get matched, which is not the end of the world, you can apply to other schools via regular decision. If they are schools outside the QB’s partnership, then follow the regular decision requirements. If you still intend to apply to QB partner schools, then depending on their policies and whether you are a finalist or not, you may submit the Questbridge app. in lieu of general requirements of reg. action applicants or move forward and submit their characteristic application-- whether that be their own application or the Common App. </p>

<p>It’s slightly confusing. But you should check out the Questbridge site since they try very hard to dispel any confusions with a whole section concerning the National Match process. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>if you aren’t selected as a finalist for the national college match, can quest bridge still help your application in any way? Or are all of the benefits of questbridge only granted to students who are finalists for the national college match?</p>

<p>Unfortunately, no. You’re on your own from there.</p>

<p>Since Kim2013 answered your technical questions, I’ll answer the one posed by the thread topic: Do I recommend QuestBridge? Honestly, it depends on your circumstances. I’m not going to ask about your life story, because that’s extremely personal information, but just take my words in mind and apply them to your own situation. As someone who was a QuestBridge finalist, here’s my advice: if you have really special circumstances, I say go for it. For example, Brown posted a link to an article about one of the students who they admitted under the Match process. If I remember correctly, she evidently was without electricity and a non-public method of transportation for some time. If you have a story like that, I’d say you’re golden. But if you’re anything like me, where there’s no special circumstances, you’re just plain poor, I can’t say I would suggest it. It did nothing for me. If your heart is set on Brown, just apply there Early Decision and prepare other applications just in case. </p>

<p>In the event you do decide to go through with the process, don’t just apply to QuestBridge schools. This may seem like common sense, but I still feel it needs to be said (or written, I suppose). There are plenty of other schools out there that are pretty generous in financial aid. I’ll use myself as an example here: I’m an incoming freshman to one of the schools you listed. I stayed on top of requirements and turned everything in on time, so I got some pretty generous financial aid. Adding in the local scholarships I received, the cost of attending the university is low, especially considering the sticker price. Sure, I’m going to have some loan debt, but it’s nothing unmanageable. </p>

<p>Hope this was helpful. :)</p>

<p>THANK YOU ALL. It made sense. :)</p>

<p>My son applied via Questbridge, was accepted to 4 of their schools during RD and chose Brown.</p>

<p>That said, Questbridge has a very early deadline and is a fair amount of work for just one school application. Plus QB is fairly competitive and I don’t think a 1590 SAT will get you to finalist status unless your circumstances and essay are quite extraordinary.</p>

<p>If you were to get into Brown, your out-of-pocket costs for a family income under $60k/year would be minimal, QB or not. My son needs to pay about $2400/year towards tuition, room and board (technically, this is work-study money) plus an estimated $2800 a year for indirect costs (books, travel, pocket money). Net, it’s cheaper than living at home and going to community college.</p>