<p>My top choice is MIT, but I want to know if it would be best for me to apply through Questbridge or through their regular EA process? (Btw, I know I have to be a finalist first, but I'm just wondering if I should even bother applying...)</p>
<p>I read on another thread that sometimes it's best for QB applicants to apply, but not rank any schools so that if you're chosen as a finalist, your application can just be forwarded to other schools for early action... Is that good advice? Wouldn't you be be taking a finalist spot that could've gone to someone else? :/</p>
<p>If that is good advice, should I take it, see what happens, and then apply EA to MIT? (And probably BC and Georgetown)</p>
<p>Or should I just rank the schools I like (MIT, Yale and Princeton since they're not-binding and I could apply to MIT RD if I'm not matched)?</p>
<p>Also, is it true if you’re not matched by MIT, they allow you to apply EA afterwards anyway? (As long as you didn’t get matched to a binding school?)</p>
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Yes – non-matched QB students are automatically rolled into the EA application pool.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert on the QB process or strategy, but the one complaint QB students frequently have is that the QB application doesn’t let them come through as well as the MIT application does. So you might consider whether your essays, etc. might be better using the MIT application (when it comes out) or the QB application.</p>
<p>^ OP - listen to mollie’s advice. If you have anything exceptional on your application that is a hook… applying through QB is a risk. Also recognize that your financial information is right there for any and all admissions officers to see, making them very “need aware”. </p>
<p>You can still become a QB finalist and decide to apply to MIT using the regular app. I wish my S had gone that way, but he needed the fee waiver and didn’t think to ask if he could get it without the QB app and of course he wanted to get matched which he couldn’t have done without the QB app.</p>
<p>Several applicants do still get matched to MIT in the QB process, but not all who have almost guaranteed acceptance do or even ultimately accepted.</p>
<p>I think you get slightly better financial aid through QB than you may get from MIT normally (aren’t QB applicants guaranteed full financial aid?), if that’s a factor, but if you qualify for QB you won’t end up paying very much to come to MIT anyway (and you can get loans).</p>
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<p>crazymonster, I’m curious as to how you came to this conclusion. If anything, applying through the Match Program is less risky than applying EA; in the latter case, if you aren’t accepted, you stand a substantial risk of being rejected (instead of deferred), while in the former, you are guaranteed not to be rejected: if you aren’t accepted, you’re automatically deferred.</p>
<p>I’d also argue that given the extensive essays, the QB app gives you quite a bit of room to explain your situation. It also guarantees fee-waivers, and you can apply to up to 8 schools early, *and *you can forward your QB app to as many partner colleges as you want in the RD round. Since MIT is non-binding through QB, it’s pretty much a win-win.</p>
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<p>FWIW, that’s the point. In this case, though, need-awareness is a good thing - rather than discriminating against needy students (as is the case at most need-aware schools), this awareness discriminates in favor of needy students.</p>
<p>I agree that the QB program is very good. However, there are concerns/issues that come up when applying to MIT specifically with the QB app. </p>
<p>MIT is non-binding with or without QB :-).</p>