Early Action or National College Match for Stanford?

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

<p>Which option is better?</p>

2

<p>I suppose the National College Match is advantageous because some materials are forwarded to Stanford. Then again, if you are a finalist, you can always write “QuestBridge Finalist”.</p>

3

<p>From what I’ve seen, Stanford doesn’t weigh the QB materials very heavily. If your EFC is not $0, you have a slightly better chance applying early than through the match, because the match is specifically for the really needy kids. IMO if you’re really set on Stanford and don’t want to apply to any of the other QB schools early, you should go EA, unless you’re really poor (and I mean, don’t file tax returns-level poor).</p>

4

<p>Any more opinions? I’m in the same boat. Not dirt poor, excellent stats and other qualifications, Stanford is the school I really care about.</p>

<p>And related question: does having applied QB help in the Regular Decision round, or does writing “Questbridge Finalist” help just as much?</p>