So, I am currently a High School graduate taking a gap year before I apply this fall, and to my surprise, my college counselor AND Questbridge has confirmed that I am still eligible for Questbridge (early action/National College Match)! I have made sure and made sure again, so for those who are taking gap years after high school but have NOT taken college courses (entering as freshmen), you ARE INDEED eligible for Questbridge.
I also received my permanent residency just over a week ago. I used to be a DACA recipient, but through Questbridge, I’m wondering if there are any distinctions colleges make, as I’m sure there will be international/national pools with QB (right?).
I’m also curious as to how I will upload my “Green Card”. It will be a few weeks until my Green Card comes through the mail (my physical form), so I was planning on uploading my Immigration Visa (F22) as proof of Lawful Permanent Residency (as the visa is the temporary proof of status for up to 1 year). Is this allowed? Should I wait until the last moment to see if my Green Card arrives in the mail? I am definitely feeling a lot more confidence and hope I could detail my status journey in the additional information on the common app/QB.
Also, how likely is it to become a Questbridge finalist with an EFC of 0 and a family income of roughly $15,000? I’d like to this I have a chance with Questbridge as compared to the Common App. I love the fact that a 4-year scholarship is guaranteed, but there is a small “too good to be true” kind of outlook - but at least I can still apply regular decision if the time/need comes.
Also, is it possible to apply for the GPPA (Guaranteed Professional Program Admissions) at UIC through Common App AND Questbridge? Also, looking ahead, if I DO get into Northwestern (also, hypothetical, just to make this clear) through Questbridge, could I apply for HPME in the regular rounds with them (I ask since HPME is offered in the regular rounds)? Thanks.
I can’t answer all of your questions, but I can say definitively that if you get matched to any school in the match round you cannot apply anywhere else at any time. Any apps you have in (since you can apply to state school rolling or EA) also have to be pulled. Becoming a finalist is about more than family income- that’s just a threshold they use before considering applicants, but obviously your family falls below that threshold. Best of luck to you, and congratulations on your green card!
QB is a great boost to your application. Read the rules V-E-R-Y carefully. Clearly your school was useless in this regard, or you would have gone this route last year, and you would have had better chances. Now that you are not in the high school, you are not the high priority that current students are. So it’s all on you.
So anything I say, or anyone else here, should be double and triple checked by you.
Though international students needing aid applying through QB have a better chance of acceptance than those doing so independently, that’s not saying much as needy international students are truly at the bottom of the stack for acceptance, as most selective schools do not even look at those apps on a need blind basis, There are also quotas for international students and it appears you are from an overrepresented country. THough QB says MOST of their schools CONSIDER international students, you don’t know what MOST and CONSIDER mean. The game changer altogether for you is that Green Card. Even more so than QB. Your chances of admissions as a fin aid needing international were absolutely abysmal. Now you are on equal footing with other applicants. Congratulations.
You pick your QB school for an early response and for the QB scholarship. Those are very difficult to get. Not an automatic at all. Less than one percent match, so don’t think this is a slam dunk. You are done with a full ride if it happens. about 2-3 thousand kids out of 15-18000 get accepted RD and with pretty much financial need met, but not necessarily as generous as the QB match scholarship. The infor I’m giving is from top of my head and likely outdated, but trust me, it’s a very competitive process. But a lot of those schools are so selective anyways.
I suggest you also look at some other schools that are not as well known as the QB 40, to get your safety schools in place. Some may give you an auto free ride. Check out UAlabama Huntsville, and some other schools that have auto merit money. Get them nailed down early. You can come up empty with QB. A lot of very qualified kids do. You can also come up empty as a US citizen/ permanent resident when looking at the most selective schools.
Just want to say welcome back and congratulations! I know you will do better this round. You have a lot of folks cheering for you so keep us posted on where you end up!
@SouthernHope Thanks for reconnecting us all. I’ve been fortunate to stay in touch with other HKim and this is all very exciting news that they are back in the game!
@SouthernHope Thank you for linking me! @HKimPOSSIBLE I am so happy that Questbridge is an option for you and that you were able to get your residency sorted out. My best wishes coming out to you!
Thanks, guys. My college counselor has been great and we have been keeping in touch and he has been providing me the same (and more) resources/help than when I was a senior - so I am very thankful for my school to provide this even now.
I guess I’ve pretty much decided that my absolute safety would be the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with the Illinois Promise and Illinois Commitment scholarships which should cover tuition (and supposedly room and board).
Make very sure that you and your parents have a zero EFC when you file FAFSA, read those rules till you know them like an expert. You have to get the Promise for a full ride and there has to be a zero EFC. The Commitment which covers tuition, is what you get if you go over a zero EFC. Be aware that you could be chosen for verification, so make sure everything is reported carefully. If you have any money, it may benefit you to repay your parents forb expenses rather than having money in your own account
Hi @HKimPOSSIBLE, glad you are back posting! Congratulations on achieving your green card, I know it has been quite the journey. I am also delighted that your HS is providing you GC access and services, it is the least they can do.
To answer a few questions from your OP, UIC is not a QB partner so only way to apply for GPPA is via the common app plus the UIC supplement (extra essays). There is a 2018 grad from your HS that is in the UIC GPPA program, ask your GC to connect the two of you. Also if you do match to a school with QB (Match day is Dec 2) then you will have to withdraw all your other apps, and you would not have heard about UIC GPPA admittance by then. You and/or your GC will have to ask the NU AO about QB and possible HPME.
The posters raising the issue of money and having an EFC of 0 for both QB (ideally) and UIUC Promise (required) are absolutely correct. Does that $15K family income you cite include the money you have earned/are earning in your gap year job? I agree with cpt that you will probably want to minimize your savings and reimburse/pay for you and your dad’s household expenses. Run fafsa4caster to get a sense of where your efc may be come Oct 1. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/estimate
Lastly please get feedback beyond your GC for essay input/editing…you can use CC members that you have built relationships with and/or PM me if you want me to help you find someone local to help you pro bono. Good luck and keep us updated.
^ OP is talking about UIUC, not UIC… also not a Questbridge school but I’m sure he knows that. He was accepted last year, and UIUC does allow admitted students to defer, so perhaps he doesn’t even need to reapply…?
@HKimPOSSIBLE , I’m so glad to hear that your residency process has gone as planned and that you are eligible for Questbridge!! Your in-state flagship option is a good baseline, and I very seriously doubt it will end up being your only option; I’m excited to see how this admissions cycle turns out for you!
I’m not on CC as much since their user-unfriendly revamp (thanks for tagging me, @SouthernHope !) but definitely PM me if there’s anything I can help with (looking over essays, etc… though I’m sure you have more such offers than you need). Rooting for you!
@HKimPOSSIBLE First of all, congrats on getting permanent residency. That should clear up many of the issues that you have had until now, especially with applying for different forms of financial aid. Second, UIUC is a great school, (both my wife and I did our PhDs there), and it was my kid’s safety school as well, and one of the best safety schools you could think of.
Second, I think that, once you are a permanent resident, you may not be considered international but domestic. However, contact QB to make sure.
Good luck in the upcoming college applications - like many people here, I am rooting for you.
Wow, great to see you back HKimpossible! Don’t have much to add, but can you just call or email QB and ask what they prefer to see in terms of your PR status? Best wishes going forward.
Oh, sorry, I was looking at the part where he said UIUC was his “absolute safety.” Forgot he had referenced the UIC BS/MD program earlier.
From what I have read, BS/MD programs typically follow the undergraduate financial aid formula only for the undergraduate portion of the program. I don’t know about NU and UIC specifically but the anticipated cost of the med school portion would be important to examine closely.
