<p>Don't get me wrong--I do think that Questbridge can be a very helpful guide...But I do believe that it pigeonholes many minority and low income applicants. The match process removes these students from the ED process of most schools, even though these students would often receive a comparable financial aid package in ED(as most selective universities expect no contribution from low income students) and more than likely have a higher rate of acceptance. I heard that 5000+ kids applied for questbridge, while only 300 were matched with colleges. That is lower than the early decision acceptance rate and even the regular decision rate for most schools. </p>
<p>The ranking system eliminates the leverage that the student has in this process, leaving them with the institution that desires them and not always the institution they desire. Unfortunately a lot of low income students believe that programs such as this are their only option for paying for college, even though that is far from the truth. The way many colleges and the government provide financial aid leaves middle class families in a bind more often than not and low income students with a myriad of resources. </p>
<p>Questbridge is a completely different application that takes a bit of time to complete and is due early in the fall--distracting students from the other applications, schoolwork and ecs.
I guess what I am trying to say is that while questbridge may have been created with good intention, it sort of has monopolized the application process for many low income or minority students with the results rarely being mutually beneficial. </p>
<p>Well this is just some of what I think...What do you guys think?</p>
<p>I think that Questbridge has helped a lot of students who wouldn’t have normally looked at some of the Questbridge partners. However, I agree that some students may be better off obtaining a free waiver and applying to a school on their own. It’s difficult to say whether or not Questbridge helps students in the long run, but I wouldn’t say that Questbridge has a monopoly on low income and minority students per se, as other programs such as Posse and even colleges themselves also reach out to these students.</p>
<p>Posse is another program that makes students sign binding agreements. The bad thing about Posse is that the schools are very limited and dependent on their region. It’s mostly just random liberal arts colleges and UPenn–depending on if you live in a certain state (I believe Florida).</p>
<p>True, but most students who participate in or are recommended to look into these programs often learn about the different opportunities for them with financial aid that is offered directly from the school. As you said before, most students who apply to programs like Questbridge are not accepted, but I doubt that these students refuse to apply to the same schools on their own without the assurance of a full scholarship. Although preparation for college (dorm stuff, travel) is expensive, low income students who are applying to colleges more often than not receive generous financial aid and are made aware through the various literature that colleges send out on their own. For students who apply to programs like Questbridge and Posse, they are knowingly giving up their right to choose their own college and place their faith in an institution that knows them only on paper. That is a risk that we all take in college admissions; just because you think you love/hate a certain college doesn’t mean that your opinion is set in stone if you don’t get into your first choice college. Having gone through the Posse program and turning down their finalist offer to attend another college, I know that Posse has been a blessing for some of the other recipients, no matter where they are attending next year. The good thing about programs like Questbridge and Posse is that they put some students on the radar of other colleges, and getting far in these programs could bode well for students and help them finish other applications quickly if they are not matched.</p>
<p>I think it is well worth it (disclaimer, my D was matched a few years ago) for the simple fact that you can apply to as many as 8 schools ED as opposed to just 1. Most people migt not want to commit to the full 8 schools that are allowed, but even if you only want to apply to say 4 schools ED, your odds are much better than just applying to 1 outside of QB. And of course there are the fee waivers.</p>
<p>“The good thing about programs like Questbridge and Posse is that they put some students on the radar of other colleges, and getting far in these programs could bode well for students and help them finish other applications quickly if they are not matched.”</p>
<p>Well I think that low income kids are on the radar of most colleges at this point anyway, which is why we see that selective institutions like Harvard, Yale and Columbia have implemented measures that cater to their financial needs–families with incomes below 60K (which is the majority of qb finalists according to the site) are not expected to pay ANY of the student’s tuition. But yeah I definitely can agree w/ the fact that QB may be good prep for apps because it really is an extensive process in itself.</p>