<p>I understand the questbridge application is very extensive and I would need to spend a LOT of time on it and get teachers recs and all that stressful stuff done within the next month. Now I have the academic stats and my family is right under that $60,000 cutoff (although with really good assets because my parents are big savers). So I fit that "low-income high achieving student" category. </p>
<p>However, I haven't really faced any significant hardships. Maybe I haven't lived nearly as comfortably as my peers - I didn't have tv for a few years, we take it easy on air conditioning and heating, and some years it was downright freezing in my house during the winters. Other than not having as much money as my friends, my mom was unemployed for most of her life here because she has problems that have made it difficult for her to learn English. That's about as far as my "hardship" goes. I didn't come over from another country to fend for myself and my brother, my parents aren't divorced, I haven't had to spend my time caring for siblings, I never had a job, I don't live in a bad neighborhood, etc. I understand a lot of kids have had it a lot harder than me, but at the same time, my family still doesn't have money and can by no stretch of the imagination afford a $55,000 a year university without generous financial aid. </p>
<p>So is it worth applying? Senior year is going to be hectic to say the least with the hardest workload I've ever had, extracurriculars, and college applications to top it all off. I don't want to spend valuable hours of my time rushing to get everything ready for Questbridge by the end of September if I barely even have a chance of become a finalist. </p>
<p>Disregard the dry humor that takes place at the later hours on CC.</p>
<p>In terms of insight, let’s look at it from a financial standpoint. At what other time in your life will you get a chance at 50K+ worth of stuff, simply for a few essays, a completed application, and asking for recommendations? Are you planning on applying for other scholarship opportunities?</p>
<p>You have the opportunity to tell YOUR story, which does not necessarily have to re-emphasize the challenges of a lower-income lifestyle. Personally, I’m writing about how I was raised.</p>
<p>Okay, I’m going to answer this question for the millionth time. A qualifying factor for QB is NOT having extreme hardships. It is a program for “high achieving, low income students.” No school of QB partner caliber schools are going to admit a student simply because you write an essay about having a crappy life. They will take circumstances into consideration for test scores, rigor of classes taken if you went to a crappy school that didn’t offer AP’s, etc.</p>
<p>My D (who was matched to her #1 school) didn’t write any essay’s about hardship. She went to a very good high school, in the 17th richest county in the country. OP, you will be fine, and I’m sure you could turn freezing in your home in the winter into a compelling essay.</p>
<p>Edit: cross posted with gaginang who gave some very good advice.</p>
<p>Your welcome gaginang. QB facilitated such an amazing opportunity for my D, and the least I can do is to try to pay it forward. Not to say it doesn’t get frustrating when I want to just say “read the QB website!” My D is a tele-mentor for QB Prep students provided through Amherst. She enjoys giving back to QB, and her working with her mentees was the subject of an essay that got her a great internship for the summer. She worked one on one with four students throughout the admissions process. I’ll apologize in advance here if throughout the next few months if I get a bit snippy, I just expect that the quality of student that is applying to QB schools has at least read through the website. I understand that questions come up about certain things, but at least have a basic knowledge of the program…PLEASE!</p>