<p>One of my friends said that if your family income is less than 40k, that colleges notice this and it is considered a "hook". Is this really true? I mean, why would they want students who would not be able to pay their tuition? I understand financial aid can help a lot, but it definitely didn't help my sister. It seems kind of silly for colleges to do this, especially since a lot of students are going to have to reach deep into their pockets to pay. What kind of benefit does the school receive except by having a diverse population of students from various socioeconomic backgrounds?</p>
<p>While it is not a "hooK" at any school, some schools (usually the elite schools with deep pockets, which are still amongst the most competitive as far as admissions) do have low income initiatives in place. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of schools in the country are not need blind, and most do not meet 100% of demonstrated need. So if they are at the end of the admissions cycle and it is a toss up between you and a student that "needs" less of the school's resources, the tip could go to that student.</p>
<p>It is very important to have students from various socioeconomic backgrounds because both sets of students benefits.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, schools that are not need-blind often do see your financial information, and low incomes are not typically seen as a benefit. Need-blind schools (mainly the elites) don't take income into consideration when making decisions. Questbridge, a program for "bright, motivated low-income students" offers a different application timetable and may have some effect on admissions. While I do not see many benefits other than diversity, diversity is an important factor in campus culture and can hardly be discounted.</p>
<p>Dear murky,
I appreciate what you're saying. But it's not the "benefit" per se to the U. (of low income). It's more a question of extending a wider net to receive apps from a more universal group of talented, capable students, which would in some instances include those of poverty. A two-way benefit in that the U gets more apps to review & select from; the impoverished but promising student is not denied admission to an Elite due to finances alone. (A win/win)I would not describe low-income as much as a hook than as a tip, but definitions can vary.</p>
<p>A lot of good info in both posts above.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information.</p>
<p>I was almost excited until I read everyone's responses. Haha.</p>
<p>DARN. my family incomes at roughly 43,000.</p>
<p>But I am a Questbridge Finalist, and put it on all my applications. I didn't go through the Questbridge thing, though.</p>
<p>Will this help or hurt my application to places like Williams, Wesleyan, Vassar, Bowdoin, Brandeis?</p>
<p>kev07wan, I think everyone is already saying that having low income doesn't really count as a "hook", so why the disappointment?</p>
<p>I was being sarcastic about the 43,000 thing. I'm not particularly saavy at emulating my sarcasm through forums such as these, apparently.</p>
<p>But I was serious about the Questbridge thing, in that I would like to know how Questbridge as an "academic honor" will affect my application to top schools.</p>
<p>Doesn't QuestBridge look like an accomplishment? I'm pretty sure it can only help you. BTW, are you a senior? I checked out QuestBridge.. VERY interesting.</p>
<p>Apologies for not catching your sarcasm, haha.</p>
<p>It's not quite a hook, but need-blind admissions exist because top universities have realized: hey, poor people are smart too! And thus if you show promise but are needy, they're quick to grab you considering you could be the next Gates or US president.</p>
<p>UC likes poor people</p>
<p>Well - and it's not so much favoring you for the numbers, it can also be for the perspective you bring (which is likely much different than the perspective of an upper middle class white female or whoever) and the fact that you DIDN'T have the opportunities 'everyone else' had, and consequently can't be expected to win Siemens... it's kinda hard when your school district d/n have the money to pay for science materials...</p>
<p>
[quote]
But I am a Questbridge Finalist, and put it on all my applications. I didn't go through the Questbridge thing, though.</p>
<p>Will this help or hurt my application to places like Williams, Wesleyan, Vassar, Bowdoin, Brandeis?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Considering that Williams and Bowdoin are both Questbridge match partner schools, your not going through with questbridge may indicate a lack of interest on your part at these schools (you were not commited to attending when you had the chance). However, that is not to say that you will not be picked up during RD.</p>
<p>good luck and all the best to you.</p>
<p>I certainly hope it doesn't hurt me at Williams or Bowdoin. I didn't go through Questbridge for the inadequacies of my Questbridge application (only 1 recommendation, no SAT II's), and thought it would simply be a waste to apply. Also, I hadn't visited Bowdoin at that point, so didn't want to commit.. Initially, I was confused about the whole Questbridge thing anway.</p>
<p>But I'm pretty sure Williams doesn't consider "demonstrated interest" when making admissions decisions. Bowdoin, however, might. I'll need to double check. I did, however, email Bowdoin regarding the Questbridge thing. No one ever replied, and I didn't want to be annoying by emailing again. lol</p>
<p>If being poor was something that you had to overcome and you wrote about it on you application. Someone that could balance working 5 hours a day and 5 AP classes is more desirable than someone who only did one or the other.</p>
<p>Yea I didn't write about being moderately poor.</p>
<p>I do have a job, however, and 3 AP's this year, 1 last year. (school only offers 6 total, though), and this year 1 interferred with honors spanish, otherwise i would have taken it (psychology).</p>
<p>I'm just patiently waiting for replies!</p>
<p>How is the QB application inadequate? Some of the QB finalists end up going to Princeton and Yale. Are there spaces for teacher recommendations and other stuff?</p>
<p>Just curious.</p>
<p>Mine wasn't even complete (there were no SAT II's, only ONE teacher recommendation when it wanted at least 2, and my GC never submitted a rec either.)</p>
<p>Yet somehow I was selected as a finalist. That's why I kinda thought it was... inadequate.</p>
<p>We checked into all admissions requirements, aspects, costs, & had conversations with both Oxford & Cambridge, e-mails, etc. Post #6 and #10 have corrrect information, also the post about don't even bother to apply unless you are a strong candidate for multi-acceptances at HYPS. </p>
<p>Testing matters, yes. But no one will get in based on testing alone. The interview matters, big time. Overseas they care about depth in subject matter, mastery of subject. You will be judged on your level of intellectualism which will not be simply a cumulative list of high scores, high grades, and the number of total advanced courses taken.</p>
<p>The recommendation matters big time. Again, they'll look for examples to match up with any superlative statements. You may have to submit a work sample, too. (I forget; luckily we had several.)</p>
<p>Big difference in the manner of application. Cannot apply to both Ox & Camb. You must choose one; it's assumed that the standards are equal.</p>
<p>I do not agree about the e.c. statements. While, yes, Oxford says in its literature that the e.c.'s are not considered, the actual UCAS application (when we saw it) does ask for activities, accomplishments, etc. The big difference is, your recommender must sign off on this. When we contacted my D's recommender, she wanted to make sure that my D had actually done all those things, & we had to check carefully as to dates, etc. The application gets sent by the recommender as the final person verifying "marks," scores, activities, etc. Now that was for the paper app. a couple of yrs. ago. If they're doing online apps now, the procedure may be diff. & maybe the student submits the app.</p>
<p>No one should think of "Oxbridge" as a casual alternative.</p>
<p>A poster is right about deadlines: much earlier than U.S. North America has the earliest deadline. As to cost, tuition is much cheaper, but living expenses greater. Also, you have to move out of your dorm room during breaks mid-year, not just end of year. Now that was according to an Oxford alum we know: maybe that part has changed since she graduated. If it's still true, that would be logistically difficult (while not insurmountable) for a U.S. student.</p>
<p>Epiphany, that has absolutely nothing to do with this thread, haha. Maybe you posted it here by mistake.</p>