Match Chances Anyone?

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
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<p>First of all congratulations to all the other finalists!</p>

<p>My rankings: 1) Stanford, 2) Yale, 3) Princeton, 4) MIT
Do I have a shot at any of these? (Poor, fair, good, pretty good, or great shot)</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.9
Course load: I have the most rigorous course load of any senior at my school, with the other competing non-questbridge applicant right there with me but with one less AP
School type: public school with 2,200 or so students
SAT: 2050 (630 CR, 660 W, 760 M)
ACT: taking it this Saturday
SAT IIs: was supposed to take it this October but something happened so I am taking Math II, US History, and Bio next Saturday
APs: freshman year (bio-5)
Sophomore year (world history-5, chemistry-3)
Junior year (calc bc-5, us history-5, lang-4, psych-5) I also took AP Physics C and got an A, but my school only offers the discounted AP price for 3 tests, with a fellow classmate in AP lang offering to pay for that test since he wasn't going to take it.
Senior year (art history, gov, stats, spanish, lit, macro, micro)</p>

<p>ECs:
Tennis since freshman year; captain junior and senior year; varsity senior year
Science Olympiad since freshman year; president senior year; chemistry lab regionals first place during my sophomore year
Robotics starting at the beginning of Junior year; second place at regionals
Speech and debate for Junior year only
Mock trial starting senior year
National Honor Society & Interact Club -173 logged community service hours</p>

<p>Other:
Was born in the Balkans and came to the US in 2000
Fluently speak a native Balkan language
Parents only have an elementary education
First generation college student
Income <20k
I have given my main common app essay to countless people and they have all said they really liked it. My AP lit teacher said she loved it, and she is pretty blunt. Before reading it she said in class that the most important compliment that could come into an admissions officers thoughts while they are reading an essay is, "I really like this kid." She felt that way, and said my writing reminded her of Khaled Hosseini. Another teacher said it showed I am really perceptive.
I have an eye disorder that really impairs me (nystagmus).</p>

<p>So, what are my chances at these schools? Are they poor, fair, good, pretty good, or great?</p>

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<p>Based on my son’s QB experience, I would have to say poor to fair. All the schools you have selected are non-binding, and Questbridge charges the school a significant fee for each applicant they land via the Match round. Consequently, the individuals chosen in the Match round are generally not those with the best stats, but those who fill multiple institutional goals and who will be in the highest demand. That generally means the minority student living with a single parent from an inner city school in a tough neighborhood with minimally sufficient grades and test scores to be able to do the work.</p>

<p>On the other hand, there is no particular shortage of talented applicants from Eastern Europe, where the culture places a high regard on academic achievement. Yes, being first generation college will help a little, but had you escaped from a war-torn country 3-4 years ago your chances would be much, much better. For the Match round, having overcome significant adversity is what often closes the deal.</p>

<p>For comparison’s sake, my son was a QB applicant a few years ago who listed MIT and Yale in the Match round; he got into neither. He had a 1/400 class rank, a 36 ACT, dual 800 SAT IIs, six 5’s in AP classes by the end of sophomore year, leadership in multiple ECs and a family EFC of zero. He did, however, get accepted to four top-20 schools during the RD round and is currently attending Brown University.</p>

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<p>By the way, those SAT II’s won’t count for the math. So sad to tell you :(</p>

4

<p>I could be wrong, but I think you have to be done testing for the match and 3/4 schools you listed require subject tests (2/3 require regardless of if you submit the SAT or ACT and 1/3 requires them since you are submitting the ACT). Because of this I think the only school you can actually rank is Stanford.</p>

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<p>Stanford only requires the SAT, so they will look at my app. I’ve contacted Yale and the school said they would look at my app with the October ACT. I’ve also contacted Princeton and the school has said that in the chance that my SAT IIs arrive in time, they will look at my app. MIT, however, said that they unfortunately would not, but I had already placed that school on my list. MIT told me that if I am not matched with any school, then I would have the opportunity to forward my app to their early action pool, making the November SAT available to be taken into consideration. </p>

<p>@LoremIpsum, thank you for being so blunt, I do not see that often and it helps. I find it discouraging somewhat that your son was not matched. But, it doesn’t mean I won’t loose hope. I also find it disturbing that Quesrbridge would charge a fee (I thought I have seen this somewhere before) that would discourage colleges from accepting many more applicants. In fact, it seems it would have been better to simply apply early action to Stanford, since it is my number 1. And for the adversity you mention, I believe I made a point in my application to show this. You obviously do not know the struggles caused my nystagmus and the extreme financial situation placed on my parents and I. As for Eastern European culture placing a high emphasis on education, I would disagree and say it is as important as say in American culture. It may not make a difference, but I showed I had no guidance through the path of education. If it were not for one specific teacher who thought I could make it in honors classes at first, I would not be writing on this page at all, and I think that is a highlight in itself showing overcoming adversity. Nevertheless, thank you for your response and by no means do I hope you see me as coming off rude. Like I said, it’s an awakening experience when I can find a somewhat experienced person who will not beat around the bush. I’m glad to here your son made it into a great school anyways.</p>

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<p>Match chances? Poor. RD? Better, but by how much I cannot say.</p>

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<p>College5214, your luck in the Match Round would be enhanced if you also included one or more binding schools at the bottom of your list. You could also skip the Match Round entirely and apply ED to Stanford. And of course I don’t know the specifics about the adversity you have overcome, your essays may be just the right tone to impress the admissions committees – but statistically, only about 10 percent of the finalists get matched in the initial round and very few of them are matched to the handful of non-binding schools.</p>

<p>You should not find it discouraging if you are not matched in the initial round, because you will almost certainly be matched with multiple schools during the RD round and the out-of-pocket cost for attendance is nearly the same: We pay about $2400 a year directly to the school (rather than take the work-study option) and perhaps another $2000 per year total for books, misc. expenses and airfare back and forth to school.</p>

<p>Having multiple real choices in April has some surprising benefits. For one thing, some schools will pay your airfare to come visit the school - Brown and Amherst did so for my son. For another, the schools you believe are the best fit in November are not necessarily the ones you will most desire by the May 1st decision deadline.</p>