<p>I'm a high school senior in New York who is stressed about the college application process, and I need some help. I want to apply to become a Questbridge Finalist, and if I become one I am considering applying to Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and MIT through the program (because these colleges have non-binding policies through Questbridge). However, it is not only very unlikely for me to first become a Questbridge Finalist and then to get matched to one of these colleges, but also a potential hassle to get me home during holidays/breaks and bring my things to college if I were to go somewhere far away. I would also have to submit the application for Questbridge by September 30th. I have found absolutely no time to work on college applications since school is started because of the burden of work, and my school doesn't want students to ask for teacher letters of recommendation until sometime this week (even though I already asked one of my teachers).</p>
<p>I am considering Cornell as a college I would love to go to. I visited and I can see myself fitting in nicely there. It is also about 1.5 hours from my house, so it wouldn't be an issue to bring me back and forth to school. However, I have only visited a few other colleges (Duke and UNC) and I am unsure if I really want to go there. Also, I don't want to be forced into going to the college if I get accepted and having to pay more than I would like to (my parents are divorced, and I live with my mom, who makes about 15k per year).</p>
<p>What should I do? Should I apply through Questbridge and apply through the College Match Program if I become a finalist? Should I apply early decision to Cornell and just disregard Questbridge? Or should I apply through Questbridge, hope to become a Finalist, and then apply to Cornell with the distinction of being a Questbridge Finalist on my application to increase my chances? Here are my stats if it helps:</p>
<p>SAT: 2270 (670 CR, 800 M, 800 WR, 12 Essay) - retaking in October
ACT: 33 (35 English, 36 Math, 30 Reading, 32 Science, 10 Essay) - retaking in October
SAT II: 760 U.S. History, 790 Math 2, 800 Physics
GPA: about 97.0 UW and 100.2 W
Rank: 10-15/450ish
AP: European History (4), U.S. History (5), Physics B (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C (Mech/E&M), AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP Computer Science A (self-study), CC-level Contemporary Literature, Government, and Economics courses
Awards: National Merit Commended Scholar, AP Scholar, a few school/local awards</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Acceptance Coalition (9th/10th/maybe 12th grade, Webmaster)
Students Against Destructive Decisions (9/10th grade, Vice President/Secretary/Webmaster)
Peer Tutoring (11th/12th grade)
Math League (11th/12th grade)
Student Council (9th/11th/12th grade)
Newspaper Group (11th/12th grade, Assistant Webmaster/Editor/Writer/Secretary)
Computer Programming Club (12th grade, Vice President I think)
National Honor Society (11th/12th grade)</p>
<p>Volunteer/Community service:
Maintained a volunteer service for Myspace/website layouts and website design help from 6th-10th grade. Had about 10,000 subscribers to my site at its peak. Learned HTML/CSS this way (main college essay for Common App)
Babysit my niece weekly for about 3 hours each week
~60 hours of various activities (waiter for school dinners, Relay for Life x2, electric recycling drives, helped decorate a retirement home, online book proofreading, etc.)</p>
<p>Teacher Recommendations: Confirmed essay from AP U.S. History teacher. Has seen my growth in maturity throughout 11th grade.
Tentative essay from AP Physics B teacher. Has seen my passion for physics and knows how eagerly I helped/tutored others in the class.
Counselor Rec: Mostly generic but she might talk about my self-motivation and independent character</p>
<p>State: New York
School Type: Public school that is pretty good relative to surrounding schools. Sent 3 kids to Cornell, 1 to Duke, and a few to other toppish colleges (Notre Dame, Rochester) last year.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: about 15k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): low income, first generation</p>