<p>What are some examples of some of the community service that last year's finalists were doing when they applied to QuestBridge?</p>
<p>alessandro16: as I've said many times before, the beauty of the program is not in the Match round, but in the RD round, where as much as five times the number of students are accepted, with generous (or full) financial aid. In that respect, QB is advantageous and definitely worth the effort, if just so that you can become a finalist and go through RD.</p>
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where as much as five times the number of students are accepted, with generous (or full) financial aid. In that respect, QB is advantageous
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<p>Hi, kyledavid, by the reasoning in that Stanford EA thread where we are both posting, all this proves is that people who come forward to apply for QuestBridge are strong applicants--not that QuestBridge is advantageous as a program. Now I would be the first to say that many QuestBridge applicants are strong applicants, but of course the thrust of the question is whether or not going through the QuestBridge program-specific application process is worth the effort. And answering that question would take a different form of evidence, just as would determining whether applying early to Stanford provides an admission edge or not.</p>
<p>The same logic cannot be applied without first looking at some facts and figures. The two are fundamentally different.</p>
<p>For one, the partner schools do not know whether they are the students' first choice. As you know, the students rank their choices, which lends some uncertainty to the process. This may be why many more are deferred to RD.</p>
<p>More importantly, a major difference between the two is the type of student. The reasoning behind SCEA is that the students are on the whole "stronger," leading to a higher likelihood of acceptance. QB students may not be quite so much "stronger," but they do have something that produces the same effect: a low-income status. That, combined with the fact that a large portion of them are first-generation and/or underrepresented minorities, makes for a much higher acceptance rate. Please review the RD statistics (here, for 2006, since I don't think QB has released RD statistics for 2007):</p>
<p>National</a> College Match Program: 2006 Regular Admissions Admit Statistics</p>
<p>Notice that 43% are first-generation, and nearly a third are underrepresented minorities. 87% have an income below $60k. All of these are known to give boosts. As Tom Parker of Amherst said:</p>
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The moment you are identified as a QuestBridge applicant, you are prioritized in a way that very few applicants are. When you're a QuestBridge student, you're in a priority bin. They've got a leg up in a way that perhaps an athlete or legacy would have a way up.
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<p>Furthermore, see the Match statistics:</p>
<p>National</a> College Match Program: 2007 College Match Recipient Profile</p>
<p>Three-fourths are first-generation, over half are URMs, and 98% have incomes below $60k.</p>
<p>It's obvious that these factors are more likely to lead to a higher acceptance rate (Match round + RD round) through QuestBridge. In fact, the logic that the students are on the whole "stronger" canont be applied here; if we use the SAT as a measure of overall applicant pool strength, we'd see striking differences: the average SAT for those matched is a 1330 (CR+M) and those accepted in RD is a 1370. These are below the averages for many of the partner colleges (like Stanford, whose average SAT is 1450 CR+M).</p>
<p>These higher acceptance rates are worth it, I would say, when you consider that your situation will help you more than your SAT will. Not that it is by any means "easy" to get in through QuestBridge, or that the students are not strong, since they definitely are; but when you consider that the disadvantages you've faced can actually become advantages, and that this could potentially equal an acceptance (or more) at a top college (or university), it's definitely worth the trouble.</p>
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It's obvious that these factors are more likely to lead to a higher acceptance rate (Match round + RD round) through QuestBridge.
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<p>All that is obvious here is what you said above the quoted statement, which is that some colleges recruit low-income or first-generation college students, and especially students who are both and possibly URMs as well. That doesn't establish that coming forward as a QuestBridge applicant provides any advantage, for the generality of colleges, over coming forward as a non-QuestBridge applicant who is a low-income, first-generation URM, although the statement you quote from Amherst's admission officer is suggestive that colleges appreciate the pre-screening that QuestBridge does. </p>
<p>An applicant who is more desirable is "stronger" in the sense I am using the term "stronger" in both threads. In this thread, I am saying that I could be persuaded, but have yet to be persuaded, that QuestBridge participation AS SUCH makes an applicant stronger beyond simply being an applicant in categories that colleges have announced they are recruiting. In the Stanford EA thread, I am saying that my sense of the evidence is that the base admission rate is higher SCEA than RD at Stanford because applicants who apply SCEA have signaled their interest in Stanford and likelihood to enroll and thus are "stronger" (remember, I mean "more desirable") from having done so, despite Stanford's denial that SCEA confers an admission advantage in itself. </p>
<p>Both issues could be resolved by the same research project, if an independent researcher had access to enough admission files at enough colleges, including Stanford.</p>
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that QuestBridge participation AS SUCH makes an applicant stronger beyond simply being an applicant in categories that colleges have announced they are recruiting.
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<p>You're attempting to draw a distinction that does not need to be made. I thought it obvious when I said "QB is advantageous"; it is not the mere act of participating with QB that gives you an advantage, but that QB goes out of its way to choose the applicants that will get an advantage (i.e. with their low-income status, and possibly other factors, though those aren't what QB is looking for necessarily). But merely by participating in it--and I mean making it to finalist status--you are among that group that have an advantage. That filtering does not happen in SCEA.</p>
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although the statement you quote from Amherst's admission officer is suggestive that colleges appreciate the pre-screening that QuestBridge does.
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<p>They would be--they're paying $40k-70k/year for the services that QB provides. ;)</p>
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the base admission rate is higher SCEA than RD at Stanford because applicants who apply SCEA have signaled their interest in Stanford and likelihood to enroll and thus are "stronger" (remember, I mean "more desirable") from having done so, despite Stanford's denial that SCEA confers an admission advantage in itself.
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<p>I think I'll just take admissions officers' word for it when they say that early applicants are on the whole stronger--in the strict sense of "more qualified," as I think they intended to mean. (Not to mention anecdotal evidence seems to support it pretty well, and we all love anecdotal evidence. :))</p>
<p>I too wondered whether using the Questbridge application would be advantageous- so I asked the admissions officers at the QB admissions program at Yale this past weekend. All the admissions officers answered that "yes", and some vociferously "YES" - the QB application meant a great deal to them.</p>
<p>I'm interested in the University of Chicago, UPenn, Princeton, Northwestern (which will be a new partner this year) and Stanford out of all the partner colleges with QuestBridge. I'm a bit confused though. I thought that I would be able to forward my QuestBridge application to the schools i mntioned even if i was not selected as a finalist. But then I saw this table: QuestBridge</a> National College Match - Regular Decision Table and got confused. So, for example, at the University of Chicago, even finalists can't use the QB application?</p>
<p>kyledavid80,
thank you so much for taking the time to answer your questions. But I was still wondering if I could ask you for a further clarification on something? The thing is I still don't fully understand the whole application process. So say that I applied through the questbridge in september, but did not make for the finalist. Does that mean that I'm now applying to colleges via RD? Is it that only finalists are eligible for "matching" colleges, in that if they are accepted by the school of their choice, they would be enrolled there on a binding contract? Sorry for asking again but I would really like for some clarification.</p>
<p>And as to the actual applying process- say I want to apply to a university like Yale and so I apply by using the questbridge application form online. Would I still have to send in the supplementary forms to Yale in addition to the questbridge application? And just one more, where on the application will I indicate my choice or ranking of the colleges? Thank you again.</p>
<p>jay123:</p>
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I thought that I would be able to forward my QuestBridge application to the schools i mntioned even if i was not selected as a finalist. But then I saw this table: QuestBridge National College Match - Regular Decision Table and got confused.
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<p>When you fill out the application—long before you even find out whether you’re a finalist—you can check which colleges you want QB to forward your application to. QB will forward your application even if you are not a finalist. A few things, though: a) only some schools accept the QB app alone, and b) even those that require the Common App or their own app (Stanford or Chicago, for instance) will still receive the QB app and will still consider it. They don’t accept the QB app alone, though—more as a supplement.</p>
<p>I too was wondering whether the schools that require separate applications even consider the QB app (some, like Stanford, require the Common App even for the Match round), so I asked some of Stanford’s admissions officers, and they said they did. The QB app is very much like the Common App with additional essays, which can be useful to colleges.</p>
<p>The bottom line is: QB will forward your app to any college you check, whether you’re a finalist or not, though you may be required to submit a separate app too, depending on the college.</p>
<p>unefille:</p>
<p>It’s all right—the QB match process can be a bit confusing/complex. I remember I had tons of questions before. :)</p>
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So say that I applied through the questbridge in september, but did not make for the finalist. Does that mean that I'm now applying to colleges via RD?
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<p>Yup!</p>
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Is it that only finalists are eligible for "matching" colleges, in that if they are accepted by the school of their choice, they would be enrolled there on a binding contract?
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<p>That’s right. So here’s how it works: everyone applies at the end of September. By late October, you find out whether you’re a finalist or not. If you’re not a finalist, you can a) apply for the schools’ early programs, or b) you can go to RD. It’s as though you had never gone through QB, except that QB will forward your application to the colleges you chose on the app. If you are a finalist, then you go through the Match round. If you aren’t matched, then you are deferred to RD. Here’s a nice diagram that QB made to demonstrate this:</p>
<p>National</a> College Match Program Overview Diagram</p>
<p>And the more detailed explanation:</p>
<p>QuestBridge</a> National College Match - Process Overview</p>
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say I want to apply to a university like Yale and so I apply by using the questbridge application form online. Would I still have to send in the supplementary forms to Yale in addition to the questbridge application?
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</p>
<p>In Yale’s case, you must submit the Common App, the supplement, and some other supplementary forms. See this:</p>
<p>College</a> Match Program: Requirements</p>
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And just one more, where on the application will I indicate my choice or ranking of the colleges?
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<p>Near the end of the application, before you hit submit, there will be a list of the colleges, and each will have a dropdown list with numbers, which you’ll use to rank them.</p>
<p>It seems that a lot of the sample essays on QB are over hardships and poverty the students had to face. Would it be advantageous to write about a instance in my life over the above? Would it hurt me not to write about it?</p>
<p>^ I have a similar question</p>
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Would it be advantageous to write about a instance in my life over the above? Would it hurt me not to write about it?
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<p>I don't think so. The QB essays are just samples. QB intentionally chooses broad topics so that students can be creative in their responses. When you see the topics, think of as many (good) possibilities of responses, and choose the best one--the one you like most. You might even write out multiple ones to see which you like more. And it may not be the one(s) about poverty/hardships.</p>
<p>My main (biographical) essay was about my passion for writing and related it to various events throughout my life. Note, also, that the main essay has the sentence: "Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations." (The essay did include some challenges, but that wasn't the focus.) One of my 500-word ones was more of an intellectual one; and the other 500-word one was about a life experience, not necessarily a "hardship" (it was on the topic from the Common App: "Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you").</p>
<p>As you can see, you don't need to focus on hardships, though the application is designed to allow space for those who did have significant hardships to write them down. As many have said, a big advantage of the QB app is that it allows more space and flexibility to show colleges what can't always come through on their own applications.</p>
<p>Wait, I still don't get how to write the "Personal Background" essay. Am I suppose to write it just like the other essays? I have no clue as to how to approach the "Personal Background" essay. Please help. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Yes, you just write it like any other essay. It's not supposed to be different--and definitely don't start out with "I was born on..."</p>
<p>One successful strategy that my college counselor at QB had advised me on--and that I used--is to find a common theme in your life and build your essay around that. In my case, it was writing: I elaborated on how I've followed it through my life, taken challenges and integrated them into my writing, etc. Then explain, maintaining that theme, how it's contributed to your accomplishments and helped to form your aspirations.</p>
<p>One student I know talked about growing up in a very poor area, right next to a homeless shelter, and how constant exposure to such poverty gave him drive in school (accomplishments) and the desire to work in public affairs to help out the needy (aspirations). He included a few illustrative examples and maintained the theme of "accomplishment despite adversity" throughout.</p>
<p>A good strategy is to break down the prompt by the key words, figure out exactly what you think they mean, see the relationships between them, apply them to yourself/your situation, and build your essay on that. So in the biographical one, </p>
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We are interested in learning more about you and the context in which you have grown up, formed your aspirations and accomplished your academic successes. Please describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. How have these factors caused you to grow?
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<p>the key parts are a) aspirations, b) accomplishments, c) factors/challenges, and d) growth. Thus you could say:</p>
<p>factors/challenges ---> aspirations, accomplishments, growth</p>
<p>The unifying concept here is context--your personal "situation." That's what you keep in mind when figuring out how to bridge all of the above.</p>
<p>context: [factors/challenges ---> aspirations, accomplishments, growth]</p>
<p>There are many directions you can take it. The best way is tailored to your specific experience.</p>
<p>Wow! Thank you so much! You should definitely be Mod :D</p>
<p>btw, have you already done QB?</p>
<p>Yes, I applied through QuestBridge last year, but was not matched; I did get into some of the schools RD, though.</p>
<p>Oh, which school are you attending now?</p>
<p>I'm attending Stanford now.</p>
<p>kewl the Farm! I know they didn't match you, but Stanford being one of their partner colleges, did Questbridge help you consider it as one of your choices? Since you weren't matched, what was done with your essays and stuff?</p>