Official QuestBridge Finalist Results Thread 2014-2015

emenya · October 21, 2014, 11:21pm

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 630 M 680 R 570 W Total: 1880

•ACT: E:35 M:31 R:32 S:30 Composite: 32

•SAT II:Biology E 690 Chem 680 U.S History

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5 (but they calculated wrong) Weighted 4.1

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):40/651

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Human (4) Bio(4) Chem (4) Stats (5) APUSH (5) Lang (5) World (4) Psych (3) APES (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load: ALL AP’S (EURO, Comp Sci, Physics II, Calc BC, Art History, Lit, Macro, Govt. )

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Biotechnology Design T.S.A- 5th in State;
T.S.A Tech Bowl (7th in State);
T.S.A Engineering Nationals,
Highest Score Science U.I.L,
National Achievement Outstanding Participant,
National AP Scholar;
Local School Awards

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Writing Club 4 Years (Poetry/Fiction Specialist and Editor)
Science UIL 2 Years (Team Captain)
Football 3 years (Defensive End)
Soccer 3 years (Forward, Varsity Captain all 3 years)
T.S.A Engineering 2 years (Biotech Captain lolz )
S.W.A.T: Christian Club
Independent Cancer Research (didn’t put this on QB app)

•Job/Work Experience: n/a

•Volunteer/Community service:
About 200 total hours
Youth in Philanthropy (Worked with many non profit organizations)
Chuch
School
TSA
Interact Club

•Summer Activities:

Renovated a home
T.S.A Nationals

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Hardship essay: For my type I’d say a 6. I consider myself a very strong writer, and I wrote this essay literally on the last day. It was filled with raw emotion and I think it worked for me. (PM me if you’d like to read it)

I choose the one about the overcoming adversity. I think it’s at around an 10. I talked about my struggle to over come my obesity. Really personal and talked about how because of it I was able to change my world view and also really unleash my full potential in athletics. This is consequently my essay for common app and is still in the process of being chiseled. (Sorry, won’t share this one )

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: AP Chem teacher. She was a really nice teacher, and knew her for two years. I always tried to be kind and courteous in her class. 10.

•Teacher Rec #2: AP Biology teacher. First person I told about my love of genetics and I also told her she was serious about research. She got me started on my research and I think she absolutely loved me. 10.

•Counselor Rec: We were both new to the school, but we’ve gotten along amazingly these past 3 months. I feel like an 8, but only because haven’t know each other for too long.

•Additional Rec: n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): TX

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: African American

•Gender:M

•Income Bracket: <30,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation. URM. Am heavily STEM and am an excellent writer??? (Not to many people have that mix?) [I really am not trying to sound pretentious or anything.

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays, Upward Trend (like scary steep slope) in Grades,

•Weaknesses: SAT/SAT Subject tests, Not the Standout EC’s as many top applicants.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: The story I had to tell. I feel like the whole application worked to provide an accurate picture of who I was.

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Yale, Princeton. (Will be adding Columbia, Caltech, UPenn, Dartmouth, Brown)

General Comments: Congrats to every who got accepted! To those looking at this for future reference: Do not let high stats of others discourage you. I’ve been thinking that I would never make finalist. But I have!!! Although this is only a SMALL HURDLE. I still have to actually get into the colleges lol. This next week is going to be something! :)

jorge10980 · October 21, 2014, 11:27pm

I also have this option. Does anyone know if quest for excellence awards were announced.

momcinco · October 21, 2014, 11:56pm

Website says Quest for Excellence awards come out later (no date specified)

momcinco · October 21, 2014, 11:56pm

I mean, later than Oct 21

Marrissa · October 22, 2014, 12:06am

IM SOOOOOO EXCITED

Fredjan · October 22, 2014, 12:18am

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 680 CR, 690M, 710W

•ACT: 33 Comp, 35 Math, 33 English

•SAT II: 800 Math Lv. 2, 680 Physics

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/105

•AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang 3 (non-native speaker), Spanish Lang 5, Calculus BC 5

•Senior Year Course Load: Already completed AP Calc, Ap Chem, AP English Lit, Accounting, Athletics, Dual enrollment Federal Government, dual enrollment Texas Government, Theology, and so on

•Major Awards: 1st place at state-level global issues conference; 1st place at state-wide mental mathematics competition

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, Business Club, Book Club, among others

•Job/Work Experience: Internship at a local engineering workshop for 2 months, Teller at regional bank since August

•Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanity, local recreational center, local church’s kitchen,

•Summer Activities: Tutoring peers on Math and English, dual enrollment courses

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 to 9. Addressed the issues of growing up in my hometown.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

•Teacher Rec #1: Chem teacher, 10. Wrote about me as if I were a colleague

•Teacher Rec #2: Theology teacher, unknown. Never saw it.

•Counselor Rec: 10, explained why I decided to take a gap year and the ethics behind my decision

•Additional Rec: n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Texas

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Private

•Ethnicity: Hispanic

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: ~20,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, geographic location

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays, recommendations, scores

•Weaknesses: Leadership “activities”

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: My essays. I wrote about the place where I reside and about my parents’ divorce.

Colleges ranked: Vanderbilt, Columbia, Penn, Yale, Brown, Rice, Amherst, Stanford

General Comments: N/A

discolored · October 22, 2014, 12:38am

Decision: FINALIST

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1880
CR: 640 M: 600 R: 640

•SAT II: Took Biology E, US History, and Literature but don’t know scores yet (N/A?)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.82

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/75

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (in progress)

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, Government, Ceramics, 2D Digital Art, English

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Questbridge College Prep Scholar, USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Finalist, CMEA “Superior” Rank

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Community orchestra (principal violist), professional quartet (violist), LGBT youth group, Feminist Art Club, Cultural Awareness, Cross Country

•Job/Work Experience: Clerical assistant, referee coordinator

•Volunteer/Community service: School board rep, assistant with professional orchestra, performed with professional orchestra for The Nutcracker

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Bio Essay: 7, probably could have written it better, but I talked about supporting a family of seven on my own while maintaining good grades and a full-time job

Prompt #2: 6. Could have been better. I reused a short-answer from the College Prep application and elaborated.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 10, teacher was hands-down the best teacher I have had throughout high school, knew me well personally and was very professional in handling the letter

•Teacher Rec #2: 8, teacher was very experienced with Questbridge and wrote a good letter, but did not know me as well

•Counselor Rec: 6, counselor probably wrote a generic rec letter

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): California

•School Type: Charter

•Ethnicity: Chinese

•Gender: N/A

•Income Bracket: ~38k

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Unemployed & neglectful parents, supported family through full-time job, became guardian of siblings

Reflection
•Strengths: Personal statement/bio essay was by far the biggest contender of my application. My grades and SAT scores are above average but not “4.0 gpa and 2200 SAT” amazing.

•Weaknesses: My school has only one AP class

•Why you think you were selected: My personal background combined with my gpa & SAT score. Honestly, the grades and SAT probably didn’t matter, it was my essay that probably killed it.

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Yale, Princeton, USC

Hoang34 · October 22, 2014, 12:41am

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2070 M: 690 CR: 720 W: 660

•ACT: 33 M: 34 R: 36 S: 27 W: 33

•SAT II: Math 2: 800, US History: 800, Physics: TBD

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.77

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank students

•AP (place score in parenthesis): BC Calc (5), US Hist. (5), Psych (5), Lit (5), Government (5), Physics C (3)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): Psychology SL (5), SL Spanish (6)

•Senior Year Course Load: All IB Courses, I’m in the process of getting my Diploma

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Not really, just typical AP stuff

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Football, 4 years
Sports writer
Math Honor Society
Science Honor Society

•Job/Work Experience:
Lifeguarding, 2 summers
•Volunteer/Community service:
300 hours of various activities mostly at summer camps
•Summer Activities:
Lifeguarding/Working out for football, didn’t have fancy internships or international trips
•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
8-9, worked really hard on them, got them edited repeatedly except for the second one which I thought was simply an option to the first one. So I wrote the second one like two days before the deadline.
•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1:
10, this teacher really loved me, I really liked her also, she was an English teacher too so she was the one who revised my essay. Great feedback/dialogue and discussion between us.
•Teacher Rec #2:
7-8, this teacher I didn’t really know since she was my math teacher for 2 years and has a sort of dry but very funny attitude. She is not very outspoken but was nice enough to write a rec for me.
•Counselor Rec:
9-10, the counselor and I talked multiple times, our relationship was comparable to that of Teacher #1.
•Additional Rec:

Other
•State (if domestic applicant):
MD
•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type:
Public, I’m part of the Magnet program for the IB Diploma Program at my school
•Ethnicity:
Asian, Vietnamese
•Gender:
Male
•Income Bracket:
60,000-70,000
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Well I’m basically a first generation immigrant, I emigrated from Vietnam at the age of 7. My parents speak broken English and make a meager income even though we live in one of the richest counties in the country.

Reflection
•Strengths:
My essays were definitely my strong point. I think being an IB Diploma candidate was pretty good too.
•Weaknesses:
I was afraid my income bracket was too high but thankfully it worked out.
•Why you think you were selected/rejected:
I think the essay really sold my story and conveyed a sense of being of lower-income in an environment where everyone else has a lot of money
Colleges ranked:

Columbia 2. UPenn 3. Rice
General Comments:
I’m very grateful for being named a Finalist and hope to be matched. Hope my information helps those applying next year in some way.

Choynibyo · October 22, 2014, 1:05am

DID YOU FOLKS NOT SEE THIS THREAD IS FOR RESULTS ONLY??

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): CR 660 M 770 W 720 Essay 9 Total 2150

•ACT: E 30 M 35 R 33 S 34 Essay 8 Composite 33

•SAT II: Math 800 Bio M 690

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): about 40/600

•AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC(5, AB subscore 5), Chinese(5), Environmental Science (4), Stat(5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 1, AP US Gov’t, AP Studio Art, AP Bio, Health, English 4 Advanced,
also taking multivariable calculus at Penn

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student Council(President)
Math Club
Science Olympiad
NHS

•Job/Work Experience: Nail technician, 10hr/wk

•Volunteer/Community service: English/math tutoring, 3hr/wk

•Summer Activities: Working for most of the time
Attended the Biomedical Academy at Penn in the past summer

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8. Wrote about how my mom raised my up on her own and how I overcame the language barrier when I got to the US

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1:11! My American history teacher is a college English professor, so he writes fantastic essays, and of course, fantastic letters of recommendation.

•Teacher Rec #2: 6. I was pretty close to my calc teacher, but I don’t know why the letter of recommendation she wrote was so plain. It’s like my resume 2.0

•Counselor Rec: 7. She is new to our school this year but I think it’s supposed to be good

•Additional Rec: N/A

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): PA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Large Public(over 3000 students)

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender:F

•Income Bracket: <20K

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college, low income, new immigrant who’s only stayed in the US for two years

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays maybe.

•Weaknesses: Definitely ECs and awards

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Essays show how I struggled to succeed despite the circumstances

Colleges ranked:1.Princeton 2.Columbia 3.UPenn

General Comments: QB doesn’t really care about your scores. GPA is more important. But the most important element is definitely your essays.

Sindle · October 22, 2014, 1:07am

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown):

•ACT: 34

•SAT II: Taking Chem/Math II in Nov.

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 44/608

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language and Composition(4), AP US Gov/Pol (5), AP US History(5), AP Environmental Science(5), AP Psychology(5)

•IB (place score in parenthesis):

•Senior Year Course Load:
1st Semester: AP English Lit/Comp , AP Calculus AB, H. Sociology, H. French V
2nd Semester: AP Physics, H Scientific/Technical Visualization, AP French Lang/Culture, AP Calculus BC

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, Academic School Letter

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): TSA(10,11,12), Key Club(9,10,11,12), Wrestling(10), Recreational Archery(11,12), Tutoring (10,11,12)

•Job/Work Experience: Wrote in the comments that I had a job interview in the coming weeks. It went well so I’m starting work near the end of October.

•Volunteer/Community service:Math Tutor for my Apartment Complex 150+ hrs(10,11), Assistant Teacher at a Mathnasium 40+ hrs(9,10), Kramden Institute 30+ hrs(Summer 10,11), People to People Ambassador Program(10)

•Summer Activities:People2People Student Ambassador Program, Math Tutoring, Archery, Odd jobs for neighbors

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay 1 (6-7): Wrote about the importance of family in developing one’s character.
Essay 2 (8): Wrote about how I dedicate my time and skills to my low income neighborhood apartments.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1:
Environmental Science(8): Wrote about how I was a leader in lab groups and how I won the student choice award in my class.
•Teacher Rec #2:
Pre-Calculus(8): Wrote about how we both shared an interest and passion for space and enjoyed holding discussions after class over it.
•Counselor Rec:
(6-7): Didn’t read, but my school is relatively large for the number of counselors and I don’t see her often. 
•Additional Rec:
(None)

Other:
•State (if domestic applicant): NC

•Country (if international applicant): USA

•School Type: Large Good Public

•Ethnicity: Hispanic (Colombian)

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket:25-26k

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First Generation

Reflection:
•Strengths: ACT

•Weaknesses: Essays

•Why you think you were selected/rejected:
I had my doubts when first applying through Questbridge due to my GPA being lower than the average finalist, but the other aspects of my application must have made up for it.
Standardized tests were good, rigor of classes was near the highest I could take, GPA was relatively good.

Colleges ranked:
None. Applying RD

General Comments:
I hope my stats help future applicants as much as past applicants’ stats helped me. The academic and subjective accomplishments of your peers may seem daunting, but that’s no excuse to deny yourselves this opportunity by not applying.
You’ve worked hard to make it here, so reap the rewards of your successes.

zgamergirl · October 22, 2014, 1:30am

I’m so excited to fill out one of these!

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2060 (620R, 770M, 670W first sitting)

•ACT: n/a

•SAT II: 770 Math 2, 680 Physics

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.977

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Didn’t include on application

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (4), AP Chinese (5), AP Physics B (4), AP Language & Composition (3), AP Statistics (4)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a

•Senior Year Course Load: Cisco (computer networking), AP Comparative/American Government, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science, Senior English, AP Calculus

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Haha nothing major. NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (State Winner and National Runner-Up), Google Code-In Competition, CodeDay, AP Scholars with Distinction, Ventures Scholars, Knight Valor (school honor for community service)

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Web Developer for High School Starleague, Computer Club (President), FIRST Robotics, Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program: Amazon

•Job/Work Experience: Intern in Software Engineering for StudentRND

•Volunteer/Community service: Web Developer for Cascade Science Squad, Web Developer for Kyle & Rose Epilepsy Foundation

•Summer Activities: I don’t think this question was asked on the application?

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Biographical - 8.5. Was about background. Completely rewrote this once and revised it a lot. I talked about being first gen, living out of the household, and my dad. But I made sure that at the end of the essay I talked about how the struggle made me stronger and a better person. Very nice ending too. The only things I didn’t like was that it had a grammatical error, tone was very serious, and didn’t provide an anecdote.
Prompt #2 - 10. Realllllllly liked this one because it was about one of my passions which is programming. Definitely enjoyed writing it. It’s humorous, silly, and definitely represents me :)

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Never read them, so not sure. I assume at least decent for all of them. Haha I’m not a favorite nor do I think I stick out in class. I’m just hoping that my teachers didn’t write super generic stuff about me.
•Teacher Rec #1:

•Teacher Rec #2:

•Counselor Rec:

•Additional Rec: We can’t provide an additional rec for QB.

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): WA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Large, public

•Ethnicity: AAAAASIAN

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: ~$25,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college

Reflection
•Strengths: Voice! Grades, extracurriculars

•Weaknesses: No sports? And meh SATs though hopefully the October one was much better. Those ap scores doe. Eaaand SAT physics -.- I refuse to retake.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Was myself and having voice and lalala all that goodness.

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Yale, Princeton, MIT

General Comments: Well this is only the first step. I haven’t gotten accepted to any colleges so I can’t really say that this is a SUPER achievement. You could be a non finalist and still get into your dream school, and you can still be a finalist but rejected from your dream school. I wouldn’t start dancing around the room just yet. BACK TO WRITING ESSAYS!

Peachmarmalade · October 22, 2014, 1:30am

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (730 CR, 670 M, 800 W)

•ACT: N/A

•SAT II: N/A

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (5), AP European History (5), AP U.S. History (5), AP Human Geography (5), AP English Language (5), AP Macroeconomics (4, Self Study), AP Microeconomics (4, Self Study), AP Environmental Science (4, Self Study)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish, AP English Literature, AP Chemistry, Ceramics

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QB College Prep. Scholar, NM Commended, National AP Scholar

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Speech & Debate (10-12), Key Club (11-12), Quiz Bowl (11-12), Science Olympiad (11-12), Liberty in North Korea Club (11-12, President)

•Job/Work Experience: N/A

•Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at local library and Key Club events (80 hours)

•Summer Activities: Boy’s State California 2014, Publishing articles about science for a website

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Biographical (7/10), Essay 2 (8/10)

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: Probably great, didn’t see

•Teacher Rec #2: Same as teacher 1

•Counselor Rec: Probably great, didn’t see

•Additional Rec: N/A

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): CA

•Country (if international applicant): USA

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender: Male

•Income Bracket: $20,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Moving a lot in the past couple of years?

Reflection
•Strengths: Test scores, GPA, Essays, Recs

•Weaknesses: Haven’t committed to an extracurricular for all 4 years? (Probably doesn’t matter much), Only one leadership position?

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Overall strong application, there weren’t any areas majorly lacking

Colleges ranked: Stanford, MIT, Princeton, Yale

General Comments: Happy to be selected, glad my work on my apps. for EA will be able to be put to use! Excited for December, but not expecting to be matched.

etori158 · October 22, 2014, 1:54am

Decision: Finalist (My profile should give hope to some of you haha)

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1850 (not retaking, not the test for me)
M: 570 W: 640 R: 640

•ACT: 29 (retaking)

•SAT II: none

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 28/764

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Human Geography - 5, AP US History - 5, AP Language and Composition - 4

•IB (place score in parenthesis): none

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, Precalc Honors, AP Chemistry, Physics Honors, AP Economics, AP Literature and Composition, Advanced Orchestra

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): no MAJOR awards

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School news (Editor-in-Chief), Foreign Exchange Student Ambassador (co-founder and ambassador), Bible quizzing (Team captain), International Genetically Engineered Machines competition, Freshman/S.A.L.T. Mentor, Korean Club (treasurer), etc.

•Job/Work Experience: Cashier at local college

•Volunteer/Community service: Mentor/tutor for several different organizations

•Summer Activities: Work, summer classes

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 - story of my hospitalization and how it sparked my interest in medicine, 9 - story about my move to America from Portugal AND my Hispanic identity

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: N/A, Chemistry teacher

•Teacher Rec #2: 10 - Mass Media and Communications teacher

•Counselor Rec: 9, considering she just met me a few weeks ago…

•Additional Rec: none

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Indiana

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Multiracial Hispanic

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: $30,000-$40,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, moved to America

Reflection
•Strengths: Letters of recommendation, extra-curriculars, essays, grades

•Weaknesses:Test scores, awards

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Diverse aspects shown in my essays, recommendations

Colleges ranked: none (opted out)

General Comments: As you can see, my profile is not as impressive as many of the other finalists here, however, my stats may give hope to other students that think they are not up to par with the others. There’s always a chance, so apply!
:)) :))

Marrissa · October 22, 2014, 2:40am

Decision: Finalist!!!(can’t believe this!)

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1880 CR(690)M(590)W(600)

•ACT: 26 (not reported)

•SAT II:n/a

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65 uw 4.65 w

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/480

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP CALC AB (3) AP Lang (2)<- idk what happened here

•IB (place score in parenthesis):n/a

•Senior Year Course Load: AP CALC BC AP PSYCHOLOGY AICE Marine Science 2 AICE Math 1 Government honors and English honors (AICE counts as AP) oh and Economics Honors and Dual Enrollment with local college.

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Posse semifinalist

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Girls Get IT (Secretary)
Flag Football
Math Honor Society
DECA

•Job/Work Experience: Kmart during summer

•Volunteer/Community service: not much I only have 100 hours or so recorded but plan to do more.

•Summer Activities: O-STEM with NSU, county youth coalition leadership camps

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Wrote about being biracial and the discrimination I’ve faced(9, would be a 10 but I had grammatical errors) Biography(10!!) Wrote about growing up poor and my mother and fathers addictions.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: didn’t read (should be 10 because I’ve had her for 3 years)

•Teacher Rec #2: didn’t read (probably an 8 because don’t know her well)

•Counselor Rec: 10!!! She loves me.

•Additional Rec:n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): FL

•Country (if international applicant): US

•School Type: Marine Magnet

•Ethnicity: African-American and White

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: 24k (6 person household)

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation, URM

Reflection
•Strengths: Essays, maybe recommendations, Class rank

•Weaknesses: TEST SCORES!!! GPA!

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I think I was selected because I told my story. I’m very dedicated and although my grades and test scores aren’t perfect I try my best and give it my all to succeed. My rank is pretty good too and weighted gpa although it doesn’t mean much :(

Colleges ranked: Stanford, Vanderbilt, University of Virginia, USC, Northwestern, Oberlin, Grinnell, and Trinity.

General Comments:
I’m so blessed and never thought I’d make this cut. I have so much self doubt and considering some of these stats I’m just so grateful. I don’t think I’ll get matched but YOU NEVER KNOW and I’m looking forward to the opportunity. Sorry for any typos I typed on my phone.

kuleczka · October 22, 2014, 2:45am

Hi guys! I won’t post a full breakdown of my stats, but I want to post this to encourage anyone who’s looking into Questbridge in future years to definitely apply, even if you think your family earns a lot compared to what you see other finalists earning, or has too many assets, or that you don’t have any specific adversity or bad situations you’ve overcome.

My family earns almost $60k per year, we own a house worth over $200,000, and we do have a couple thousand of dollars in savings. I applied for QB but after perusing old threads I was sure this would keep me from becoming a finalist. But I am thrilled and thankful to have been named one today!

I have pretty high stats (4.0 UW/5.05 W GPA, 33 ACT, 5’s on several AP’s), rigorous courses, and great extracurriculars including a job and community service I’m really dedicated to, but I definitely think two things gave me an edge: my essays, and the fact that I ranked schools. I used my biological essay to talk about my family’s situation with immigrant parents working several jobs and how education has helped me overcome the financial struggles we’ve faced. Use the essay to tell your story, and definitely tailor it to Questbridge as an organization seeking high achieving low-income students. There are a lot of factors I could have talked about for that essay, but what I focused on was how education helped me overcome low-income status, which is advice I got in a chat that QB hosted earlier in the app process.

Also, the purpose of QuestBridge is the College Match, so rank at least one college for the match process! I was wary of being bound anywhere, but if you don’t rank it does defeat part of the purpose of doing Questbridge. It’s really only to your advantage to rank.

Congrats to all the other finalists, and good luck to all the non-finalists too. All of us are going to do great and go to good schools, just keep up the hard work!

20Lourdes15 · October 22, 2014, 3:34am

Decision: Rejected

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1890
M:640 R:590 W:640 (Retaking)

•ACT:29

•SAT II:N/A

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.6

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8 out of 67

•AP (place score in parenthesis):N/A

•IB (place score in parenthesis): [I don’t go to a standard high school. I’ve been taking classes at a community college instead since junior year. These are those classes] Expository Writing (A) Literature Based Research (A) Pre-Calculus Algebra (A) Pre-Calculus Trig (A) American History II (A) Elementary Spanish I (A) Public Speaking (A) Theatre Arts (A)

•Senior Year Course Load: American Literature I ; British Literature II ; American History I ; General Psychology ; Introduction to Ethics ; General Biology ; Environmental Science

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge College Prep Scholar ; Durham Tech Community College Dean’s List

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Prom Committee ; Family Responsibilities

•Job/Work Experience:I worked in fast food for a year 25hrs/wk; I got a new job this summer. Worked 55hrs/wk in the summer and now work 35hrs/wk

•Volunteer/Community service:Volunteered at shelter 7hrs/wk 15 wks/year ;Volunteered at community organization as the founder’s personal assistant 10hrs/wk 15wks/yr

•Summer Activities: I worked

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): Bio Essay (9, I wrote about being homeless multiple times and overcoming it. It may have been cliche talking about overcoming a struggle) Essay 2 (7, I wrote about giving up standard high school experience to get ahead on college credits by going to a community college.)

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Didn’t give teacher recommendations, because my classes are online and I have never met most of my teachers
•Teacher Rec #1: Volunteer Supervisor #1 (9 She’s amazing)

•Teacher Rec #2:Volunteer Supervisor #2 (8, I hope she wrote a good recommendation)

•Counselor Rec:10 (I love my counselor so much, and she feels the same about me. If I’m not doing anything, I hang out in her office and just chat Haha)

•Additional Rec:N/A

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina

•Country (if international applicant):N/A

•School Type:Middle College High School

•Ethnicity:Black

•Gender:Female

•Income Bracket:$14,000 for 2013, <$5,000 for 2014

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, I’ve been Homeless, Almost have my A.A. Great Work Experience, Haven’t spoken with father in years. My mother just had a child earlier this year and a lot of my earnings go toward her.

Reflection
•Strengths:Classes, Work Experience, 1st Essay

•Weaknesses:2nd Essay

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I’m not quite sure honestly. Maybe one of my recommendations was off.

Colleges ranked: USC! Trojan Spirit!!!

General Comments: Even though I wasn’t accepted, I’m sooo happy that I did the application, because I’m already done with my college apps, I can just revise a little things. It’s a learning experience and it’s not the end. Also, congratulations to all of the finalists. You all deserve it. May you all go on to your dream schools, and the non-finalists too!

honeybee63 · October 22, 2014, 3:35am

@kuleczka, congratulations to you and how nice to post well wishes and advice to future Questies. Given your financial situation, make sure you’re ranking colleges where you have an EFC Of 0. The LACs are much more flexible with this than the universities and you have a much better chance of being matched to one esp. than the national brand name schools.

I just want to clarify for everyone that ranking schools (or not) has NO bearing on your QB status. There will be both finalists and non-finalists who rank, and finalists and non-finalists who don’t. It is simply NOT a consideration for the application readers.

I strongly encourage everyone to consider ranking colleges anyway because it is one of the huge advantages of QB NCM. To be able to apply early to as many as 8 colleges (while every other applicant is limited to ONE) with absolutely no risk of rejection (while an average of half ED applicants will be rejected outright) is an amazing opportunity. You really have nothing to lose, and a guaranteed four year full ride to gain.
Trust me: when that match award comes in on December 1st and you are DONE with college applications, and have nothing left to do but the FAFSA in January, and you know your education is paid for, and you’re attending a top US college, and you know you have a built in family at your college, it’s the best. ever.

isong5000 · October 22, 2014, 5:35am

Decision: Finalist!!

Objective:

•ACT:
highest composite 33, superscored 34 (each time w/ Writing); highest in each subject- English (36), Math (34), Reading (32), Science (32), Writing (9)

•SAT II:
Math Level 2 (740), US History (700)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
3.96 (4.6 weighted)

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
12/376, so approx top 3.19%

•AP (place score in parenthesis):
Freshman year: Human Geography (5)
Sophomore year: Psychology (5), Calculus AB (5)
Junior year: Calculus BC (5), Statistics (5), English Language and Composition (5), US History (4), Chemistry (3)

•Senior Year Course Load:
AP English Literature and Composition (all year), AP Biology (all year), AP US Gov’t and Politics (all year), AP Physics 1 (all year), Honors Spanish 4 (all year), dual enrollment Calculus 3: Multivariable (first semester), online Differential Equations through the University of Colorado (second semester), online PE (1 per both semesters), Learning Link Career Observation Program at Memorial Hospital (first semester), economics (second semester)

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Principal’s Honor Roll (9th, 10th, 11th grade)
Lettered in Orchestra (9th)
Lettered in Friends of Rachel Club (10th, 11th)
Lettered in National English Honor Society (11th)
Lettered in Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) (11th)
AP Scholar Award (10th)
AP Scholar with Distinction Award (11th)
Poetry Contest Finalist (10th)
Honorable Mention at a math competition (11th)

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Orchestra (9th, 10th) (first chair/section leader)
Pit Orchestra (9th) (sole pianist)
National Honor Society (11th, 12th) (secretary)
National English Honor Society (10th, 11th, 12th) (student leader and editor of the student newsletter for the school)
Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society, 11th, 12th)
Spanish National Honor Society (12th)
Piano, Flute, Cello
Eyes Wide Open Club (global awareness, 11th, 12th) (president)
Friends of Rachel Club (10th, 11th, 12th) (student leader)
Creek Connector (mentor for new freshmen, 12th)
Learning Link Career Observation (12th)
Huffington Post teen blogger (10th, 11th, 12th)- because of this, I’ve written (upon personal request by an editor) an article for the Center for Teaching Quality and Education Week Magazine, and I have an article in a teen magazine by Scholastic due for publication in January (also written upon personal request by an editor)
Coursera Online Classes: statements of accomplishment from a class from Johns Hopkins University and a class from the University of California, San Francisco

•Job/Work Experience:
2014 Summer Child Health Research Internship from the University of Colorado and Children’s Hospital Colorado
AP Calculus BC Tutor

•Volunteer/Community service:
Memorial Hospital Volunteer (11th, 12th)
Public Library Teen Advisory Board Member (11th, 12th)

•Summer Activities:
2014 Summer Child Health Research Internship

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
I really don’t want to have to self-rank my essays, but I was really proud of my essay. As a teen journalist/blogger for the Huffington Post, I do a lot of writing and I’ve even had Taylor Swift tweet one of my articles in Sept 2013, but I think my essays are some of the best things I’ve ever written in high school. My college and career counselor helped me brainstorm ideas for my essays and even CRIED reading them when I finished.
I really laid myself open with both of these essays (as a frequent HuffPost teen writer, I’m used to putting myself out there and exposing vulnerable parts of myself).
Essay 1 was really personal to the struggles that I’ve overcome with having unexplainable seizures as a kid to developing my own techniques for warding them off whenever I grow dizzy; it also showed the important factors that influenced the way I approach challenges and life life. My theme was living without limitations and living with perseverance in the face of challenges.
Essay 2 (significant experience): This was definitely my favorite essay, in the end, and this is the one especially that made my counselor cry. I talked about a really specific moment during an observation shift at the hospital’s oncology unit. Altogether, I talked about how beautiful it is to see these little inside jokes that help give strength to patients and about the beautiful patient/nurse interaction I’ve witnessed (i.e. I saw an old lady battle nausea for a few minutes so she could personally get up and hug all the nurses before she went to hospice). I tied this to how my reasons for becoming a pediatric oncologist changed from idealistic notions to really wanting to be the reason why my patients smile and feel strong.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: My AP Lang teacher from junior year LOVES me, and I didn’t see the rec, but I know she said a lot of good things. We’re like two peas in a pod. She had also written my rec for the internship I landed for summer 2014, so I was confident that the QB rec would be perfect.

•Teacher Rec #2: My Calc BC teacher from junior year is also my Calc 3 teacher this year and has been my seminar (homeroom) teacher since I came to my current school sophomore year. She’s been able to see me grow up and really move from being a shy person to becoming a leader in pretty much every activity I do. Again, I didn’t see the rec, but I know she spent a lot of time with it, and I was also confident that her rec would be amazing.

•Counselor Rec: I had my college/career counselor write this instead of my grade-level counselor, and she is SO amazing. I love her so much, and she’s really been able to learn about me in all the 1-on-1 meetings we had leading up to this. She helped me figure out what I want to write about and really listened to all of my various stories about growing up and things I’ve experienced in the last year, and I also showed her the final presentation I gave during my summer internship. Again, I didn’t see the rec, but I know it was glowing.

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): Colorado

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Asian

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: ~$55,000

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): dad (our only bread-winner) was unemployed for around a month this year; mom is attending college on scholarships, but it’s still adding to a boatload of debt;

Reflection
•Strengths: ESSAYS, extracurricular/community involvement, leadership positions, coursework since Freshmen year, AP exams, ACT scores, recs

•Weaknesses: SAT subject test scores, awards

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: My essays definitely glowed and reflected who I am, and I think my ability to really piece together ideas and make them flow while still showing a raw, emotional side really helped. (I actually had many of my fellow Huffington Post teen bloggers peer review/edit my essays, and they all thought it was just really raw and showed exactly who I am.) I know my recommendations couldn’t have came from better people, and I’m definitely involved in many activities and community service projects (and often lead them).

Colleges ranked: Opt-out; I’m doing regular decision

General Comments: I was worried that factors that might hurt me would be things like being towards the top of the income “ceiling” (not that QB has a set ceiling, but typically applicants are mostly up to $60,000). I also thought that the fact that my dad graduated from college here and that my mom will soon be doing the same, despite the ~$80,000 debt we’re in because of unemployment, tuition, etc., would take me out. Those were the only glaring things I thought would be weaknesses in my application (the weaknesses I wrote above didn’t necessarily feel like weaknesses than just less-strong aspects), and I spent so much time working on my application that I was pretty confident in it.

izzec28 · October 22, 2014, 5:36am

Decision: Finalist

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): 1810 (didn’t report)

•ACT: 33

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a

•AP (place score in parenthesis):AP Bio (4), AP US History (4), AP Language (4)

•Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP Government, AP Calculus AB, Photo 1, Physics Honors, Philosophy

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): College Prep Scholar, St. Julie Billiart Scholar (School award for 98th/99th HSPT percentile and above 3.7 GPA), AP Scholar, Highest Honors

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Philanthropy Council(11-12),Marketing Intern(11-12),Development Intern(12), Tech Crew for Drama Dept. (9-12), Varsity Lacrosse(9-12 Honorable Mention Award)

•Job/Work Experience: Medical Office Assistant Summer after 9th grade

•Volunteer/Community service: Los Bomberos Toy drive for 5 years now, tutoring 4hrs/wk for the rest of the year

•Summer Activities: Stanford Summer College Horizon Scholars for the last 2 summers

•Essays (rating 1-10, details):
(8 )Bio Essay, I talked about my love of reading, parents’ divorce, how I learned balance the hard way, and growing up in a rough neighborhood
(10) other essay, It was very simple, but I wrote about how my life changed when my little sister was born, she is 2, and how I changed myself because I want to be a role model for her

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Did not get to see them but I suspect
•Teacher Rec #1: 9 Religion Teacher who really knew about my situation, and wrote my rec letter for CPS

•Teacher Rec #2: 7 Spanish teacher, he was nice enough to write mine, but not sure how it went

•Counselor Rec: 9 My counselor was ecstatic when she found out I was going to apply to Questbridge

•Additional Rec:n/a

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): CA

•Country (if international applicant):

•School Type: Catholic Private

•Ethnicity:Hispanic(Mexican), Native American(Not affiliated)

•Gender: Female

•Income Bracket: ~40k

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, First generation college, single parent

Reflection
•Strengths: My second essay, which was very personal. Both essays were raw and really about who I am rather than being picked over by others, I was the only one who saw them. Probably Rec letters, but not sure.

•Weaknesses: Lack of leadership and honors

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: I believe it was because I put a lot into my essays, they were not perfect, but they were me. I shared my story and I think that is one of the most important aspects along with ambition to achieve for this program.

Colleges ranked:1. Stanford

General Comments: I am completely blessed to have been named a Finalist, but do not fret if you were not. This is just one hurdle to over come, and may help you look at your essays and whatnot. Good Luck to everyone who was named Finalist and who was not, because everyone here knows the stress of college apps.

RDTroll · October 22, 2014, 5:36am

I guarantee this profile will give hope to future applicants.

Decision: FINALIST

Objective: •SAT I (breakdown): R630 M680 W680 (Took another on October)

•ACT: N/A

•SAT II: (Planning on November)

•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8

•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 54/344 (around 15%)

•AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (5), AP World History (4), AP US History (3), AP Lang (3), AP Chem (3)

•IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

•Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP US Gov, AP Art & Design, AP Lit, Advanced Calc, Psychology, Academic Coach (Geom)

•Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Nominated for a youth award in community

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Korean School (Teacher’s assistant), City Youth Council (School Representative), City Youth Court (Juror), a local art museum (Teen Docent), school magazine club (Copy Editor). There are more of little this and that but I didn’t mention them on the app.

•Job/Work Experience: N/A

•Volunteer/Community service: I had a considerable amount of EC’s, but I couldn’t a get official statement for them. I was so worried about it. But oh well! It turned out well anyway.

•Summer Activities: Spent with my family in Korea. Didn’t do anything significant

•Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7 for my biological essay. I was aware that the essays were perhaps the most critical part of the app, but I didn’t have time to correct their horrible grammar and some silly mistakes… This was one reason I was so sure I wouldn’t get in. BUT the theme stood out for sure: it’s about how I grew to love cultural heritages of Korea–one of which was in my Grandpa’s backyard-- and how I plan to contribute to the community with my passion for unique cultures and History of Art. Used a lot of imagery there so that they could tell it was all real. Another essay was pretty solid–8 maybe. It’s about how I initiated a small campaign, sort of a protest, at my school but was confronted by my friends due to the sensitivity of its motive. It was a rather risky topic but it worked out well I guess.

•Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
•Teacher Rec #1: 6. AP Calc Teacher. He was by far my best teacher ever, but we didn’t have a very close relationship. But I counted on him.

•Teacher Rec #2: 7. This one I got from AP US History teacher. He and I talked A LOT about the rec. He basically wrote what I wanted him to write.

•Counselor Rec: We didn’t have a very close relationship either, but she seemed to believe I’m a pretty strong student.

•Additional Rec: N/A, though I’m planning to get one for College Match

Other
•State (if domestic applicant): WA, Immigrant/Permanent Resident

•Country (if international applicant): US

•School Type: Public

•Ethnicity: Korean

•Gender: F

•Income Bracket: 47,000 (Another reason I believed not to have got in)

•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): My additional comment explained that my mother, the only person with income, was sick for awhile, and that she was going to retire soon. That should have tolerated the relatively high income. Another obvious hook, though, is that I’m living by myself since I was young, separated from both of my parents in Korea. I emphasized that I am an independent person who knew how to take care of oneself. However, I’ve seen an applicant who had a far lower income and worked full time to support the family of 6… So I really don’t know my hook. The recs might have been surprisingly good. Or the fact that I was dedicated to a couple of government-run organizations might have been a plus. If they didn’t mind my horrible grammar so much, the essays should have worked to a good effect as well. In both of the essays, THERE WERE STRONG EMPHASES ON MY PRIDE TOWARD MY ETHNICITY. Oh, and the fact that I took two maths in my Freshman year (Geom and Algebra 2) and that I skipped French 3 by self studying it over the summer (no tutor) could have left a good impression as well.

Reflection
•Strengths: I thought my EC could be a strength but after looking at other applicants’… No. My essays are the only strength I can think of.

•Weaknesses: low GPA and SAT. No SAT 2’s. No outstanding leadership position really.

•Why you think you were selected/rejected: Half of it was luck. I was sure to have failed, since it’s so competitive. I’m truly, immensely glad that QuestBridge saw the value of my past years’ effort.

Colleges ranked: Northwestern, U Chicago, Bowdoin

General Comments: It was a moment of pure madness. I was jumping like a goat and screaming like a crow LOL. I was bracing myself to be heartbroken and devastated but QuestBridge instead amazed me with “Congratulations”. My profile here proves yet again that stats are not the most important part.

Congrats to all Finalists! Good luck to y’all!

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