***Official Questbridge Finalist Thread 2011-2012***

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

<p>This is a thread for all the Questbridge Finalists to post their stats, and the universities they plan to apply to, or listed in their college match rankings as of the school year 2011-2012</p>

<p>Finalist :
Not Finalist:</p>

<p>College Match Rankings or Regular Decision:</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT:
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays:
Teacher Recommendation:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Universities Ranked, or Universities you plan to apply to:
General Comments:</p>

2

<p>S has been accepted as a finalist! Yeah!</p>

3

<p>Accepted with a 3.8 weighted GPA and a 2170 (now 2280) on the SAT…miracles do happen</p>

4

<p>Finalist!</p>

<p>ACT 30 (31 Super score)
SAT II 670, 700, 730</p>

<p>3.9/ 4.8 Weighted GPA
top 2% in class of 1200+
13 AP classes and 2 dual credit</p>

<p>Top 10 at Business Professionals of America National; also state champ.
NHS, NTHS, BPA, Key Club, Band, Web Design (no major leadership roles)
Work 30hr/week</p>

<p>First generation Asian
Midwest</p>

<p>Weakness: test scores :/.</p>

5

<p>Finalist!!!</p>

<p>Objectives:
Rank: 1/602
SAT:2190
SAT2: MathII(790) Physics(720) US History(760)
2 AP tests taken so far, currently taking 4
Various extracurriculars and volunteer work
No job
Strengths: essays
Weakness: probably a bit weak in ECs, but I love what I do, so it balances lol</p>

6

<p>Objectives:
Rank: 1/663 UW 8/663 W
SAT:2050
SAT2: MathII(770) Physics(740)
8 AP tests (5,5,5,5,5,4,3,3), currently taking 2 more AP
Good EC
No job</p>

7

<p>ha ha ha, I’m a finalist too, and my stats don’t even compare.</p>

8

<p>Finalist</p>

<p>College Match Rankings or Regular Decision:
Stanford
Pomona
Brown
Yale
USC</p>

<p>Objective: What?
SAT I: March 2011 (670CR 680M 570W) October 2011 (670CR 800M 700W)
SAT II: Math II(700) Physics(690) US History(620)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/714
AP (place score in parenthesis): World Hist(5) Physics(4) Eng Lang(3) US Hist(3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, Calc, Gov, Microecon, Stat & Honors Chem
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a
Subjective: What?
Volunteer/Community service:
Library Assistant
Fundraiser/Organizer for low-income families
Tutor
Summer Activities:
Weightlifting
Tennis
Wrestling
Essays: Excellent according to a final from last year
Teacher Recommendation: Excellent
Counselor Rec: Excellent</p>

<p>Other
State: California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: East Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$40,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 1st Gen</p>

<p>Strengths: Academics
Weaknesses: Extra Curriculars</p>

9

<p>I’ll be nice. I want to look at other people’s profiles but no one ever posts. I’ll post mine in hopes that others will follow
Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Just got my scores yesterday, 2130 or something. I was on 3 hrs of sleep though because I was doing the QB app and other stuff. Didn’t even know what the test was structured like and don’t plan on reporting.
[</em>] SAT I superscore (breakdown): NA
[<em>] ACT (breakdown): 34. 34 E, 34 M, 32 R, 35 S (2 hrs of “prep” total, yeaaa buddy)
[</em>] ACT superscore (breakdown): 35, 34 E, 35 M, 34 R, 35 S
[<em>] SAT II: math II: 800, U.S. history 750(forgot to answer 8 questions) chem. 730
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[<em>] Weighted GPA: 4.56 (#1 has ~ 4.65)
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/760
[<em>] AP (place score in parentheses): AP U.S (5). AP Eng Lang (5), AP Psych (4), AP Spanish (4), AP chem (4), AP calc BC (5) subscore (5), AP Euro (5).
[</em>] IB (place score in parentheses):
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus (college), AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Stats, AP Eng Lit, (graduation rqs- consumer ed, gym, ceramics) Office Aide, AP Bio Lab Aide
[</em>] Number of other EA applicants in your school: don’t know
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/ul] Questbridge college prep award, AP Scholar with Distinction, IHSA athletic/scholastic achievement, QB FINALIST! </p>[/li]
<p>Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Math team 9-present, won awards in regionals/state competitions(no leadership positions available), Scholatic Bowl 3 years, Key Club 3 years (President), Track 9,11, Volleyball 9,11. 29-0 JV 2011 season,
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Intern (project management, web designing), Kumon Math and Reading Center (Summer 2011 – present)
[li] Volunteer/Community service:[/ul] Local Mosque, through Key Club, Tutoring, Tzu Chi Bhuddist Organization, other seasonal volunteer opportunities, family responsibilities (15-20 hrs a week) </p>[/li]
<p>Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): IL
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Pakistani)
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: <50,0000
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/ul] Immigrant, moved here in 5th grade. Family of 9, rent home, tough economic situation. </p>

<p>Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: good test scores, Rigorous course load (only kid at my school with this many APs) , tough economic situation
[</em>] Weaknesses: Some B’s, nothing extraordinary in EC I guess
[li] What would you have done differently?:[/ul]<br>[/li]Questbridge Essays for National College Match:
1st one an narration of my life. Starts with me in Pakistan and then chronologically describes the hardships I’ve faced, but there is humor and the overall tone is positive. Has an overall theme though, so it’s pretty solid.
2nd is about discrimination with some humorous anecdotal evidence
3rd starts with a descriptive day during summer, which transitions into my family responsibilities, which are around 20 hrs/ week
Recommendations
AP Bio, Ap Eng Lang, Ap U.S</p>

10

<p>Guys, we’ve all been selected as finalists – and obviously, we should all be proud of ourselves…but I’m not sure if posting your SAT scores and extra curricular activities is the best, most professional, most polite way to go about things. Sure, I could talk about my GPA and the UVa courses I’ve taken as a high school student…but I won’t be I respect other people. By the way, I think College Confidential and other college stat sites like this are horrible – and I only created an account, so I could post this. Congrats, everyone.</p>

11

<p>Finalist.</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2340 - 760 CR, 790 M, 790 W
[</em>] SAT I superscore (breakdown): 2350 - 760 CR, 800 M, 790 W
[<em>] ACT: Haven’t taken yet.
[</em>] SAT II: 800 Bio M, 790 Math IIC, 790 Chem, 780 U.S. History
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
[</em>] Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.94
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/598
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), Calculus BC (5), English Language and Composition (5), Comparative Government and Politics (5, self-study), Chemistry (5), U.S. History (5), Psychology (5), European History (4)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Statistics, AP English Literature, AP Economics/US Government and Politics, AP Music Theory, Physiology Honors
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, National AP Scholar, some regional awards for Science Olympiad</p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): On app: Tutoring, MUN, Science Olympiad, Hospital Volunteering. Others: Math Club, Research at local university, NHS
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: None.
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital volunteering ~200 hours
[</em>] Summer Activities: Class at a university, hung out with friends, worked out
[<em>] Essays: Somewhat unique essay topics and well-written. Don’t think they were amazing though, and they didn’t go through much revision.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Physics and Biology teachers. Probably decent but not amazing.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Doesn’t know me very well, but seemed enthusiastic about writing it.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): CA
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity: East Asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: <$20,000
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Test scores, possibly essays.
[</em>] Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, no awards.
[<em>] Schools Ranking: Yale, Stanford
[</em>] Other Schools Applying to: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, Harvard, University of Chicago, Dartmouth, Duke, Pomona, Williams, Davidson, Columbia, UPenn, Rice
[/ul]General Comments: It’ll be extremely competitive, but I hope I get matched.</p>

12

<p>Finalist!!</p>

<p>College Match Rankings:</p>

<p>Stanford, Yale, MIT, Princeton (all of the non-binding ones)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (760 M, 700 R, 680 W)
ACT: 34 (35 E, 34 M, 34 R, 32 S, 31 combined)
SAT II: 760 Chemistry, 750 Math II, 690 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Weighted GPA: 5.0222
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24/589
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), World History (5), US GovPol (4), Spanish Language (3), Chemistry (3), Environmental Science (4), US History (3), English Language (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Env. Systems (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Literature, IB Twentieth Century Topics, AP Psychology, IB English, IB Theory of Knowledge, AP Physics C, IB Further Math
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction; Commended for PSAT (211)</p>

<p>Subjective: IB Diploma Candidate
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Teacher of a language class; Research at a local university in materials science; ScienceDays, it’s a service club that teaches science to local elementary school students (treasurer), National Honor Society, Taekwon Do (black belt and technical director, won a few tournaments)
^these were only the ones I listed
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: NHS, ScienceDays, Youth Group
Summer Activities: Research
Essays: One was about inherent curiosity being a driving force in my education, one was about my research, and the last was about diversity at my school and how I can add that element to a college campus.</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: One was most likely excellent while the other was probably good also.
Counselor Rec: I don’t know my counselor too well, but during my interview with her, I think I made a really good impression.
Additional Rec:
Interview:</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): NC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Reflection
Strengths: Essays and short answers talked a lot about my love of learning.
Weaknesses: GPA, ECs
Universities Ranked, or Universities you plan to apply to: (stated above)
General Comments: Good luck to everyone with the National College Match!!</p>

13

<p>Finalist.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1800- 580CR, 670 M, 550W
ACT: 32 - 28 English, 36 Reading, 33 Math, 29 Science
SAT II: 700 Math I, 730 Math II, 600 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 37/670
AP (place score in parenthesis): US History (5), Computer Science (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics B, AP Calc BC, AP Macroeconomics, French 3 Honors, Shakespeare, Myths and Legends, Psychology, East Asian Studies
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Science Olympiad, BCIS</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad, GSA, Robotics, Economics Team
Job/Work Experience: 24 hours on average every weekend.
Summer Activities: Worked and Summer School for Precalculus Honors
Essays: OK essays in my opinion. Not the best writer.
Teacher Recommendation: English and Earth Science Teachers. Amazing essays I bet.
Counselor Rec: I LOVE HER! Best counselor ever and she even let me read the essay because she wanted it to be perfect <3</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Mexican
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$20,000</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Work Experience, GPA?
Weaknesses: Community Service, Awards?
Schools Ranking: UPenn
Other Schools Applying to: Carnegie Mellon, RIT, John Hopkins, …
General Comments: So…much…competition! :O</p>

14

<p>Finalist!</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800CR/720M/780W
SAT II: 790 Lit, 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81
AP: AP Studio Art (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Calc AB, AP Psych, IB English, IB History, Honors French V, and an art class because I’m an art major
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastic Gold Key, Scholastic Honorable Mention, National Merit Commended Student</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Art Honor Society (Vice President), Yearbook (Editor/Senior Editor), National Honor Society (Peer Tutor/Freshmen Mentor), French Honor Society, Art Director for multiple clubs, Percussionist for school orchestra, etc.
Job/Work Experience: Unpaid intern for a design studio; unpaid graphic designer for an online magazine
Volunteer/Community service: +200 hours at non-profit art school & Korean community center
Summer Activities: MICA Pre-College Program; Government-sponsored program to Korea (among ~300 internationally to be chosen)
Essays: I personally thought they were written pretty well, although I suppose I’m biased on this haha
Teacher Recommendations: Both of the teachers weren’t that close to me but they did like me so I’m assuming they came out decently well.
Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good as well.</p>

<p>Other:
State: NJ
School Type: Competitive magnet public school
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~$30,000 from unemployment benefits
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-generation American & college student</p>

<p>Universities Ranked, or Universities you plan to apply to: I ranked Brown and I’m REALLY hoping to get matched there. If not, then I plan to do RD to other QB schools like Wesleyan, Yale, Amherst, UPenn, etc. and other schools like WUSTL, UMich, and such.</p>

15

<p>Finalist!!</p>

<p>QB Regular Decision: Stanford, MIT, Caltech, Rice, USC</p>

<p>Objective things:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100
ACT: taking in december
SAT II: Physics 690 (retaking november along w/ math IIc)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/522 (ouch i know)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 10th grade: Euro (3). 11th grade: Physics B (4), Eng. Language (4), USH (4), Calc. BC (4), World Hist (self study) (5), Environmental Sci (self study) (5), Comp. Sci (failed) :frowning:
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psychology, Jazz Ensemble, AP Literature, AP Chemistry, Tutoring period, AP Microecon, AP Physics C E&M (online), AP Biology (ind. study w/ grade), AP Stats (Ind. Study w/ grade)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Boy’s State, numerous wrestling awards</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Wrestling for 7 years, Marching band alto sax section leader, jazz band 1st chair (ensemble invited to play at Carnegie Hall during spring), Eco Club President, Science National Honor Society President, NHS Treasurer (always win award for most service hours), Pre-Law attorney (pretty much debate team), web page design and phone app programming as hobbies.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: I mow lawns every weekend to pay for my schooling and save for college.
Volunteer/Community service: Spanish Translator on Khan Academy, NHS, tutoring
Summer Activities: Boy’s State, Comic Con, translating, online classes, mowing lawns,
Essays: Qb essays were decent because they showed my voice. One was typed two hours before the app was due, but somehow turned out okay.
Teacher Recommendations: Okay I guess. They both procrastinated -_-
Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White/Vietnamese
Gender: XY
Income Bracket: last year < 60000 but my dad got a huge paycut this year. I explained my situation well.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none whatsoever</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Upward trend, 3.2 freshman year to 5.0 w junior year. Moderate amount of leadership. Perhaps essays.</p>

<p>Weaknesses: Scores, overall GPA. Hardly any science activities to back up my aspiration of becoming an engineer. My rank would be much better if my freshman year didn’t exist. Also, my scores are low in general. It is very ironic that the AP tests I self studied for have higher scores than the ones where I actually took the class AND studied. Oh well…</p>

<p>Universities you plan to apply to: in addition to the QB schools at the top, I’m applying to Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, CMU, UCLA, UCSD, Cal Poly Slo</p>

<p>General Comments: I was not expecting to get selected as a finalist. I think the key is explaining your situation well and showing that you are determined to succeed. YAY!! =D</p>

16

<p>Finalist! 3.3UW & 1610 SAT’s! Numbers aren’t everything guys!</p>

17

<p>Finalist :smiley:
3.97 UW
Rank 2/400
1880 SAT
730 Physics 740 Math II
Taken 9 AP tests
<$50,000 Income
Senior Year Course Load: 6 Electives, College Calculus class in HS, Senior Eng, AP Physics C, Gov.</p>

<p>Strengths: Academics, Extra Curriculars
Weaknesses: Test Scores
Hooks: Been on national TV twice</p>

18

<p>Finalist!
3.75UW
4.43W
Rank 5/663
2050 SAT 780CR, 620M, 650W
31 ACT
700 Bio E, 720 Lit
1 AP test (US History: 5)
State: AZ
Income: 65,000 → 69,000
Other Stuff: Born in Nigeria, moved a lot…</p>

<p>Btw this is just to assure future applicants that you do not have to have perfect stats or an income less than 60,000 to get this…</p>

19

<p>Not going to go in order, but my D: 1400/2050 SAT’s, 32 ACT, White, small private catholic school (on scholarship). EC’s: The usual sports and activities, (NHS etc.) Not applying to HPY or MIT/Stanford/CalTech-looking more for Wellesley, Penn (reach) UVa and W&Lee. Work: Yes. Weakness: Not much Leadership-e.g. captain, student officer etc. Never been elected to anything. Oh, and 10AP’s , 4.0UW, 4.7 W top 5%.</p>

<p>PS: Do you ever think that Adcoms get sick of seeing all these stupid stats? I know I do…just sayin’…</p>

20

<p>Finalist, although not expected!
College Match, ranking Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Notre Dame, Standford, Emory, Scripps, uPenn. its not in order though.
SAT- 1850- 610 math, 670 reading, 590 writing.
only took one sat so far, and i totally wung it without any prep, which i am so regretting right now -.-
SAT II- also did not study. what can i say…im an extreme procrastinator! 630 U.S history, 630 Bio, 570 Math -_-
AP - U.S History (4) English Language and Comp (4) plan to take a whole bunch this year too
IB- NA
Rank- 16/603
GPA - 96.6something weighted</p>

<p>State- nj
Income - below 35000
Ethnicity- North African
Sports - varsity fencing , four years. soccer, one year. track, 3 years.
Jobs- Currently a cashier, work 25-35 hours a week. Tutored math at elementary schools, administrate a weekly youth group for four years.
published genetic c research done at rutgers university through the national center for biotech information
really good recs, especially from guidance counselor. the teacher who i worked with for the scientific research also wrote a rec. letter
first person in family to even go to highschool.</p>

<p>weaknesses: DEF. my standardized test scores. ughghghgh. this is what i get for not studying!!
strengths- EC, essays, recs, and i really did spend a lot of time making sure that my household situation was clearly explained, and my personality.</p>