Hi. Are there any obligations or binding rules for the students such as: are the students prohibited from applying to ANY colleges as soon as they apply to Questbridge College Prep Scholars Program for Juniors?
Or is it only after being selected as a Finalist then they will be prohibited from applying to any colleges?
Or is it only after they rank the colleges?
prohibited from applying to ANY colleges as soon as they apply to Questbridge College Prep Scholars?
I don’t think there are any prohibitions at all for the College Prep Scholars program because it’s not supposed to be a substitution for a college application. However, the senior program, National College Match, does have certain bindings for applying to college. You may be getting the two programs mixed up.
@christ2000 - as @sriroo stated, the College Prep Scholars is separate from the National College Match for seniors.
This is going back to 2013 when my son applied, but I don’t think it has changed much since then.
- You apply.
- You are either selected as a finalist or not. If you are not selected as a finalist, you can apply to any school you want SCEA, REA, ED etc... You are limited only in terms of the schools restrictions. 3 You are selected as a finalist. You have two choices, you can either rank colleges or not rank colleges. If you choose not to rank colleges, you can apply to the college(s) of your choice, using the CommonApp or whatever app the university to which you are applying uses. For example, you are a finalist, don't rank colleges for the match process and apply to Harvard SCEA. This is totally fine. You would just list that you are a QB finalist on the CommonApp.
If you choose to rank colleges, you submit your list and all the additional essays and forms required by the schools that you ranked. Do as much of this in the summer as possible. The time between nominated as a finalist and submitting all your applications is very short. DO NOT wait until you are named as a finalist to try and finish all the essays etc… Each school has a list of what tests, documents, etc… they require. Familiarize yourself with the requirements. If you rank schools that are non-binding and are matched you may continue to the RD round and apply to as many schools as you want. For example, you rank Yale, Stanford, Princeton & MIT (in that order) and you get matched to Stanford, you are not obligated to attend Stanford. You may to continue to apply to as many schools RD as you want and make your decision in April. However, if you rank binding schools and are matched, you must attend that university. For example, you rank Yale, Princeton, Rice, Emory, and Pomona and are matched to Rice. You must attend Rice and withdraw all your other applications. You are finished with your college app process. Relax and enjoy the rest of your senior year! 
Other notes:
I believe all the deadlines are listed on the QB website. Make sure you don’t miss them. Have your parent(s)/guardian(s) tax information ready. Many schools will require the CSS profile. This is a much more in-depth form than FAFSA. If you have a non-custodial parent, he/she will have to submit their financial information. There are exceptions. However, you must be able to document that you have had no contact with your NCP and that he/she does not provide support to your family.
Make sure to ask your teachers for recommendations this spring. You want them to have time to write a great recommendation over the summer.
Just an FYI for anyone reading this.
My son was not named as a finalist. Even though he was not named as a finalist, he was contacted by multiple schools who waived the application fee and asked him to submit his application. Not being a finalist is not the end of the process. My son revised the Common App to remove the QB designation, applied SCEA to Yale and is graduating in May.
Thanks @momofmusician17 and early congratulations to your son!
Question re: the multiple schools that contacted him after not being named a finalist. Did a Yale AO review his app and send him an email hinting him to apply? What benefit is there in removing the QB designation?
Thanks!
@romns116 No, the Yale AO did not directly contact my son. Yale was his first choice even before he heard about QB. Back when my son applied, Yale didn’t accept your QB app even if you were a finalist. As my son was not selected as a finalist, he just went into the CommonApp and removed any reference to QB prior to applying EA. I believe Yale allows finalists to use their QB apps now. My son had to remove the QB designation because he wasn’t a finalist. If you are a finalist, you definitely want to keep that as part of your application.
All QB partners have access to your information. My son was contacted by almost all the partner schools asking him to apply. For example, Rice sent him an e-mail saying that they had his app and all he needed to do was fill out a one page form and fax it in and they would consider his application. I just wanted to let current juniors know that not being selected as a finalist doesn’t mean that it is over. My son is living proof of that.
Please excuse any typos. I am typing on my iPad.
This is very helpful! Thanks again @momofmusician17
You are most welcome!!