QB National College Match or Stanford REA?

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
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<p>You CAN apply REA if you don’t rank any schools for the Match.
Lots of applicants seem confused about this-here’s a quote and link to the QB ED page:</p>

<p>“Please note that students who apply to the College Match but do <em>not</em> rank colleges, or who are not selected as finalists, are not subject to any agreements with QuestBridge and are free to apply to any colleges for early or regular decision. Finalist notification is on October 22, 2013.”</p>

<p>[Early</a> Application Policy](<a href=“QuestBridge”>QuestBridge)</p>

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<p>I guess I got confused by the chart under the Stanford page: [App</a> Requirements](<a href=“QuestBridge”>QuestBridge)
There was nothing under finalists who do not rank, so it made it seem that if I do become a finalist without ranking I would have to apply RD. </p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

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<p>I agree, that blanket statement is confusing, but they do make it (a little) clearer on the Stanford FAQ page:</p>

<p>*If you are a QuestBridge Finalist and would like to participate in the Match Process you cannot apply Restrictive Early Action. However, if you decide not to participate in the Match Process and formally withdraw your Match application through QuestBridge, you can submit a Restrictive Early Action application by November 1.</p>

<p>[url=&lt;a href=“QuestBridge”&gt;QuestBridge]FAQ[/url</a>]</p>

<p>You can always send QB an email if you want to double check - they’re good about getting back to you!</p>

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<p>your chances of getting into stanford are not higher by applying to SCEA instead of RD</p>

<p>most of the SCEA has the recruited athletes and legacy students who have a much higher chance of getting in, hence the inflated acceptance rate (which is still super low)</p>

<p>why is stanford your first choice? are your stats realistic to even consider it? if you want numbers, around 150 students get into Stanford each year through either Match or RD. Around 3000 finalists apply, either through Match or RD. Stanford is a reach for every applicant. As the number of applicants increases, Stanford becomes even more difficult to get into, both through SCEA or match or RD.</p>

<p>the match process is a full ride to one of the 35 best schools in the country. You can apply early to 8 schools. And you can’t be rejected. If you get matched, you are assured a full ride, if you don’t, you still get a second or even third chance through ED or EA at many schools and RD at all schools. Expand your options based on realistic expectations and interests.</p>

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<p>So are you saying that I have a higher chance of being matched?
Stanford is my first choice because it has the best balance of academics and athletics for me. I am not a recruited athlete because I want to work more on my skills and I have talked to a coach. And yes, my stats are “realistic”.
Why would you consider Stanford a reach for every applicant?</p>

<p>My options have been expanded and due to Stanford being my 1st choice, I want to assure that I have the best chances of getting in. My sights are not only set on Stanford, I have considered many other schools. I will be disappointed if I don’t get into Stanford, but it will not be the end of the world for me.</p>

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<p>Well, what I’m suggesting is that even though Single Choice EA may seem on first glance to have a higher acceptance rate, because of recruited athletes and legacy students, the acceptance rate for other folks is pretty much the same as it would be in regular decision. So why not just do Match, hope for the best, and if you don’t get it do Regular Decision?</p>

<p>With SCEA you can be rejected, with Match, you can not.</p>

<p>Okay, Stanford is your first choice. Great. And you have stats that won’t hurt you compared to the rest of the pool. So Stanford is a realistic option. Just two tests to make sure you’re using the most of the process. </p>

<p>Stanford is a reach for every applicant because it is the most selective university in the country (last year acceptance rate: 5.69%). It’s especially tough to get into for students who are not legacies, recruited athletes, or underrepresented minority students. Even having perfect SAT scores, dazzling extracurriculars, and being named first in your class would only give you around a 15% admit rate. You can see some results here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1425488-official-stanford-2017-scea-results-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/stanford-university/1425488-official-stanford-2017-scea-results-thread.html&lt;/a&gt; There is no rhyme or reason to who gets accepted or rejected. That’s why anyone who is prepared to apply to Stanford should prepare for rejection and have a suitable number of alternatives.</p>

<p>QuestBridge applicants fare just as selectively in the Stanford pool because their test scores are not as high. Of 4500 finalists last year, of which the majority do apply to Stanford, only 150 get in through either Match or RD, a rate similar to the combined rate when you factor out those who get matched to a binding or don’t apply to Stanford. So QuestBridge isn’t really a boost, if you want one. Honestly, there isn’t any real boost for Stanford, whether you use QuestBridge or you do SCEA. </p>

<p>You stated that you are considering other schools. Which schools? Are they QuestBridge partners? Would you be fine in ranking them for national match and being binded to them with a full ride? If yes, then do Match, ranking Stanford 1st. If no, do either Match with the non-bindings, or SCEA to Stanford.</p>

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<p>I guess I’ll do Match then…
I like Vanderbilt, USC, Duke, Princeton
I was originally planning on only ranking Stanford. I wouldn’t want to be binded to them though.</p>

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<p>Stanford isn’t binding. Neither are Princeton, MIT, or Yale. I’m sorry, I should have made that point clear.</p>

<p>Duke isn’t a partner school; vanderbilt and USC are binding</p>

<p>If you’re doing Match and you have any empty spaces, you might as well also rank these schools. Depends on how much time you have though because they require supplements.</p>

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<p>Yea, I know about the schools that aren’t binding. I’m just sticking to Stanford for now.</p>

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<p>Oh, so you’re saying you’re ranking just Stanford for match? Because I wouldn’t advise it, if you are.</p>

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<p>That’s what I was planning on doing. Why wouldn’t you advise it? I originally wanted to only match Stanford, then I changed my mind and decided to apply REA. Then I changed my mind again and wanted to do match.</p>

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<p>The match rate is super low. Only 20-30 students are matched, and if I had to guess, I’d say some three thousand or so rank Stanford. That’s pretty much a 1% acceptance rate. And I don’t think it’d be higher than 2% (what it was in my year, ie. 2 years ago)</p>

<p>REA is easier to get into than Match. If you were thinking about ranking other schools beside Stanford, I’d recommend Match, but if Stanford is the only school you’re thinking about ranking then you should do REA.</p>

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<p>Yep, that’s what I figured. Now that Stanford is even more popular, they’re going to receive many more applications. I’d rather take a chance through REA because I’ll be getting a nice financial package anyway.</p>