Hello all
Before I start anything I just want to say that I am not trying to criticize the Questbridge organization for being unfair or saying that I am more qualified than anyone else who was accepted. But basically, my situation is that I was not a college Prep Scholar and personally, I don’t understand why not. I just wanted to ask if anyone else was in the same position or would maybe know more about the admissions criteria. Maybe Im being too arrogant… (but if I am please tell me NICELY)
Here are my application stats:
4.0 GPA UW
First Generation college student
Immigrant & minority
SAT-1520 (out of 1600)
PSAT-1450 (out of 1520)
APs-4s on two APS so far
SAT II- only took one and got a 730
Annual income- less than $30 K
I got my recommendation from my physics teacher who I have a pretty good relationship with
5 AP Classes (so far) and a good amount of extracurriculars (4 ish)
I had a few friends who did get in and my grades are substantially higher then theirs, we all have the same background (eg race, income). They were also nice enough to show me their essays as well since we’re pretty close. Personally, I thought my essay was pretty good but it may not have been so…
Again Im not trying to say that I should have gotten in and they shouldn’t have, I was just pretty confident with my application and wanted to know if there were any better explanations as to why I didnt.
Hi bxs2018,
I also received my results today. Sadly, I was not accepted as one of the about 3,000-4,000 CPS in a pool of 12,000 applicants. I totally understand how you feel as I feel the same way. Let’s compare our applications and try to give pieces of advice to one another. Hopefully, with the help of each other, other/previous applicants, College Prep Scholars, and the Questbridge organization, we can qualify for the College Match.
DENIED
OBJECTIVE
SAT/ACT/SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A; maybe 5-10%
AP/IB:
-IB: Not offered at my school
-AP: Taken (2), Currently Taking (2)
-AP Human Geography (5)
-AP U.S. Government & Politics (5)
-AP U.S. History (Current)
-AP Language & Composition (Current)
Academic Awards:
- Dean’s List (x3)
Questbridge Awards: None
SUBJECTIVE
Extracurricular Activities:
- Library Volunteer for Summer Reading Program (10th, 11th (Big Buddy))
- Family Restaurant (11th)
- Youth Group (11th)
-Family Responsibilities (Babysitter, translator)
Job/Work Experience:
-Sushi Aji (Summer 2016; customer service liaison)
-Family Restaurant (March 2017-current; customer service liaison, manager)
Volunteer/Community service:
- Library Volunteer for Summer Reading Program (10th, 11th (Big Buddy))
Summer Activities: Didn’t have this category in my application
Essay/Short Answer:
Essay: 7-8/10, first draft proofread by sister and submitted, about factors and challenges that contributed to my growth (talked about language barrier, financial constraint, and cultural barrier).
S/A: 8/10, very personal and specific
Awards:
-New American- 5/10
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10, by my APUSH teacher
OTHER
State: Colorado
School Type: Public, Charter
Ethnicity: Asian, Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $20,078; asset of $60,500 but in debt so no earnings
Hooks: First Generation, Asian Minority
REFLECTION:
Strengths:
-Teacher recommendation
-Demonstrated financial need
-Good academics
-Demonstrated lots of responsibilities
Weaknesses:
-Very little of distinguished awards
-Didn’t register for conference (I may not have had time) or applied to a lot of awards
-Very little extracurricular (I didn’t mention school activities, such as NHS (I didn’t because it was recent and made me seem not committed as I don’t have hours every week)
-Didn’t take advantage of my school’s extracurricular (I don’t participate in sports because I can’t afford it; I was not aware of clubs)
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
-I think I got rejected because of my commitment to this program. I didn’t complete many of the conference and awards sections because I either couldn’t attend or ran out of time to complete (I had a week to finish because of my parent’s restaurant, which opened that month, and the school work)
What other Scholarships will you be applying for?
-IDK, recommendations? I’m looking at something called the Daniels Fund Scholarship. I hope to reapply to CMS.
Nice to meet you!
Hi kchen0514!
Well I’m glad I’m not the only one, but personally I have to say I think your application looks loads better than mine.
Heres a few more stats
Im currently taking AP Physics, APUSH, and AP Literature, tooks AP World History and AP Chemistry.
I didn’t spend as much time proofreading and editing my essay, it actually got deleted the first time I wrote it and didn’t save so I rewrote it…
Extracurriculars: Debate team, Science Olympiad, tutoring job, research volunteer, community service. I don’t do any sports and didn’t put NHS either, I was actually planning on applying next year after all the standardized testing was over. As for awards, I applied to almost all of the Questbridge ones but don’t have any from school.
I’m thinking my biggest weakness may have been my essay and short answers, I didn’t get people to proofread them or anything and I wrote it all in one sitting, didn’t rewrite anything. My essay was more about the environment in which I grew up in grade school years (I spend a lot of time at the library) and maybe not enough about challenges.
I’m not really sure what scholarships you’re referring to? College scholarships are next year for me, but I have applied to another research opportunity as well as a hospital volunteering program over the summer, hoping to get those.
For the QB Awards, the decisions for those are separate from the Prep Scholars I believe and they’re released late June, so maybe theres hope for those?
I have to say I really don’t see anything wrong with either application, I’m not sure if the amount of awards we fill out affect the decisions… I think it’s definitely a very confusing criteria.
Hi bxs2018,
It nice to hear your comments and advice. The criteria for Prep Scholar is definitely confusing, but I hope the QB Awards are still applicable and separate from this application. Hopefully, both of us can qualify for these awards. Anyways, I noticed a trend. Certainly, the essays and short answer played a role; however, I think one of our major weaknesses is our awards. Are you sure you didn’t even qualify for any state or national level awards? I certainly didn’t, but I do have school awards for my good grades, which you must also have. I probably had the same problem as you in my essay. I spent a lot of time recounting my earlier years and not so much on the past few years. I did talk about challenges but they might not have been as descriptive and given the full effect as an appeal to emotion. What do you think?
Hi all! I am a parent of a 2016 QB Scholar (did not apply to CPS and did not match to any school) who attends Washington and Lee and I am also the parent of a 2017 CPS scholar.
I am here to tell you all the this is all a crap shoot! You all have a fantastic high school careers. Some may be better than others, however, when you are all dealing with highly intelligent children then you have to start looking for other reasons to accept/deny. If you are all ‘A’ (ish) students now what? It’s a crap shoot! My advice is to apply to as many schools as you can and accept the school that provides the most $ so you graduate with the least amount of debt,
QB is wonderful but my children will never match as you need a $0 efc (we are low but not $0). However, they both applied for match and submitted (what felt like) a million applications. By following the QB match deadlines - they were able to get teacher recommendations early and be done with CA and all the additional essays that needed to be completed!
DO NOT LET THIS LITTLE BUMP THROW YOU OFF COURSE! You are smart children and need to push through these obstacles!
Whether or not my son becomes a NCM finalist is not important - I know he will end up at the college he belongs at! And so will you!!!
Hi MeddlingMotherOY,
Congratulations! It is awesome that your children qualified for CPS and one of them goes to such a great college/university. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I don’t think QB matches students based on $0 EFC. I didn’t even qualify for CPS despite my academics and EFC of $0. CPS was already a detrimental blow to me. Seems to me that academics and finance has little to do with their program. I will reapply to NCM, but the chances of getting in seem even lower than the CPS qualification plus I am not even a CPS. Clearly, I am at a disadvantage. Additionally, I have researched colleges/universities. Most of the colleges expect me to pay at least $4000 and above. My counselor also is not super great. She continually tells me colleges/universities I can’t go to and reminds me that my finance is too low. Anyways, I hope I will find a good opportunity even if QB and my counselor aren’t there to support me. Goodo luck to your son!
@kchen0514 When I referenced the $0 efc that was in regards to the QB NCM only. There are a lot of threads regarding this. I think you have great stats and def would encourage you to apply to many schools! The schools with the most endowments have the most to give away! So the most expensive schools are also the cheapest once you factor in their scholarships and grants. Look into schools that meet 100% of financial need - that will make it easier! Don’t give up and keep studying!
Hello!
MeddlingMotherOY, thank you for your advice. Hopefully this doesn’t affect our chances in NCM or applying to colleges, I’m glad your children see it that way and hope they do well too.
Kchen0514, I don’t think we are at a disadvantage for NCM (at least I hope we’re not) but I think overall these programs just have a very specific set of criteria, so please don’t put down your accomplishments.
(If anyone else does have more info about the overall QB criteria or experience then please let us know.)
Again, I don’t mean to sound mean but I know many people who may or may not be less qualified applicants and did end up getting in, so we never know what the criteria are for these programs or for college applications. I am working on gaining access to a few college prep programs that review the application process and tests for you and I think that would be helpful as well, it is similar to questbridge but not as competitive. I believe you get offered assistance instead of applying to it based on your test scores.
@kchen0514 Also - I just re-read that you believe that $4000 would be the amount per year you would need to pay. That would be amazing if you graduated with a total debt of only $16,000 (instead of >$200,000!)
@bxs2018 I don’t believe that your chances are lowered by not getting CPS. I think you have a great attitude towards this horrible process! You will make it through and end up exactly where you belong!!
QB is wonderful for a lot of reasons - but mostly because it prepares you (in advance of your school friends) to apply to college. It also hones your writing skills (by writing a million different essays), it connects you with like-minded peers that you will remain in contact with for years to come, and it allows you to go through it all with support.
Since the majority of QB applicants are qualified - finding winners is tough. If everyone is good then how do they choose? This is a question as old as time and has not yet been answered! It’s a crap shoot (I think). My suggestion to anyone who will listen is… apply, apply, apply! Apply to lots of schools and lots of scholarships! You won’t get them all but 1 is better than none!! Good Luck!!!
Hello! I am a Scholar, and my stats (which are lower than the OPs) are currently buried somewhere in the back of the CPS applicant thread. I can’t say exactly why I got in for sure, and I didn’t write any of the extra essays either, but I think my strengths were in my dedication to the community, and academic perseverance amidst daily psychological hardships at home. I met one girl on the Facebook group who spoke almost broken English, and many people have lower stats than me. I feel like the College Prep Scholars program isn’t really an awards assembly for those who deserve the most commendation, but rather a program that aims to help people who aren’t too sure how to go about the application process and would have weaker looking stats if the Additional Info sections are not considered. Through CPS, QB gives essay help and tips for going about the application, so I’m assuming they’re seeking out those who may have unrealized potential.
National College Match is where it counts, and even then, I’m sure you have a stunning application that’ll be perfect for regular decision. The Ivies wouldn’t charge your parents money if you got in (though you’d have to contribute through work study), and many elite privates I’ve looked at also have generous need-based aid policies.
You’ll be okay! Good luck.
OP you have a great profile. I agree with above comments and especially meddlingmom’s post. Every year QB gets more competitive and maybe you were just at the edge. Unfortunately you will never know why you were not selected this time around – I wouldn;t spend too much time worrying about it.
This said, if you DID realize some weakness (I didn’t pick up on any from your description) it is a good thing to do so NOW. Can you show your essays to someone, just in case? Because your profile looks really impressive.
You have time to apply to some fly-ins and test out your admissions chances. As a low income student with high stats whi is first gen and URM, you are eligible for quite a few fly-ins. You could still try for Match and any other programs. In a year this will be a faded memory, you have a long road ahead of you and to echo previous posts, this is only a bump in the road.