I just got an email being invited to Questbridge’s national college match. I’m fairly new to all of this, and all I’m getting so far is that if* I won, I would get a full ride to whichever college chooses to accept me first off my list of 8. Is there any other real benefit to QuestBridge? Does it make your application stand out or improve your chances? There’s only 30 places partnered with it and I don’t see the advantage of limiting yourself to these 30 to choose from. Am I missing or misunderstanding something?
There is a dedicated forum for Questbridge.
Yes it makes your application stand out because
-you have an extra award to list for all coeges
-the partner colleges will see the detailed QB application that explores your background in more depth than regular apps
Being a Finalist doesn’t mean you ‘win’. You have to apply to the College Match and be selected. Only about 5% are. But you do not have to do the match if you are a finalist. It is just an advantage of essentially getting to have 8 ranked ED schools.
QB does not prevent you from applying to any other non partner RD. You can still choose not to try for a Match and just apply EA and RD as usual and even ED. Most students are not matched and they go on to RD rounds at partners and other colleges. Sometimes the non matched schools will send a student essentially a likely letter inviting them to the ED/EA pool, letting them get a decision and package that may be full need aid, just not the QB package
There is a separate forum here for Questbridge questions and discussion. And of course go to the source and read the QB website.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/
My choices (not including safeties) are Duke, Vanderbilt, Rice, Wash U, Emory, UNC-Chapel Hill. I know some of those aren’t on the partner list. So would I be allowed to apply QB and include the partners on my list to hopefully be matched, and still use the common app to apply to the other non-partners? I was planning on applying to Duke ED since that’s my #1 choice so that’s what’s throwing me off. Should I apply with QB then? @BrownParent
Match is binding. You can’t ED somewhere if you are doing the match, only RD.
The answer to your question at #3 is yes.
Many of the schools on the list will not give you a full ride if it’s not through QB and none of them will cover your transportation without QB. That’s the advantage. There are plenty of schools to choose from and a vast variety to fit the needs of any student.
@CaliCash - I just wanted to clarify something that you posted. Most of the partner schools do not give you a full ride if you are matched. For most of the schools, you will still have work study and a summer contribution. In addition to that you will have to purchase health insurance if your parent’s policy doesn’t cover you.
To see what you will have to contribute for any given school, go to the Partner Colleges tab on the QB website, click on a school that interests you, then click on the Financial Aid tab. This will give you a very clear idea of what you will have to contribute annually for your education at any given school. For most of the schools, if you are not matched but are accepted during the RD round, your financial aid package will be almost identical to the FA package that you would have received during the match process.
Ah yes and an exception to the binding match is that 4 schools only consider it an EA agreement so you can still apply RD elsewhere. Those 4 are MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.
http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/early-application-policy
Spend some time reading the QB website before you come to a decision
http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/early-application-policy
Oh I see. I think I’ll refrain from QB then, since Duke my #1 choice to apply/attend unless my mind suddenly changes, I’ll just apply ED there
Up to you. But remember, you do not HAVE to do the match to do Questbridge. It can also help you with your RD schools, and you have to sort of assume your are not going to get into Duke ED, for your planning.