I would like to apply to Questbridge, but my income (family of 5 with 100k) is way above the income their finalist typically come from (family of 4 with 65k). I googled other people’s take on this who were in a similar situation and some were told to still apply because QB says there is no set cut off. I just don’t want to work on the QB essays and application when I don’t have a clear shot, and could be using that time to work on my app essays that aren’t part of QB.
And even if I were to become a finalist, by miracle, the chances of getting matched are slim.
What do you think? Is it worth to do QB in my situation?
The median income for a family of 4 in the USA is about $68,000, and for a family of 5, it would be about $75,000. So an income of $65,000 would be a bit below median, while your family income would be about 30% above median.
However, it also depends on where you live. If you are living in an area in the East or West Coast with high CoL, $100,000 would be around the median income for a family of 5, and you could be considered for QB, based on family income. On the other hand, if you live in, say Mississippi, your family income would be enough higher than the median for a family of 5, that you likely would not be considered.
It also depends on family situation, including assets - $100,000 without saving and not owning your home is not the same as $100,000 while owning a home and assets. Also, family situation matters.
In short, while it seems that your family income may be too high, it may not be.
As for chances, about 16%-18% of all finalists are matched, while another 30%-34% are accepted to a partner college with good financial aid. So about half of all finalists are accepted to a great college with good to amazing FA.