@WWWard Thank you for the information! Quick Question: How is it that you know the answers to basically all the questions?
@monkeylol You’re welcome.
Well… my older daughter went through the process 3 yrs ago and is a QB Scholar at USC now. She read and re-read the entire QB website back then and then asked QB a # of questions that she could not get a clear answer to from their website or via online postings, like here at CC. She of course also learned a good deal from personal experience - going through the process herself. And my younger daughter is a QB finalist currently. She too has scoured the QB website and CC and then also asked QB a # of questions directly.
As a parent, I have tried to follow their paths and learn what they have figured out along the way. I am happy to share it all here because I feel that all QB applicants and finalists should have as clear a picture about the full process as possible.
@WWWard Awesome! I just now received a friend request from Vanderbilt University on Instagram. Does this mean that they are currently reviewing my application? Is this normal?
Likely so. All QB partners are busy at work. They have to decide within the next 20 days who they want to accept via the NCM process.
And yes… VU is one of the more organized universities in that manner. That is one area that all college applicants, QB or not, should be aware of… that colleges and universities do perform online searches when possible - including looking over social networking sites. Not every college does this… but most do so these days.
But this is especially true during this phase via QB partners between now and Dec 1st. Before a QB partner offers you or anyone a full ride scholarship and raises you up as a stellar example of the type of student they want, they certainly also aim to discover all that they can about you… and how you represent yourself to the world online.
So to all… tweet, post, etc. wisely. And if you have not always done so… clean and purge quickly 
I’m still confused and I’ve asked this multiple times – does the transcript attached to the NCM application fulfill the “official transcript” requirement for RD?
I know the required mid-year report will have to be my updated transcript through the 1st semester so I’m just wondering if I need to have my counselor send my transcript again directly to schools (before sending the mid-year report).
For those colleges not requiring the Common Application along with the QB application (like Yale), the transcript attached to the QB application should fulfill the “official transcript” requirement. At least I have not known a QB partner college to request such be sent separately by the high school. For those QB partner colleges requiring that the Common Application be submitted as well, they may then rely on either transcript submission, as your GC should have submitted both ways. And if so, I do not see why a QB partner college would need it to be submitted a 3rd time directly from your high school.
As long as your counselor uploaded your transcript to the ComApp and to QB, they should not need to directly send it anywhere else. As for the mid-year report, your GC will need to upload it to the ComApp when available… and maybe to the schools not requiring the ComApp separately.
@WWWard Thank you for the information!
I have one more question: For the RD round, do I need to resubmit financial aid documents to colleges (i.e. federal tax returns and W-2 form) that I have already submitted financial aid documents to?
@evilninjaz99 You’re welcome.
I suspect that once 2016 tax forms are submitted that all colleges and universities, QB or not, may request that those be supplied as well. This cycle was the first time that FAFSAs could be created as early as Oct 1st using 2015 tax info. But I would have to assume that updates to the FAFSA and other financial aid submissions may be requested once it is clear that the 2016 info has been filed as well. But I would not stress about it… FA Offices are very good at requesting anything they deem necessary to render a final decision. So you can likely just wait and see what they may ask for in the Spring.
Does anyone know which schools only match students with an EFC of 0?
@j_anonymous while there may be some speculation on this topic from those who were matched and who also had an EFC of 0, I am not aware of any published list or even direct claims by the QB partner colleges themselves on this topic. Since there is really no need for them to limit themselves while reviewing applicants, I doubt that many if any have such a strict cut-off when evaluating QB Finalists. If any do… that would be a shame and sort of defeat the whole point of QuestBridge.
Good luck… only 10 days to Match Decision Day
https://www.questbridge.org/college-partners/yale-university/financial_aid
"For families with total income less than $65,000 per year, Yale typically does not ask parents to make any contribution whatever toward the cost of a Yale education. In assessing need, Yale does consider family assets, business ownership and other special circumstances in addition to annual income.
Yale will only offer admission through the National College Match to students whose parents qualify to make zero contribution to college costs. (Students who are not eligible for a zero parent contribution will be considered for admission to Yale in regular decision and will still qualify for extremely generous aid calculated to meet full financial need, with no loans required.)"
Yale does indeed have an EFC cutoff, but I am not sure if $65,000/year is the exact number.
@WWWard @Imaptqie Thank you both! My family makes less than 65,000, and we still have an EFC higher than 0. Also, I did not know Yale had a cut off, so I ranked them anyway. Oh well. Maybe other schools don’t have this rule.
@j_anonymous you’re welcome. Well I guess that means an acceptance to Yale RD would equate to an acceptance via Match anyhow in FA terms…
Hi everybody! So I received a call from the Assistant Dean of Admissions at UChicago today… He told me that the admissions staff really enjoyed my essay so they were wondering if they could post it on their website along with some other essays they enjoyed. He then told me that I was admitted! I am obviously very very happy about this! I’m kind of worried though that they somehow my application got messed up and they don’t know that I applied through Questbridge… He didn’t mention anything about Questbridge. Should I be worried? Here’s the email he sent me after we got off the phone:
Hi Olinka
As Dean of Admissions, I so enjoyed the opportunity to chat with you and let you know (a little earlier than most J) that you have been admitted to the Class of 2021!!
Congratulations and welcome to the UChicago family!!
It will be a few weeks until the official decisions are posted for all applicants but please do reach out if you have any questions between now and then…
As I mentioned on the call, we all loved your essay and look forward to including it as a sample of our “favorite and fun essays” page we hope will go live next week. So we have your official permission for our records, would you and your mom please respond to this email and confirm that we can use your incredible essay on our website (without identifying your name, of course)?
See you on campus next fall!
Happy Holidays!
Jim
Doesn’t this sound like it’s geared more towards a binding early decision applicant rather than a Questbridge applicant?
I ranked UChicago 4th out of the 5 schools I ranked btw
@olireg02 wow congrats on a great essay! as far as your question though I agree. It doesn’t sound like a Questbridge match but like a normal early decision or early action. If it was a QB match, I would assume they wouldn’t tell you yet?
@blink24 that’s what I was thinking… do you think I should email admissions just to verify that my application was read as a Questbridge application… or should I wait until December 1st and see what happens?
@olireg02 since you have to email them back anyway giving them permission to use your essay just mention it in there so it won’t be a separate thing!
@olireg02
Wow, congrats! Worst case scenario, you get matched to UChicago.
Which is a pretty damn good worst case scenario
You are right… it does sound like it’s geared more towards a binding early decision applicant… which you can not be since you are participating in the NCM process.
It could very well mean both… that UChicago has accepted you early and also plans to attempt to match with you. They do tend to match with the most of all QB Partner colleges. Or… it could be their way of telling you that you are already accepted early, should you not match at all to a binding college… to try and encourage you to pick them. I would assume it means both… but you can never really be sure until it happens. It does not necessarily mean that you are being matched by UChicago. Many schools send emails immediately after not-matching with applicants urging them to apply early… and then they accept them as such - right after not matching with them. It is weird, but it happens every year.
UChicago of course does not know who else you ranked. They only know that you are trying to match with them. If you end up matching with one of the top three you ranked, and if that college is one of the binding ones, it will not make a difference… as you will not be going to UChicago either way.
You will know for sure in just 4 days though. I would be patient and simply wait until Dec 1st. Either way… Congrats! That is some excellent early news…
I can’t wait another 3 days!! Does any of the colleges give out their decision earlier? ugh!