@kassh4 Yea my school doesn’t really have a limit for weighted gpa so I just put other and explained.
@av2222 At my school a term is a semester but it can also mean for a quarter for schools who grade quarterly, which mine does but they average out two quarters with the semester exam to a semester grade.
@spacenerd2432 Don’t worry too much about test scores. This is what they state about it on their website:
“Test scores are not everything. QuestBridge staff read your entire application and base their decisions on your application as a whole, not only your test scores. If you do not have any test scores or you feel your scores are not strong, your application won’t be disregarded. Rather, your application reader will look at all of the other portions of the application to determine if you should be selected as a College Prep Scholar. Application readers will also judge your academic preparedness based on teacher recommendation, transcript, and essay. If you lack test scores, you can also demonstrate your thinking and writing skills through devoting extra effort to your essays.”
@kassh4 I feel your pain. at the 100 count, I just kept on typing for over three minutes without realizing that it has stopped taking words. I fear that my essay might be too summarized and vague due to this word limit
@StudentWarrior For last year, 9,209 juniors applied and 3,404 were accepted as College Prep Scholars, meaning a 37% acceptance rate. I think you’ll be notified by email to check your account.
Hi, current College Prep Scholar (last year) and National College Match Finalist here. If any of you have questions, I’d be more than happy to try and answer them.
@uncreativename Ok so if you get picked as a finalist but you dont get matched to a school how do you proceed from there? Do you have to fill out a common app, and how do you apply to safeties and matches that aren’t QB partners. Or even if you arent picked as a finalist do you fill out the CA and write those essays?
Hello! @uncreativename I am not a first gen student, but I am a minority, low income and victim of abuse. With a relatively strong GPA, EC’s and recs, do you think I have a shot?
@uncreativename Thanks for offering to help answer all our questions! Also would you say that being selected as a college prep scholar helped you in becoming a finalist?
@kassh4 Each school has its own requirements, which you can check by looking at their page on the questbridge website under “application requirements.” For example, I ranked Stanford and Yale for the College Match. Stanford required the Common App, while Yale did not. Since I ranked them and wasn’t matched, they kept my applications and I didn’t have to do anything for regular decision besides send updated transcripts. For schools outside of QuestBridge, again, each school has its own requirements. I applied to Reed College via Common App as a match school outside of QuestBridge. However, the in-state safeties I applied to had their own, direct application. So just look at the schools you want to apply to and check their application requirements. If you are chosen as a College Prep Scholar, QuestBridge will go over all of this extensively, with emails, podcasts, etc.
@spacenerd2432 While most Prep Scholars and College Match Finalists are first-gen (around 80% I think?), it’s not a requirement. So as long as you have a strong application and can show that you achieved those things in the presence of adversity, you’ll still have a good chance.
@solarsystem The majority of College Prep Scholars become National College Match Finalists (around 70% if I remember correctly), so I’m sure it didn’t hurt. Also, I won two of their Quest for Excellence Awards as a College Prep Scholar, so that probably helped as well. But, I don’t think it is just the title that helps. Just filling out the College Prep Scholars application already gives you a headstart in the college application process since you have already thought about essay/short answer topics. Also, I actually got feedback from QuestBridge on my essay, detailing what is good about it and what I could improve, which I think helped a lot.
Lol this may seem stupid but make sure on your ECs when you rank 1 is the best and 6 is the least important. I thought it was a scale so I put 6 when I ment most important. lol
So if you get accepted into the Prep Scholar program, do you also automatically get accepted to the College Match your senior year, or do you have to apply for that separately?
@ericblobb Your application transfers over to the next year and you’d only have to update it or change essays. About 70 percent of College Prep scholars become Finalists senior year. It’s not automatic, but it’d be an indicator that you would have a great chance at becoming a finalist.
I kind of regret not taking more ACT/SATs. The only tests i have under my belt are one PSAT score and one ACT score. My ACT score isn’t even outside the middle 50% i feel like that is going to hold me back a lot.
Does anyone know if submitting a “quirky” biographical essay will increase or lower my chances of being accepted? I was thinking about writing an essay that provides an overview of my life [and the struggles I’ve faced] in a unique and somewhat humorous perspective, but I’m not sure if the readers want the essays to be entirely serious or not.
My 9th grade was spent in a different country with very different grading systems. We didn’t grade on A, A-, B+ etc. scale. I’m not sure what to put in the courses section.
I’ve started mine, not sure if they need to be super meaningful. I think they are looking more for your answers (like what is your biggest accomplishment). The other stuff is more in the essay. I could be wrong though. I’m just concerned about being super cliche in the second question.
I’m taking the SAT March 1st and the ACT in either April or June…