Questbridge College Prep Scholars 2017 Applicant Thread

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
521

Decision: Prep Scholar

Objective:

[ul][] ACT: 32
[] PSAT: 1350
[] Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.162
[] AP: World History (4), U.S. Government & Politics (5)
[] Awards: Academic Letter
[/ul]Subjective:

[ul][] Extracurriculars: leadership group at school
[] Volunteer/Community service: cashier at hospital gift shop (nearly 100 hours), mentor for middle schoolers, work with children w/ disabilities, conduct team-building activities at school (leadership), volunteer at library (for ~3 years)
[] Essays: (9/10) In the main essay I talked about the alienation that I’ve experienced and my journey towards self-acceptance.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Spanish teacher that I’ve had for both Freshman and Junior year did it. She’s super nice and I do well in her class.
[/ul]Other:

[ul][] State (if domestic applicant): Illinois
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: South Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: ~50,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first-generation college student, immigrant, female of color interested in STEM
[/ul]Reflection:

[ul][] Strengths: 100+ hours of community service, emotional essays
[] Weaknesses: GPA, lack of leadership positions, not many extracurriculars outside of volunteering
[] Why you think you were accepted: essays, volunteering, (see “Hooks”)
[/ul]General Comments: I deleted the bullets that weren’t relevant to me. I know my income is on the higher end of the spectrum, but one of my parents is also in severe debt. I was offered the Virtual National College Admissions Conference and a nomination for all-expense-paid campus visits. I applied for three Quest for Excellence awards (New Americans, USA and STEM) but those results come out in June, I believe.

522

@Naperthrill Congratulations on getting accepted!! :^)

523

@yuiichiiros Your stats are incredible. I agree with @sugarysnow that the main pitfall of your application may have been the strength of your essays (which you mentioned were a weakness). When you’re writing essays for college applications make sure to get multiple people to read them and edit them thoroughly. Be sure to tell the person who’s editing your essay to be completely honest in their critique.

524

@sugarysnow Do you know if they’ve already notified those who’ve gotten the Quest for Excellence Awards? I saw someone had mentioned that they were selected for Fein Fellows, but I thought the results came out in late June.

525

@Naperthrill It’s safe to assume that they didn’t notify anyone, as Questbridge said themselves that results for the awards be coming out in late June. Maybe the Fein Fellows was an exception? Not too sure to be honest.

526

Sorry if this is too long, but I really hope it helps someone!

Decision: Accepted!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510, 770 RW 740 Math
PSAT: 1300something frosh year, 1400something soph year
ACT: n/a
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no idea honestly. maybe my counselor filled that out?
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Math Student of the Year and Certificate of Merit Grade 8 (piano)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Piano 10 yrs
Acapella Club 1 yr (first year it was founded, Choir was my elective the past 2 years and my friend founded the club after my teacher left to teach somewhere else)
Student Government: 3 yrs (2 yrs class president)
Red Cross 3 yrs (3 yrs secretary)
Comic Club 1 yr (founder)
Yearbook 3 yrs (editor)

Job/Work Experience: worked as office secretary at Chinese School
Volunteer/Community service: 600+ volunteer hours, summer camp at Chinese School
Summer Activities: volunteering was my life for the past few summers.
Essays: 9-10/10. I rushed the biography bc I couldn’t think of a topic for a while, and I didn’t show it to anyone. I wrote a pretty bad version of it for my first draft, but the writer’s dam lifted after a while and I completely revamped it. The optimism in the face of challenge thing is probably super cliche, but I’m a strong writer and think I took a fresh approach. Biographical essay described a good day after coming home from school. Lots of imagery and contemplation/reflection, acnknowledged financial situation / life experiences with optimism, included cultural references.
Teacher Recommendation: higher than 7??/10
Not sure because his class was probably the one I most struggled with throughout all of high school, but I got into another summer program with his recommendation as well, so I’m sure it was good!

Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: public charter
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: about 20k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-gen
Reflection
Strengths: Anything that involved writing + leadership positions… income probably. Straight A+s
Weaknesses: no AP scores / SAT IIs. ORM asian female?
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I talked about how volunteering in the city inspired me to work towards a career in political science so I could continue to service the kids I worked with, and many more. I think I demonstrated genuine passion and love, and all my activities were tied to service +/ the arts in some way.
Where else were you accepted/rejected:
Invited to Pomona conference, nominated for free college visits, Stanford Horizon Scholar

General Comments:
Reread your app several times and don’t leave off stuff that’s important to you! I accidentally left out several awards and a 10 year extracurricular :frowning:

I put down a really personal family situation in the additional info to explain things that affected my productivity at home. I was scared that they’d reject me for being too honest, especially because I keep hearing that I shouldn’t talk about super angsty things / indicate signs of mental instability in college apps, but I don’t think it affected me too negatively and I’m glad for it.

I was generally optimistic because of stats and my love for writing, but also scared that I was being arrogant and overconfident. I’m thankful that I got in because I learned to just be genuine! Love yourself, your values, and your accomplishments, and never be afraid to put your best foot forward! Good luck to everyone and I hope to see yall again in the NCM thread!

PS If anyone wants me to provide edits / suggestions for their essays, send me a PM bc I’m totally down B)

527

Someone added me on the Questbridge FB page and someone posted that they’re going to make a 2017 prep scholars page soon. Not sure when though.

528

Should I make an Instagram so that all College Prep Scholars could connect? I know there was one for last year.

529

When do we find out if we got any money for visits?

530

@kassh4 Unfortunately, Questbridge has been vague when it comes to funding college visits and said around this summer and fall.

531

I redid the formatting of the results form b/c it was missing a couple of tags (credit to @AlmightySadist for original).
Makes sure to remove the space between all the “[” and the BBCode.

[ color=green][ b]Decision:Prep Scholar**[/color]
[ color=red][ b]Decision: Not Chosen**[/color]

[ b]Objective:**
[ list][ *] SAT I (breakdown):
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[ ] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[ /list][ b]Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[ list][ *] Job/Work Experience:
[ *] Volunteer/Community service:
[ *] Summer Activities:
[ ] Essays:
[ ] Teacher Recommendation:
[ /list][ b]Other
[ list][ *] State (if domestic applicant):
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type:
[ *] Ethnicity:
[ *] Gender:
[ ]Income Bracket:
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
[ /list][ b]Reflection
[ list][ *] Strengths:
[ *] Weaknesses:
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
[ ] Where else were you accepted/rejected:
[ /list][ b]General Comments:

532

color=green b Decision:Prep Scholar
color=redbDecision: Not Chosen/b/color
Just remove the space between “[” and the bbcode.

[ b]Objective:**
[ *] SAT I (breakdown): 1300
[ *] ACT:
[ *] SAT II:
[ *] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 weighted is 4.7
[ *] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 30/423
[ *] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (4)
[ ] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[ ] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[ /list][ b]Subjective:
[ *] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 3rd Place NC DECA: Principals of Business Management
8th Place NC DECA: Entrepreneurship Innovation Plan
(DECA Social Media Correspondent)
(NC DECA Social Media Team)
(VP of Community Service)
a lot of other DECA honors/ positions
(Youth Comittee): ECAT (local group to help unite Ethiopians in the area, I helped newly immigrated teens adjust to American life
[ *] Job/Work Experience: Ace Hardware, not really relavent but…
[ *] Volunteer/Community service: Duke University Health System 120 hours
Americans for Prosperity- 75 hours
[ *] Summer Activities: None
[ ] Essays: I felt like they were pretty good. As well as being low-income and a minority like a lot of the people applying, also had a pretty interesting/different relationship with my parents. I used a lot of imagery and really depicted what life was like with my parents and how my greatest supporters also hindered me from reaching my full ability. Very personal, and I think it connected with the readers.
[ ] Teacher Recommendation: Awesome! Very close with the statistics teacher, and mentioned my passion for data analysis and how I wanted to do that in my future career.
[ /list][ b]Other
[ *] State (if domestic applicant): North Carolina
[ *] Country (if international applicant):
[ *] School Type : Public
[ *] Ethnicity: Ethiopian, first generation American
[ *] Gender: F
[ ]Income Bracket: 55,000ish
[ ] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM? Ethiopian? First generation college.
[ b]Reflection
[ *] Strengths: Essay, extracirriculars

[ *] Weaknesses: Standardized scores, went to a newly opened school so there was only one AP offered.
[ ] Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I think it was my ability to connect everything in my application, my essays, recommendation, and extracurriculars all had to do with what I wanted to do in the future and it showed how committed I was.
[ ] Where else were you accepted/rejected: ??
[ b]General Comments:
Honestly surprised I got in, because of last year’s thread. Thankful, but I hope to be able to go to UPenn’s Leadership in Business World Program! Fingers crossed!

GO!
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533

DECISION: PREP SCHOLAR

Objective:

  • SAT I (breakdown): 1290 - 660 Reading/English - 630 Math (Taken Once)
  • ACT: 31 | 26 Science | 27 Math | 34 Reading | 35 English | (Taken Once)
  • SAT II: None (Will take US History and Literature May 6)
  • Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
  • Weighted GPA (out of 6.0): 4.8
  • Rank (percentile if ranking is unavailable): Top 10% (Either 4 or 5 out of 150)
  • AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (2), Human Geography (3), US History (Current)
  • AICE (place score in parenthesis): General Paper (A), English Language (Current), Environmental Management (Current) Note: Also have taken 2 Dual Enrollment Classes (Psych-related), all other classes are Honors (We only offer honors and above at my school)
  • Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Recognized at Regional Level by District head for exemplary efforts academically, nothing else huge

Subjective:

  • Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Recruitment for school (Student Ambassador), VP of Class of 2018 (9th and 10th, Applying for President next year), SharkPAC (Performing Arts - Dancer and Thespian), No Place for Hate Club Member, Fairchild Garden Club Member
  • Job/Work Experience: Maintenance worker at Christ Fellowship (Current), Childcare worker at Christ Fellowship (Current), Internship with Town under the Town Manager (Current)
  • Volunteer/Community service: Council created and ran Tutoring program (9th and 10th Grade), Mentor at Christ Fellowship (9th and 10th Grade), Relay for Life Team Leader (2017), other miscellaneous volunteering events

Other

  • School Type: Magnet, Public
  • Ethnicity: Black (African-American)
  • Gender: Male
  • Income Bracket: $60,000
  • Assets: 0
  • Property: $2,000 or something like that idk
  • Extenuating Circumstances: Without including mortgage, parents some 80,000 in debt
  • Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

  • Strengths: Definitely Stats, My recommendation letter (My school just transitioned from being a middle school, which I attended, so my teacher has known me for 5 years. That letter was probably a 15/10).
  • Weaknesses: I thought my essays were weak because I lacked that story they were looking for. If I’m being honest, I live a fine life. I face financial adversities, but none as bad as some people who applied I’m sure. Hopefully, we who are accepted will be able to use the knowledge we gain from the perks of being a College Prep Scholar to share with those who did not get a chance to attend.
  • Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Because I am so diligent a student. The last time I've had a 'B' in a class was in 8th grade. And it's not because I'm good at tests (although that is true). It's because I work tirelessly to get my work done. I stay up at all hours of the night to complete assignments on time rather than blow them off. When I have breaks at work, I'm getting my APUSH homework done. I think what shone through in my application was my determination. I made it clear that I someday wanted to be the president. I made sure to show that I had a real drive to maximize my potential through my education. Also, I got a chance to talk about my personality in my mini essays
  • Where else were you accepted/rejected: Nowhere - have only applied to small, $1000 essay based scholarships, my parents want to try to do a vacation before I graduate so they didn't want me scheduling things.

General Comments:
Application plans: (1) Harvard (EA) (2) Yale, Stanford, Duke, Columbia (Through NCM) (3) University of Central Florida, University of Florida, Florida State University (State Schools - EA) (4) Univ. of Miami (5) Ohio State University

I’m so glad that I was accepted to the program. I feel like this is the beginning of a long yet prosperous journey. Soon the baby steps will be a full blown sprint. So ready to enjoy summer and gear up for college applications :slight_smile:

534

I was accepted as well. I got the Amherst telementoring and the nomination for campus visits. I was puzzled by why I was invited to the Virtual Conference when I literally live like 20 minutes from Emory lol.

535

@CMKingOfFl Congratulations on getting in! :D/

@200361131 Congratulations! Did you indicate that you wanted to go to the Emory conference in your application? (There was a question on the application that asked: “Are you interested in attending a National College Conference at one of our college partners?” Check your application proof to see if you marked “Yes”. It’s on page 17.)

536

I really wanted the essay help. I am really bad at writing essays.

537

Guys, I made the Instagram, but don’t know if I should have. w(°ｏ°)w It’s questbridge2017, so if you want to follow, go ahead. Also, if someone wants the Instagram to manage for themselves, you can message me because I have no idea what I’m doing lmao

538

@sugarysnow I followed! :)>-

539

@Naperthrill lolololol I don’t know what I should do now

540

HappySquirrel and SolarSystem, and anyone else who did not get chosen for College Prep…this is just one step along a long road, one which still can take you to an excellent, affordable school. QB has gotten more competitive every year and there are many worthy candidates. Your stats are really impressive and your motivation is evident from your having gone through the application process. Feeling disappointed is normal and I hope you give yourselves some space. But honestly at this time next year – if you develop some good strategies – it will be just a distant memory. I hope you use CC to get lots of advice from experienced posters who can help.