@Southern5062 You’re correct. I’m going to the Yale Conference, and that’s a few hours away from me, so my parents and I are going to a hotel the day before to sleep over. Since we can only bring one guest at the actual conference, my dad’s going to chill somewhere in New Haven.
★~(◡‿◡✿)
I’m so excited!! I got in! Woot woot~~
But I wish I got an invite to the actual conference; I only got invited to a virtual conference. BUT IM STILL SO HAPPY !!! Congrats to anyone else who also got in!
Decision:Prep Scholar
Objective:
Subjective
Other
State (if domestic applicant): upstate NY!
Reflection
General Comments
Overall, I think it’s important to believe in yourself and and believe in your own ability! Start the application early, definitely have people proof read. Don’t worry too much about your stats, but instead pour your heart out into the essay and short answers. Definitely take advantage of the additional information sections. I utilized those to explain my family situation. Don’t try to do the application the night before and stay up until 2 in the morning finishing it!
I so so excited for the Yale conference, and I can’t wait to meet some of you guys!!
@Southern5062 Sorry if there was a misunderstanding. What I meant by my statement was that you cannot apply to any other schools EARLY ACTION/DECISION if you choose to apply to schools through College Match said a Finalist.
What we have accomplished is unimaginably amazing. GOOD JOB EVERYONE!!! Being accepted or not doesn’t determine what we are. The process, the experience prepares us and exercises us in the upcoming seasons (application season!!! exciting, right?) I feel grateful to join this thread and read your thoughts and share the same moment.
Oh yeah, can someone explain the difference between “nominated” and “recommended” to the paid college visits? I thought they were the same but after I saw some posts I realized they were not :^
@zzzzzhuuuuu Congrats to you too!
I’m not sure what the difference is honestly, but the word “recommendation” didn’t show up in my letter, though “nomination” and “nominated” does.
@hunnybunfav Congratulations & can’t wait to see you at the Yale conference!! By the way, I give you mad respect for being in the KPop Dance Club bows down
@sugarysnow everyone gets the essay coaching. It will come out in the summer. My son was college prep scholar and was matched to Stanford. Congrats and learn lots. Good luck in the future
hey guys i got nominated for the college visits so like do y’all know if we really do get invited or nah… don’t wanna get my hopes up
@GeoffWii2 Oh alright, thank you so much! Glad that was cleared up. :^)
@MaybeHarvard2022 Ooo crap, it was my understanding that there was a non binding option that not many took. Either way, my list of schools will stay the same. I’m looking to go into Political Science so I had chosen these schools before I found out Prep Scholars were strong candidates for NCM. Having the 4 schools as Questbridge was a HUGE bonus
Did your son receive test prep? @GeoffWii2
Congrats to everyone who got accepted! This is so exciting!!! 
Never posted on here. Kind of a long time lurker, but nice to meet you guys! Can’t wait to meet some of you guys at some point (probably during the conference or something.)
Decision: College Prep Scholar!
Objective:
*SAT I (breakdown): N/A (Took March 11th test date)
*PSAT: 1330 (650 CR+W, 680 M)
*ACT: N/A
*SAT II: N/A
*Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
*Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 664
*AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (3), Human Geography (5), Psychology (5), World History (5)
*IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A (IB not offered)
*Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): TMEA Music Scholar, UIL Ready Writing 1st place Sunnyvale Invitational, AP Scholar w/ Honors, UIL Current Events Team 2nd place District Meet, Hockaday Forensics Tournament 4th Place Speaker Award, TMEA All-Region Treble Honor Choir (1st Chair Soprano II), MISD Superintendent Scholar, All Year A Honor Roll, UIL Solo and Ensemble - Superior Perfomance Ratings, 2nd place LD Debate Plano East Forensics Tournament
Subjective:
*Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Family Responsibilities (Primary Caretaker when parents are absent for work/siblings too busy with work since 4th grade. Helped raise my little brother), Annual Spring Musical (Actress - Extra for Dance Ensemble/Principal Role), Choir - Chamber/Show Choir/Chorale, UIL Academics (Current Events/Ready Writing), National Spanish Honor Society (Secretary), Mesquite Children’s Chorus (Student Manager.) There’s more but this is what I put in the application.
*Job/Work Experience: N/A (If primary caretaker doesn’t count)
*Volunteer/Community service: Mesquite Children’s Chorus (2 hrs/week), Student Council Spirit Committee (1 - 3 hrs./week in Fall semester), MISD Student Advisory Council, NHS Events (Depends 1 - 8 hrs./week sometimes)
*Summer Activities: Dual credit classes at Eastfield Community College, Texas A&M Commerce All-State Choir Camp, High School Chamber/Region Choir Camps in August
*Essays:
-Biographical: 9/10 - I think I did really well on this though there are some things I could’ve fixed. I framed my entire essay into a theatre production motif where I described my struggles as an impoverished Filipino immigrant who struggled with anything English related coming into the United States in 2nd grade and grew into someone with a passion for the literary and performing arts. I also talked about my devotion to family and how learning English helped me grasp deeper connections into history and culture.
*Teacher Recommendation:
-10/10 - I would’ve asked my English teacher for one, but my AP World History/Psychology teacher best understood how I thought about the world and approached people and ideas. He was also the sponsor for the Academic Current Events team where he saw my dedication in a ghost-town extracurricular and how I applied ideas to context of the world today. I have full faith that the recommendation was amazing.
Other:
*State (if domestic applicant): Good 'ol Texas
*School Type: Public
*Ethnicity: Asian - Filipino
*Gender: Female
*Income Bracket: 73K (for a family of seven, three in an in-state college that doesn’t give much financial aid; parents also have separate bank accounts)
*Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-gen US College, First-gen Immigrant
Reflection:
*Strengths: Essays, Recommendation, Most of the Stats (Class Rank, GPA), ECs
*Weaknesses: Lack of test scores (Only submitted my PSAT and AP), PSAT score was not bad but not great, Lack of work experience, Not much volunteer/Community Service (ish), Income (probably the biggest factor)
*Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Honestly, I was really surprised I got accepted considering the income levels of people who usually apply to Questbridge. 73K is not much above the cutoff for a family of four though I have a family of seven (and extenuating circumstances involving helping family back in the Philippines plus other personal financial issues.) It was probably the essays and recommendation that clinched it for me. They definitely showed substance that went beyond any test score or class rank.
*Where else were you accepted/rejected: Notre Dame Leadership Seminars - Rejected (Didn’t expect to get into it since I applied like very late January. Helped me practice for College Prep though.)
General Comments: To future applicants
If you believe that you’ve gone through any kind of legit hardship that’s helped you grow in some way (doesn’t have to be economic though it usually is), then apply to College Prep. Start the application early, don’t procrastinate on essays and recommendations (especially recommendations–you don’t want to give the teacher a reason to ruin your application), and just be yourself (as cheesy as that sounds.) I feel like I know more about myself than I ever did before doing College Prep. Good stats are great but there’s only so much numbers can do. Even if you haven’t been like an 8-time national champion or something, find depth into your involvements or classroom discussions. Why do they matter to you and how have they helped you grow? Oh and also use the additional information section boxes. Not everyone’s situation is clear-cut so make sure to explain your circumstances so they get a more accurate picture of where you come from (especially if you feel like your income is a little high.)
Awards: Invitation to National Admissions Conference at Pomona and Nomination for All Expenses Paid Campus Visits (applied for Summer Programs, Arts, and New Americans Award.)
P.S. K-Pop Dance Club is like goals in my school… Can’t find a sponsor for it unfortunately… 
**Decision: College Prep Scholar **
Objective:
Subjective:
Other
[list]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Hawaii
[] School Type: Public
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket ~~ 30,000
[] Extenuating Circumstances:
[] Hooks: First generation college student in the US.
[ /list]
[ b]Why you think you were accepted / not accepted:**
I’m pretty sure my essay was what brought me up. My scores are alright but in my essay, I talked about my passions and goals for the future.
Decision: Not Chosen
Objective:
[ul]
[] ACT: Comp - 34; English - 35; Reading - 36; Math - 32; Science - 34
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t do class rank.
[] AP: Not provided at my school
[li] IB: Not provided at my school[/li]
I’m adding this in since this is something I consider to be rigorous coursework:
[] Dual enrollment (Ohio State University): Math 1151 (Calculus) (B-), Biology 1114 (Form, Function, and Ecology Biology) (A-), ESEPSY 1259 (Independent Learning and Motivation) (A), Biology 1113 (Energy Transfer and Development) (Current), English 1110.01 (Freshman Composition) (Current), Medical Terminology for Health Professions (Current)
[] Dual enrollment (Washington University in St. Louis): Social Issues and Social Problems (A)
[/ul]Subjective:
[ul][] Extracurriculars: Mock Trial (Founder, President, and Core Attorney), Science Olympiad (Co-Founder, Vice-President), Student Government (Interim Leader, Co-Founder, Representative), Joyce Ivy Foundation (Scholar, Fellow, Grant Researcher), Law and Leadership Institute (Participant, Most Outstanding Student award, Mock Trial Coach), Key Club (Vice-President)
[] Honors: (None of these are very major) Joyce Ivy Foundation Scholar 2016, 3rd place in Statewide Leadership Community Project Competition, Multi-Cultural Ambassador for the International Partnership for Education Research and Communication, Mock Trial Winner (x2), Preventing Infant Mortality project showcased at the Franklin University A Day of Learning Showcase, various other placings (between 2nd and 3rd)
[] Job/Work Experience: Student Researcher Intern (with Dr. Vidu Garg at Nationwide Children’s Hospital)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Only listed Key Club (no more room)
[] Summer Activities: Washington University in St. Louis summer program on full scholarship mentioned through my transcript (I couldn’t add much due to the 6 activity limit)
[] Essays: Debatable… It could’ve been better, but some of my essays I thought would rank a… 6-8/10? I’m also not very confident about my essays in general, though.
[li] Teacher Recommendation: I had my English 9, 10, and 12 teacher write it for me. I know her well and she is the teacher supervisor for my Mock Trial team. She sent me what she wrote after she submitted it despite me waiving my rights to see it, and it was personable and knowledgeable.[/li]
[/ul]Other
[ul][] State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
[] School Type: Public, State STEM school
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[]Income Bracket: $60k or so for a 6 person family (divorced parents)
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation American
[/ul]Reflection
[list][] Strengths: I’ve been taking classes at the Ohio State University since I was a high school sophomore, and I have all A’s but a single B- in my first college course that was in Calculus. My ECs aren’t too bad (I think). I know the recommendation was good.
[] Weaknesses: I couldn’t provide a class rank and my house value is about 100k. My essays probably could have been better, as well. My application wasn’t as clear as I should have made it with my biological dad’s work and income status.
[] Why you think you were rejected: Detailed in the second sentence of weaknesses.
[] Where else were you accepted/rejected: Last year, I was accepted into the Joyce Ivy Foundation, but I can’t repeat years as a scholar. I was rejected for TASP.
@dangkat5 I thought your stats looked really great. I am certain you will be a standout at college admissions. A lot of scholars could not provide class rank and the value of your home still doesn’t seem incredibly high. Maybe it is just what you said - need to be more clear about some things - but really, you should apply again for college match because you have so much going for you!
Does anyone know if we can get invited to a different conference? The Pomona one is not very convenient for me, so I want to go to the Yale one. Can I do this? Also, do we have to contact these schools and show our interest to be considered even after nomination?
@Southern5062 Thanks! Also, congratulations on being accepted!!!
kinda bummed out, but I wasn’t accepted. i felt like my application was pretty good. I don’t have a great test score tho. I only have taken the PSAT which I got a 1000 on. but i have a 4.0 gpa and I have A’s in all my classes. i put i was the leader of MEChA (chicano/mexican club) and that I played in orchestra and was at the top of rank at my classes. I didn’t put any AP scores b/c im taking them in May but I put that I am taking APES (bc my school only offers two AP classes). I put that I took dual enrollment college classes in sophomore (ethnic studies and business). My focus was that I was a first generation chicano whose family hasn’t even finished high school and that my family situation was highly unstable, i live in Oakland (which is the hood basically), and that I work a lot because I’m pretty poor (less than 30k a year). I focused on the fact that I wanted to pursue STEM and talked a bunch about engineering and how I wanted to bring light to latinos and STEM and basically help my community be better represented since Oakland is a really poor and gentrified area of the Bay Area…i just can’t kind of believe that out of the 12k people who applied, I couldn’t have easily been one of the 3k+ who were picked…kinda struggling dealing with it right now especially since today was horrible and this decision from QB kinda just topped of my day ((((::::::
@ninodelbay Sounds to me like you’re an awesome hardworking person and honestly no acceptance/rejection from anything can define that for you, only yourself. I’ve read threads where people got accepted as Questbridge Finalists when they were rejected as CPS, and rejected finalists who went on to great schools without qb, and people who went on to live a happy life without college too, so don’t lose hope!!! I hope next week gets better! Sending love, also from norcal <3