Questbridge College Prep Scholarship 2015 Results Thread

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
21

[color=green][size=4]Decision: Accepted![/size=4][/color=green]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2110 (670 CR, 720 M, 720 W)
ACT: nope
SAT II: World History (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/807
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), taking Bio, English Lang, and US History this year.

Award(s) Granted:
Stanford Conference
Kaplan SAT
Nomination for expense-paid college visit
Yale YGS Summer Program full scholarship

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):
Student Government (Pres), World Vision (Founder & Pres), MUN (Public Relations), Tennis (Varsity), Collegiate Concert Band (First Chair)

Job/Work Experience:
Mowing lawns in my spare time lol, also had an unpaid internship with my local Congressman

Volunteer/Community service:
~300 hours, mostly with World Vision and Student Gov

Summer Activities:
Mowing lawns, volunteering, nothing major

Essays:
I honestly think my essays were my strong point. I spent a lot of time on them and after looking back at them weeks after submitting my app, I’m really pleased with what I wrote. I feel like all my responses were very genuine and captured who I am as an individual and what my interests/passions are. Personal statement 9/10, short essays 8/10.

Teacher Recommendation:
My French teacher for two years and World Vision advisor! I’ve seen the recs she has written for me in the past, we are super close, and we were emailing about it all throughout our spring break, so I am sure it was great! 10/10

Other:

State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Overcrowded, extremely competitive public school
Ethnicity: asian/white
Gender: got those XY chromosomes
Income Bracket: <30k

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.): None that I can think of???

Reflection:

Strengths:
Definitely essays and teacher rec. My grades and ECs are pretty solid too but idk if they constitute “strengths”

Weaknesses:
Not first generation (first generation in US, but parents attended college outside of US), Asian

Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
I think my passions shined through in my application really well, and maybe I had a hint of luck too!

What other Scholarships will you be applying for:
Idk for sure at this point, definitely the NCM though.

General Comments:
When I got my notification today I wasn’t exactly surprised, since a Questbridge rep called me a few weeks ago telling me that I was nominated for the scholarship to the Yale summer program. Nevertheless, congrats to everyone else who got accepted, and to those who didn’t – keep your heads up! The CPS is certainly a great opportunity, but is in no ways the end all be all. There are plenty of other great opportunities down the road :slight_smile:

22

Decision: ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (750 Math, 750 CR, 780 Writing)
PSAT: 228 (75 Math, 73 CR, 80 Writing)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Biology (800), Chemistry (790), Math II (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW
Weighted GPA: 5.93/6.00
Rank: 4/~480 (I would’ve been 1st but I got a B that recent quarter… oops)
AP: Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Statistics (5), Calculus AB (5), World History (5), currently taking 6 more
IB: School doesn’t offer IBs

Award(s) Granted:
• An invitation to a QuestBridge National College Admissions Conference
• Free, on-demand test prep from Kaplan
• A nomination for expense-paid college visits to QuestBridge partner colleges

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities:
Dance (huge committment – 15-25 hr/week for 10 years)
Art (drawing and painting)
Key Club (board member)
FBLA
Math Club/National Math Honors Society/Mu Alpha Theta
French Club/National French Honors Society
National Honors Society

Job/Work Experience:
none

Volunteer/Community service:
Various Key Club events
Peer Tutoring
Various activities for NHS

Summer Activities:
CTY summer camp

Essays:
Meh, I did most of them the day before they were due. They were pretty decent, but not stellar.

Teacher Recommendation: Unsure. My biology teacher from freshman year, who I was very close to , moved at the end of last year, so I ended up asking my current physics teacher. I’m on good terms with him and am one of the top students in his class, but we’re not very close.

Other:
State: MD
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 30-40K with pretty much no assets
Hooks: does single parent count?

Reflection:
Strengths: grades, test scores, maybe ECs, maaaaybe essays
Weaknesses: lack of leadership, maybe teacher rec?
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I guess my academics…
What other Scholarships will you be applying for: idk

General Comments:
Super excited for this scholarship! I don’t particularly need the SAT prep, since I’ve already taken my SAT’s twice but I would really love to get some free college visits. I applied for some of the summer camps, but I was just recently admitted to a different research program, so hopefully it’s okay if I choose not to attend if I receive a scholarship. In other news, anyone else going to the conference?

23

Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]

[size=4]Objective:[/size=4]

SAT I (breakdown): 2100 overall

[ul]CR 750
M 640 (Not my best subject! LOL)
W 710[/ul]
ACT:

  • N/A

SAT II:

  • Planning to take Chem, Math I, and French next month.

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):

  • 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):

  • 1/387

AP (place score in parenthesis):

  • N/A

IB (place score in parenthesis):

  • N/A

My school does AICE/British A-levels.

[ul]AICE Chemistry 1
PreAICE French 3
AICE Calculus/Mechanics 1
AICE English Literature
AICE US History 1[/ul]
Award(s) Granted:

[ul]Stanford National College Admissions Conference
Kaplan Test Prep
Nomination for Campus Visit
Still waiting on QFE awards![/ul]

[size=4]Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):

[ul]Speech and Debate (10, 11)
Anime/Manga Club (10, 11, Advertiser)
We Act/Free the Children Club (10,11)
Key Club (11, Bulletin Editor)
Orchestra (9, 10, 11, Principal Violist)
City Youth Orchestra (10, Principal Violist)
Advancing Youth Leadership (well-known local youth leadership program)
Student Class Representative (10, 11
National Honor Society (9, 10, 11)
French National Honor Society (11)
Art Club (10, 11)[/ul]
Job/Work Experience:

  • Nothing much unless you count commissioned art and design!

Volunteer/Community service:

[ul]Lots of Key Club and Free The Children hours
Some hours from church, school orchestra, city youth orchestra, FNHS, and speech/debate
Spent summer before junior year and during the fall painting murals for the city park
Church musician since before freshman year (guitar and occasionally viola)[/ul]
Summer Activities:

[ul]National Teen Leadership Summits for military-dependent youth (9, 10, 11)
Independent Study of French 2 (10)
Summer School for Algebra 2 (9)
Painting the mural I mentioned earlier (11)
Church Youth Camps (9, 10, 11)
Church Missions Trip to France (this summer)
Basically relaxing and doing a LOT of drawing and art![/ul]
Essays:

  • Personal Statement: 8/10 because I’m a perfectionist. I talked about how I was always a quiet child but learned to find my voice by accepting the silence and using my art to speak to others. I also tied a lot in about my mother’s kidney failure and how I had to deal with its impact for the rest of my life.

Short Answers:

[ul]1: 7/10 - Arts in the community. I think this fit me well what with my community involvement and artistic endeavors.
2: 8/10 - I wrote about how “reading between the lines” is an amazing human capability often taken for granted.
3: 6/10 - Talked about how hard it is for me to say no to more extracurriculars and focus on my own passion.[/ul]
Teacher Recommendation:

  • From my current literature teacher. I waived rights to see it, but he’s a very passionate teacher and I have been told he tries to challenge me as a student because of my dream of attending a top college.

Other:
State (if domestic applicant):

  • Washington! GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Country (if international applicant):

  • US of A

School Type:

[ul]Public
1400-1600 students
Known more for sports than academics…[/ul]
Ethnicity:

  • Filipino/Japanese

Gender:

  • Female

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):

  • 45,000 (and a family of 5)

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.):

[ul]Minority?
Not first gen because my dad attended college in the PI and my mom didn’t really finish her studies…[/ul]
Reflection:
Strengths:

  • Decent SAT and PSAT (154 in ninth grade and 194 junior year), good grades, tons of extracurriculars, okay essays

Weaknesses:

[ul]I just reread my essay and realized I forgot to add a period after a sentence?
I feel like I could have worked a tiny bit harder on my short answers. Or maybe I have too many extracurriculars. I don’t know…[/ul]
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:

  • I tried really hard to show that art was my passion but that I liked applying it to the community also. Maybe the unusual combination of avid artist and community leader really appealed to them. I also filled in every single text box I could by talking about art or my mother’s situation. I’m starting to feel like maybe I could have made myself seem more human, though.

What other Scholarships will you be applying for:

  • Uh…A bunch from ScholarshipExperts, etc…Maybe Coca-Cola and Gates scholarship!

**General Comments: **

  • I’m glad I actually got the scholarship (and that I finished this post…phew)! The downside is that I can’t attend the Stanford Conference because I won’t even be in the country that day! Je serai a la France!
24

[size=4]Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):N/A

ACT:29

SAT II: N/A

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/113 (should be 1st but college classes penalize my weighted GPA)

AP (place score in parenthesis): Taking English Language and US History this year.

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Award(s) Granted:
• An invitation to a QuestBridge National College Admissions Conference
• Free, on-demand test prep from Kaplan
• A nomination for expense-paid college visits to QuestBridge partner colleges

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):
• Cheerleading (captain)
• Student Government (secretary)
• Yearbook Committee (middle school editor)
• FBLA
• Beta Club
• Key Club

Job/Work Experience:
• House sitting

Volunteer/Community service:
• Peer Tutoring
• Cheerleading instructor at children’s camp
• Christmas basket program at local Elk’s Lodge
• Service Learning (100+ hours)
• Various activities for school service clubs

Summer Activities:
• Upward Bound Math-Science

Essays:
• 9/10 for my personal statement; my short answers were so-so, maybe 7/10

Teacher Recommendation:
• 10/10 I had my chemistry teacher do my recommendation because we have a good relationship and i had already worked with her on a research paper for my summer program. I waived the right to view but she gave me a copy anyway. It was EXCELLENT!

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): South

School Type: Small, public high school

Ethnicity: White

Gender: Female

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): <35,000

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.): First Generation

Reflection:
Strengths: Essay and teacher recommendation

Weaknesses: Test scores

Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Probably my essay and teacher recommendation. I think I was really able to portray my passions and struggles, which probably helped me out a lot.

What other Scholarships will you be applying for: Not sure yet

**General Comments: **
•I was shocked to get this award! I’m really excited for the admissions conference at Emory this summer as well as the other opportunities that will hopefully come with this award. Congratulations to everyone!

25

[size=4]Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 187 on PSAT; 68 M, 61 W, 58 CR

ACT: N/A

SAT II: N/A

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.825

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 17/868

AP (place score in parenthesis): World History(3) and I’m retaking the exam this year, Spanish Language(5), Spanish Literature(4). Currently in: Computer Science, English Language, U.S. History, and Physics 1: Algebra-Based.

IB (place score in parenthesis):

Award(s) Granted: National Spanish Exam silver in level 5, 4th place in extemporaneous writing for HOSA, and AP Scholar.

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis): Spanish Club(treasurer), HOSA.

Job/Work Experience: none

Volunteer/Community service: 31 hours at a nursing home and 17 at a church.

Summer Activities: none. I simply do not have the resources.

Essays: Eh. I just used the one we had to write at the beginning of the semester over the same topic (which I got a mediocre grade on).

Teacher Recommendation: I don’t know, but based on his reaction to me getting in, I’m pretty sure it was a good recommendation letter.

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): TX

Country (if international applicant):

School Type: Large public

Ethnicity: Hispanic

Gender: Female

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): <$60,000 for family of 6.

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.): First Gen, URM, low income.

Reflection:
Strengths: My rec. letter, I guess.

Weaknesses: Everything else.

Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Because of my rec. letter? I honestly didn’t think I’d get it.

What other Scholarships will you be applying for:
I don’t know yet.

26

Decision: ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1870 (630 CW, 580 M(haha), 690 W)

ACT: I took it after I submitted but I got a 30

SAT II: took after I submitted, haven’t gotten scores

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): we don’t do out of 4.0. It’s 102 weighted, 99 unweighted.

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/144

AP (place score in parenthesis): school doesn’t offer AP classes besides APUSH to less than seniors. Taking APUSH test next week. Taking AP Physics and AP bio next year.

IB (place score in parenthesis):

Award(s) Granted:
(Not sure if this is what quest bridge gave us or person so here’s both)
Quest bridge:
An invitation to a QuestBridge National College Admissions Conference
• Free, on-demand test prep from Kaplan
• A nomination for expense-paid college visits to QuestBridge partner colleges

Personal:
Dr. David W Kistler Scholarship
FBLA state qualifier 10th and 11th
CFL National Qualifier
State qualifier for debate
Highest honors 9th-11th grade

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):
FBLA (reporter), debate, ski club, key club, student council, softball, cheer, junior leadership, math club

Job/Work Experience:
Worked at pizza place for two years but quit for school. Summer job at pool.
Volunteer/Community service:
organized a charity run for Thw Wounded warrior project. Volunteer at nursing home.
Summer Activities:
Work
Essays: not to seem egotistical but writing is what I do best. I think they were all really solid.

Teacher Recommendation:
Probably amazing, math teacher from 10th grade and math club advisor. Amazing guy.

Other:
State (if domestic applicant):
PA
Country (if international applicant):

School Type:
Public, small, and low-income
Ethnicity:
White
Gender:
Female

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
<30,000
Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.):
Kinda first generation, mom’s disabled
Reflection:
Strengths:
My essays and recommendation
Weaknesses:
Scores, not a minority
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
Probably my essays and family troubles (mom can’t work, parents divorced, father supporting 3 households on a $29,000 salary)
What other Scholarships will you be applying for:
No idea
General Comments: congrats to everyone, if you didn’t get then there is always the next one! I’ll be at the Yale conference, so see ya there!

27

Rejected
GPA: 3.717/4.0
AP classes: AP Algebra, AP English, AP History, AP Graphic Productions
SAT: have not taken
ACT: have not received scores
American
Income bracket: >50,000
first generation
EC: Knowledge Bowl, Speech, T.A.G.S
Short answers: 6-7, I’m a good writer, but I don’t think I had a strong enough back story to really catch their attention
Strength: none really.
Weaknesses: GPA, absence of test scores, income, lack of AP classes, lack of EC activities
Comments: bummed about this, I was really looking forward to receiving this prep scholarship

28

My pain has subsided, a bit. So I’m posting now:

Rejected

GPA: 4.0 (But only in like two community college courses; I’m homeschooled so my GPA isn’t really all that uh, useful a metric)
SAT: Hadn’t not taken
SAT ll : 800 US History 780 Literature
White
Income bracket: 30-40
ECs: Very little
Essays: Short ones were good, long one was too sappy.
Rec: Probably decent; I had one of my professors write it.
Strengths: Homeschooled, SAT II scores, College Courses
Weaknesses: Lot of assets – like 500k in assets but they’re all in foreclosure – no real, verifiable grades, no SAT scores, no significant EC’s

29

Decision: ACCEPTED

Objective:

SAT I N/A

ACT: 29 composite

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank

Award(s) Granted:
State and National awards for Cello, music scholarship recipient
Ross Math scholar award
Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):
Cello: Associate principal and principal of a couple prominent youth symphony’s
Piano: Concerto competition winner
Chinese language outreach Face2Face, it helps immigrants learn to live life in America.

Job/Work Experience:

I have worked a full time job continuously since I left home at 16.

Summer Activities:
Working, started a non-profit to teach cello to underprivileged children in inner city schools.

Essays:
Pretty confident about them, I really put a lot into them.
Main essay discussed my struggle to live freely from my parents and how I came to terms with my fathers suicide.
Side essay discussed a situation where I had to report the abuse of a student even though I knew that the state would only make things worse.

Teacher Recommendation:
Couldn’t expect a better letter :).

Other:
State (if domestic applicant):
PA
Country (if international applicant):

School Type: Private, international online

Ethnicity:
Hispanic/Caucasian
Gender:
Male

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate):
12,000 ish
Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.):
First Generation, Minority, I was raised in a church compound and escaped, Foster care for a little bit, Gay

Reflection:
Strengths:
I’m like a quadruple minority or something ;p, My parents are essentially Amish so I had no contact with the outside world really, I have a great school with a renowned reputation and a great curriculum.
I am very involved in my community and trying to make education more accessible to low income students, I live in one of those lovely districts that discriminates against low income students when they do their budget.
Urban student.

Weaknesses:
Age, because I did not start school until I was 16 I am now 20 years old. I was really afraid this would disqualify me, also I don’t have a birth certificate or any legal documentation that I exist so there’s that…
Also lack of standardized tests. I have taken one ACT about 10 years ago.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
I think I was accepted because I showed on my application that my education is really everything to me, I risked everything and left home to pursue it, also it helps to have reasonably good academics especially considering I work a full time job.

30

REGECTED :frowning:
GPA UW: 3.8 (bad start freshamn year)
GPA W: 4.4
SAT I:
ACT:
SAT II:
Class rank: N/A
AP: APWHW (2) I kept coughing during the test coulnd’t concentrate still got an A+ in the class (11th) APUSH, AP LANG, AP BIO,

Awards and Honors
NHS,CSF 3 years
HOBY Leadership Ambassador
GLC Nominee

ECs (years participated):
Varsity Cheer 4 years (co cap) (head fundraising committee) super time consuming (20+ hrs a week) on avg got the coaches award out of 60 cheerleaders, camp awards etc…
All Star Cheer (4 years) quit summer during 11th grade
JV Basketball 1 year
JV Track 1 year
HOSA Club (Treasurer) 3 years
(Hosted several blood drives)
Red Cross Club 3 years
Pathways Club 4 years w/ UCSB
Mesa Club 2 years w/ UCSB
Leos Club 3 years
Avid/Posse (Treasurer) 4 years
Academic Mentor 2 years
Link Crew Leader 2 years
Volunteering at Hospital (over 100 hrs)
Took Med Terminolgy as Duall Enrollment (11) got an A
Over 500 + community service hrs
CIT at Parks and Rec (9)
Took Health at local hs (9)
CIT at Girls Inc. (10-11)

Essay: Talked about how I grew up living in a town where people were very wealthy and I was the outsider, and how my enviorment has shaped who I am today
I thought i did superb on the short answers
Teacher Req: AMAZING. I got the highest grade in that class which was AP World and the class was on a curve meaning I earned the A+. Also I was really close with that teacher, I would tell her my problems and she would listen and talk. 10/10
Ethnicity: (mexican and irish)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~80,000 (lower middle class) cost of living is very expensive)
State/Location: A super nice city in California
Hooks: 1st Gen, URM, child of a Mexican Immigrant,

Reflection:
PSAT 170~ too low
Getting 4 B’s and 1 C freshmen year.
Income even though 80,000 is considered poor where I live, and my parents can’t really afford anything but a one bedroom appartment because rent is about 3,000+ a month.
Although I though my essays were excellent im pretty sure my income is what got me rejected and or my psat scores.
And I’d like to point out that my friend got in with a 3.5~3.6 but an icome of $ 25,000 with few to none EC’s. So yeah income really matters!

31

[size=4]Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A

ACT: N/A

SAT II: N/A

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 28 out of 385

AP (place score in parenthesis): None

IB (place score in parenthesis): None

Award(s) Granted: Mostly from the Philippines

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis): Assosiate Editor in Newspaper, Citizenship Advancement Training, School Choir, Badminton, CSF, Filipino Club, Campus Ministry

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service: N/A

Summer Activities: N/A

Essays: Very strong, clearly explained my circumstances as a newbie in America

Teacher Recommendation: Strong relationsjip with my teacher

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): California

Country (if international applicant): (Recently immigrated here in America)

School Type: Public

Ethnicity: Filipino

Gender: Male

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): 0 because neither parents started working

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.): (First Generation, Essay, Recent Immigrant, Teacher Recommendation)

Reflection:
Strengths: Essay, Teacher Rec, Grades

Weaknesses: Didnt have any standardized test scores, advance classes and extra curricular activities

Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Because I clearly stated how I really need money for college and that I told them that I just got here so it affected the classes I could take, my extra curicullar activities and pretty much everything to be a competitive applicant

**General Comments: ** Numbers doesnt define who you are!

32

DO NOT give up! You have a story to tell! Keep trying! There is still Gates and several others

33

I want to kick myself in my non-existent balls. Even though I submitted my transcripts 3 times, they were NEVER included in my application. Do you think this is why I was rejected? It still to this day has an awaiting status accompanied by a red x-mark.