Questbridge Finalist 2016-2017 Results

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
21

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: 12

  • Wellesley
  • Grinnell
  • Colorado (who tipped me off about it over an hour before I got my notification xD)
  • Swarthmore
  • Amherst
  • Scripps
  • Vassar
  • Dartmouth
  • Bowdoin
  • Yale
  • Haverford
  • Pomona
    Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 10
    Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 10?
    Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 10

Unweighted GPA: 3.25 (lol)
Weighted GPA: 3.55
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): old - 1710
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, reading, science): 29, 20, 33, 28, 29, 27 (I submitted all three I’ve ever taken, but here’s my highest woo)
SAT II (subject, score): Bio E - 640, Lit - 630, US History - 690
Rank (numerical or percentile): school doesn’t rank
All AP test scores: Euro - 3, Art History - 2 (i cri everytim), US History - 3
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Yearbook, AP Stats, APES, AP Lit, AP Psych, AP Gov (and I took Precalc over the summer to get into AP Stats and earned a B)
Major Awards:

  • National Latin Exam - Silver (9th)
  • National Spanish Exam - Bronze (10th)
  • Anti-Defamation League Essay - Honorable Mention (11th)
  • CSPA Gold Crown Award (11th)

Extracurriculars:

  • Co-Founder (11th)/President (11th, 12th) of Comedy Club
  • President of Catholic Youth Organization (outside of school), member since 2010
  • Treasurer of Quiz Bowl (12th), member since 2013
  • Secretary of Film Club (12th), member since 2014
  • Treasurer and Secretary of Ping Pong Club (12th), member since 2015
  • Co-Historian of Mu Alpha Theta (12th), member since 2015
  • Writing Center consultant (11th)
  • participated in a weekly trivia night for eight weeks over the summer (I don’t think I put that anywhere in my app but it was a fun time)
    Job/Work Experience:
  • Centerplate: worked during Essence Fest in 2015 to fund my CYO’s college tour funds for future visits
  • my high school’s camp for new students (volunteer), where I had to aid students in teaching physics (which in hindsight was a bad idea because science is my kryptonite but the kids loved me)
    Volunteer/Community Service:
  • Catholic Youth Organization

State: LA
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public
Ethnicity: black
Gender: female
Income Bracket: <$60k
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: Three of my relatives died in a span of four weeks during my sophomore year.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen, URM (I guess?)

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?

My essays kicked BUTT. I had been working on this application since it came out in late May and went to the Writing Center as soon as the school year started because the consultants are awesome. They guided me to making coherent thoughts in my short answers and long essays. I stated that 14,000 Things to Be Happy About and The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter were my favorite books, American Psycho and Ratatouille are my favorite movies, and I even cited comedian Bill Hicks as the reason why I’m so open-minded about the controversial subjects today (even though he’s been dead for 22 years). I even wrote my second essay about how I crushed an entire grade’s spirits on Spirit Day during a trivia competition. Every time I look at all of my writing components of this application, I beam with pride.

I also talked about how I drew butterflies on a friend’s self-harm scars when we were freshmen and she really appreciated what I did. I also answered “How do you spend a typical weekend?” by starting off with “I like to catch up on sleep after five days of working hard and playing hard in school.” (apparently Questbridge likes Wiz Khalifa)

My counselor also asked me about how I’m financially deserving of this opportunity (to write in the school report). My mom got fired from her old job at the post office six years ago and found employment five years ago. I got a 29 on the ACT because I essentially had to scavenge for old ACT books. I don’t know if I also told her this, but I even went to the library and found a TON of ACT tip books, especially Princeton Review’s ACT Crash Course book that I credit for helping me boost my math and science scores.

Lastly, I lowkey think I became a finalist because I submitted this on September 22. I seem to get rejected from things if I submit things the day before or the day of a deadline.

In summary, I think I became a Finalist because I have a colorful personality, scavenged for test prep books, and my ECs.

A song once told me to “never G-I-V-E U-P and keep your H-E-A-D U-P” (“Fabulous” by Jaheim). You could have… interesting… grades like me and still become a finalist, you guys!

22

Decision: Finalist/Non Finalist: non finalist
Schools Ranked: none
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 7
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10):9

Unweighted GPA: 3.85
Weighted GPA: 4.44
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): 1530
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 34
SAT II (subject, score): 770 chem, 770 bio e, 800m2
Rank (numerical or percentile):5
All AP test scores: 3: world history, 4: bio, 5: English language, calculus ab, physics 1, psychology
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: ap physics 2, ap Calc bc, ap English literature, art, ap econ, ap government, academic decathlon
Major Awards: lots of academic decathlon awards

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: wrote math quizzes for a company
Volunteer/Community Service: Hospital

State:
School Type (public, private, online, etc.):
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender:male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Assets: 700k+
Extenuating Circumstances:
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student):

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist
I’m going to take a wild guess and say income… Looking back, questbridge obviously wasn’t for me even though they emailed me (in guessing they email all people with decent standardized test scores with no regard for financial situation) and the program isn’t designed for people like me. If you’re a junior looking at this post with a financial situation that’s above 100k, I reccomend to not apply to questbridge. More people get into the colleges through early and regular decision, and questbridge isn’t the only option. Private schools tend to have lots of cash to help their students out, and there are tons of other small scholarships out there that rack up pretty quickly.

23

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: NONE
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8-ish, I wrote a general biography about the circumstances that made me into who I am today. The other essay was about finding chess as an art form. I DID not point out any financial struggles! Future applicants, keep this in mind: Questbridge is not looking for sob stories, but they ARE looking for the success you have found as a low-income student - they can see that your family income is low from your tax forms, don’t point it out obsessively!

Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 10 from the teacher who pushed me to pursue politics. 7 from bio teacher.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 5, probably pretty general, new counselor. I do go in her office to pester her about college a lot tho, tbh.

Unweighted GPA: 3.88
Weighted GPA: n/a
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): DID NOT TAKE

ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 35 COMPOSITE, 36 ENGLISH, 35 MATH, 35 READING, 33 SCIENCE. NO ESSAY

SAT II (subject, score): Math II (800) Biology (740)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 6/527
All AP test scores: Biology 4, World history 4
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: I ran out of AP classes so just the highest honors classes.
Major Awards: Boys State Secretary of State, American Legion Boys Nation Senator, placed at State FBLA multiple times, National merit commended?

Extracurriculars:
Chess Club (founder, president, team captain)
FBLA (treasurer, vice-president)
NHS (historian)
Skills USA (secretary)
Book Club (Head researcher)
Choir (Male section leader, first Bass, first soloist)

Job/Work Experience: I work 20 hours a week at my dad’s shop.

Volunteer/Community Service:
Church missions to Nicaragua.

State: AZ
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Big public
Ethnicity: Korean
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 33000-ish
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: family has history of breast cancer, my grandpa who lives with us is developing dementia? Grandma also is starting to forget a lot.

Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen, immigrant.

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist :
I truly let my personality show. I don’t really have a filter on what I say, so I used that to my advantage. I let my thoughts flow on paper, and said some controversial things. I took risks. I didn’t care if I got in, and I went into it with no holds barred.

If anyone has any questions, please PM me!
Good luck to future applicants!

24

Decision: Non Finalist
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, USC, UPenn, MIT, Caltech, UChicago, Columbia, Duke
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): An absolute 10 for the first one. I worked really really hard on it, and it was quite possible one of my favorite essays I’ve ever written. My english teacher loved it. My second one was passionate but probably a 7 because it was more rushed.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 10 for my AP Chem teacher; she talked about my extreme dedication to going above and beyond classroom standards. 8 for my APUSH teacher, I had a lot of growth in that class and me and the teacher are super close now haha.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): Probably a 6. He told me he could not think of a better candidate for this program, so I think that helped, but I guess not haha

Unweighted GPA: 3.66

Weighted GPA: 4.51

SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): 2310, 800M 800W 710 CR 11/12 Essay

ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): No writing but 35 C, 35 E, 35M, 36S

SAT II (subject, score): 800 Physics, 800 Bio M, 780 Chem, 740 US History, 740 Math 2

Rank (numerical or percentile): 11%

All AP test scores: 13 5s on my AP exams: Bio, Chem, Physics 1/2/C, Eng Lang, Human Geo, Psych, Enviro, US History, Calc BC, Spanish Lang

IB: School doesn’t offer

Senior Year Course Load: AP Macro/Micro, AP US Gov., AP English Lit, AP Spanish Lit, Linear Algebra, Advanced Theatre, Engineering 101/102, Honors Research Principles

Major Awards: ISEF Grand Award Winner, 2x ISEF Finalist, National History Day International Finalist, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society Inductee, Governor’s recognition for Innovation in Science, International Thespian Society Honorary Thespian Scholar

Extracurriculars: Internship at local university in science lab (8h/w)
Theatre (16h/w)
Y-Square (tutoring underprivileged students) (10h/w)
Started two clubs at school
Speech and Debate (I was Debate Captain) (8h/w)
(I only listed the ones I mentioned on the QB app)
Job/Work Experience: Work at a math tutoring center 20+ hours a week to help pay my expenses and my family’s expenses.

State: Southwest
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Large (Enormous like 4000+) Public
Ethnicity: White (Middle Eastern)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <25,000
Assets: A house?
Extenuating Circumstances: Dad was violently assaulted, is losing vision, also losing his business. Mother was court ordered out of work. Outstanding medical bills that can’t be paid. Over $200,000 in debt.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): None

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I honestly have no clue. You tell me haha. My best guess is either my race or not being first gen status. Otherwise, I really don’t know. If someone could enlighten me to possibilities that would be great.

25

@hhs2017
Bro, I got selected as a finalist, but if I were you, screw QB. Your scores, circumstances, and financial problems are unreal. Those schools you ranked would love to have you. 13 5s on AP exams!? You’ll be admitted much easier than most QB finalists.

26

@hhs2017 Here is my advice:
Apply EA to all your top schools, such as UChicago, MIT, and Caltech.
If you apply REA to Yale, Harvard, or Stanford, you cannot apply EA to any other private school. However, you should apply EA to top public universities as safeties, such as UMich, UNC, UVA, GTech.
I think if you apply SCEA to Princeton, they will not let you apply EA to any other school, regardless of type. Yale is also SCEA, but they allow you to apply EA to other public schools.

Good Luck

27

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: All 12, mostly Liberal Arts Colleges
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8 and 10
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 7 or 8

Unweighted GPA: 3.96
Weighted GPA: 5.23
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): 2280, CR780, M770, WS730 Essay 8/12
SAT II (subject, score): Biology-E, 800
Rank (numerical or percentile): 12/780
All AP test scores: World History (5), Human Geo (5), Calculus AB (5), English Lit and Comp (5), Psychology (5), Environmental Science (5)
IB: SL Psychology (7), Spanish B (6)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus B/C, IB Physics, IB Mathematics HL, IB History, Theory of Knowledge, IB English, IB Film
Major Awards: Questbridge CPS, AP Scholar with Distinction

Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad (President), History Club (VP), NHS, NSHS, Piano, Family Responsibilities
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: ~100 Hours at Library

State: Ecstatic
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~70,000
Assets: ~30,000
Extenuating Circumstances: Medical costs and large household
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): URM, Personal Story

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think being a part of CPS and my teacher recommendations really helped me the most.

28

@hhs2017 Ah, it’s nice to finally see a non finalist among all these finalists! You have amazing stats and extracurriculars and you have significant extenuating circumstances, so I’m a little puzzled about why QB didn’t pick you. Either way, you’ll still get into great schools because they’d love to have you. Good luck!

29

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Rice, USC, Pomona, Claremont Mckenna, UPenn. (Revised: I took off U o Chicago, Dartmouth, Yale, and Stanford)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): I’d say 8-9
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8-9
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 7-8

Unweighted GPA: 3.92
Weighted GPA: 4.04
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable):
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): April 2016: 30 Comp, 24 Essay, 34 English, 30 Math, 31 Reading, 25 Science. Septmeber 2016: 30 Comp, 10 Essay, 31 English, 29 Math, 32 Reading, 27 Science.
SAT II (subject, score): Waiting for scores.
Rank (numerical or percentile): Top 15%
All AP test scores: Taking APES next May
IB: None
Senior Year Course Load: APES, American GovEcon, Digital Imaging, English, Calculus, Physics
Major Awards: None

Extracurriculars:
Job/Work Experience: Work for my parents at their restaurant after school and weekends. NO PAY.
Volunteer/Community Service: Library, Senior Center, Science Camp, etc. Watched my little sister and worked for my parents for free.

State: CA
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 14000
Assets: None
Extenuating Circumstances: Same as below
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First gen student, parents never went to middle school, always working for my parents or taking care of my sister.

30

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Columbia, Emory, Vanderbilt, UVA, Yale, UChicago
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8-9
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9-10 (pretty close with both my teachers)
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 6-7 (big school, don’t know her very well)

Unweighted GPA: 3.8
Weighted GPA: 4.4
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): (33, 29, 35, 29, 31)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 19/400 (top 5%)
All AP test scores: AP Human Geography- 5; European History- 4; APUSH- 4; English comp/lit - 5
IB: none
Senior Year Course Load:personal finance, AP Gov, AP Econ, AP English IV, AP Calculus AB, Yearbook (editor), IB Spanish V
Major Awards: Honorary Mention scholastic writing, honors night for creative writing, bronze/ silver awards for NSE, 6th in a regional poetry competition, 4th in a regional oratory competition

Extracurriculars: Speech and Debate (speech captain), MUN/YIG, GLI (president/founder), national history hs, national spanish hs, show hope, united way(youth advisory counsil)
Job/Work Experience: Have worked since sophomore year
Volunteer/Community Service: about 150-200 years

State: TN
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket:40,000
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: single father, another sibling in college,
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): none

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I’m a really strong writer so I imagine my essays were a big part of that. My second essay was really personal and outlined family issues that might have helped me. I also am confident that both of my teachers wrote pretty strong recommendations because I have good relationships with both of them since sophomore year. I also ACT scores/ grades/ coursework that are pretty good.

Good luck to all the finalists and good luck Regular Decision to everyone else!

31

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32

Decision: Finalist (OMG what!!!)
Schools Ranked: Brown, Duke, Williams (in that order)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 9-10 (Of course, I’m biased) (written on art history, Julia Child, walking home when I couldn’t even walk until age three, and how I am like a souffle haha)
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9-10 (very well acquainted with both)
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10):8-9 (AMAZING counselor)

Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.635
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): old 2120, 700 R, 690 M, 730 W; new: 1560, 770 EBRW, 790 Math, 24 essay
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 32, 32 essay, 36 English, 29 math, 31 science
SAT II (subject, score): Literature TBA, US History TBA (10-27-16 ahhh)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 2/483
All AP test scores: This is a lot lol: Human (5), Psych (5), World (5), Art History (5), Seminar (5), US (5), Calc AB (5), Lang (5), APES (4), Bio (4), Physics 1 (3)
IB: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Summer: DE Macroeconomics, DE Fed Gov; AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Physics II, AP Spanish Lang, AP Research, DE International Relations, DE Entrepreneurship, DE Oral Communication; (2nd semester) DE College Success, DE Life and Career Planning
Major Awards: National Merit Commended, National AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, state win at ECybermission in 9th grade (are these even major? I’m new to this whole thing.)

Extracurriculars: food blog with award nominations and media features, NHS (Secretary 12), Academic Team (MVP 11), Hispanic Honor Society (President 12), archery league member (these were most important to me)
Job/Work Experience: None :frowning:
Volunteer/Community Service: teen representative for local edible schoolyard organization (Edible Education Experience)(aka more food haha)

State: Florida
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Large public (2300+ students)
Ethnicity: WHITE
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:<$40,000
Assets: almost none haha
Extenuating Circumstances: intention tremor in my hands, family issues, fraternal twin (he has learning disabilities and I’m all AP)
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): complementary twin (as aforementioned), foodie academic (an interesting combo in my humble opinion), art history major/restitution lawyer goals, otherwise normal

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist? I don’t know, this sounds cliche, but I think my essays, recs, and overall app were pretty good and told a cohesive story. I also exposed my weaknesses a little and thought really hard about my answers to give the most accurate picture of me as an individual. Honestly, I have no idea, but I am beyond humbled to have been chosen for such a wonderful opportunity. This is incredible! I’m only hoping to get something RD if anything, but you never know! I refuse to post a chances thread, I can only hope for me and not seek affirmations from others, but I want to help others, and QB is really like a family!

33

Decision: Finalist (This floored me bc I was confident my app sucked)
Schools Ranked: Stanford, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, MIT, Princeton, Duke (in that order, I’m thinking rearranging it because I am getting trash-talked by my family on thinking about moving across the country (stanford), it sucks)
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): -1000 ( I scrambled them up a week before the 27th deadline lmao)
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 1000!
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9000!

Unweighted GPA: 4.135 out of 4.00 (? This is how my funky school calculated it so)
Weighted GPA: 4.600 out of 5.00
SAT I score (HA! A joke…): New- 1320 Math-700 CR/W-620; this score is depressing, I was thinking about retaking it but I was so confident I wasn’t gonna be a finalist that I’m retaking it in December :frowning:
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): So pathetic I pretend never took it. POOF deleted from my mind
SAT II (subject, score): Math II (pending, but sure it sucks), Chemistry (pending but sure it sucks too)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 6/390
All AP test scores: AP US Gov/Politics (5), AP Chemistry (3), AP Statistics (3 :frowning: feel like an idiot)
IB: School doesn’t offer, can barely offer Honors and a couple AP
Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP English Lit/Comp, AP Calc AB, AP World History, AP Microeconomics (this year sucks so much cougar butt hole :frowning: )
Major Awards: AP Scholar, I was nominated for this local award but my school is so lazy that my principal forgot to submit his recommendation & on top of that gave me the app like 3 days before the deadline & nothing was handed in…lol

Extracurriculars: Debate (co-captain), Track & Field, Model UN, Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, Spanish Club (nothing great)
Job/Work Experience: NONE (Not allowed to work)
Volunteer/Community Service: Usually runs or school events
State: MA
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): A Public one with a diminishing budget
Ethnicity: Black (I don’t consider myself African-American whatsoever)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~$23,000
Assets: My ipod and comfty blanket lol; nothing
Extenuating Circumstances: Dad is dead to me, druggie brother that had intense fights & steals from us, controlling abusive mother, very poor, came from da hood yo
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): First Gen (nothing else I’m pretty vanilla)

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I guess my essays were the bomb dot diggity! I thought my essay was pretty mediocre because it described the struggles I overcame everywhere I go. I had no place to call my sanctuary. etc. At home it was like a battlefield anything said or done triggered my mom, at school a lot of violence, low budget, environment overridden by gangs etc.

I’m pretty sure my counselor talked about my growth over the years since we are pretty tight. Teachers’ recommendations I am confident are at least an 8 since I’ve shown leadership qualities, had for two years, converse with them, and turned in quality work.

Positive note: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF & OTHERS AND GREAT THINGS WILL HAPPEN , Do not let your doubts prevent you from trying; and even if I don’t get matched it was a great opportunity and at least I have like 7 college apps done lol so I can go back in the ring for RD ha.

34

Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: I ranked 12 so I won’t list them here, but I narrowed down the list to Columbia, Penn, Yale, Vanderbilt, USC, and Emory.
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8 - I kinda rushed to write them, but I got them reviewed by a few adults, and I was pretty satisfied with them overall.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 7 - Both the teachers know me pretty well, and I’m a teacher aide for one of them. The only reason why my rating’s not higher is because they were sophomore, non-AP teachers. I waived my right to see the letters, so I don’t actually know what they specifically wrote.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 6.5 - My counselor knows my name, but that’s about it. I provided her an organized way of seeing all of my extracurriculars and stuff, so that might have helped.

(My school doesn’t calculate GPA on 4.0 scale, and I know every school/organization calculates it differently, so I’ll just put down my 100 point scale GPA)
Unweighted GPA: 90.6
Weighted GPA: 95.325
SAT I score: Old SAT: (CR) 700, (W) 740, (M) 750
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): Chemistry: 720, Math II: 700, Physics: 700
Rank (numerical or percentile): Not reported at my school
All AP test scores: Calculus AB (5), Chemistry (3), English Lang (3)
IB:
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Psychology, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, AP Biology, AP Computer Science
Major Awards (I don’t really know what counts as major, but here they are): National Merit Semifinalist, 3rd Place in a healthcare competition on state level, AP Scholar Award, National Spanish Exam 2014 Bronze Award

Extracurriculars: Marching Band (9-12), Section Leader (12); Tae Kwon Do (9-10); Beta Club (10-12), 12th Grade Rep (12); National Honor Society (11-12); HOSA (11-12); Science National Honor Society(12); 121Reach (11-12) - basically tutoring middle school students; High School Student Leader at my church (11-12); Hooch Cares (12) - mentoring lowerclassmen
Job/Work Experience: Youth Intern at a Summer Camp at my church (teaching little kids Korean and looking after them)
Volunteer/Community Service: (Approximately over 100 hours of service)
Summer Volunteering at Grady Memorial Hospital
Summer Volunteering at Emory University Hospital Midtown
World Changers Mission Trip to Tampa, Florida
Volunteering with NHS and Beta

State:
School Type (public, private, online, etc.):
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~13,000
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: I come from a single parent household (mother only); my mom and I had to move around a lot due to financial pressures, and my dad doesn’t pay child support; recently got scammed by a family friend who works for an insurance company
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): I’m not a first gen college student, and I don’t really know what else counts as stand out info, so I guess nothing.

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
To be honest, I was really shocked that I got selected. I heard about this entire thing pretty close to the deadline, and was rushing to throw all the pieces together. Also, my test scores and GPA aren’t exactly the best (as you can tell from above). I had some pretty strong essays, but besides that, I’m not really sure what got me in. I saw a few other people who posted before me that ended up not being selected, and I feel that all of them are way more qualified than I am.

For anyone who meets the requirements for QuestBridge and is on the fence about applying next year, definitely do it. The hardest part of the application is probably going to be your essays, but you’ll probably be able to reuse them in other applications anyway. I ended up using a revised version of one of mine for my Common App and National Merit application. Even if you don’t get matched with QB Early Action, you’ll still have time to apply to other schools. I definitely didn’t think I’d be able to get selected, and I really doubt I’m gonna get matched, but I believe that this is still a great opportunity for low-income students, and it really got me into the swing for applying to colleges. :slight_smile:

35

QUESTION: Any finalists from North Carolina here?

I am a finalist from NC and I am trying to see who else in my state is one. It would be cool to meet up with those chosen as finalists and get to know people that share similar backgrounds and life stories.

Sorry, but I don’t think posting my stats here are what you need to know. What you need to know is BE YOURSELF and that test scores don’t mean a thing. Look at the college match results from years past and you will see that some of the people with amazing scores didn’t get chosen, but I am pretty sure they did fine with Regular Decision. Even though I have a New SAT score of 1460, an ACT score of 30, and am ranked 3/525, I didn’t believe for one minute that these scores and stats would make me a finalist. You need extracurricular activities that show who you are as a person and a great story that will move the readers. I have probably never cried while writing an essay before, but as I wrote the biographical essay, I found myself in tears. That is something you want. If you still would like to know my stats, you can ask me, but seriously, be yourself. I don’t care how cliche that sounds. It is the truth. For those reading this, whether it is a nonfinalist, finalist, or future finalist, I want people to know that this program is beneficial, but it takes grit to really come out with a great application, something that those reading it will remember forever.

I want to congratulate all finalists and thank you to college confidential. I have spent way too much time going through and reading everyone’s stories and backgrounds, but to be honest, it has helped. Right now, it is Match for me (I FINALLY submitted everything needed for Nov. 1) but if you didn’t get chosen, you will get in somewhere. Thanks.

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I am not a stalker. I promise.

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Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: I’m only participating in QB RD
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): 8-ish; I rushed to do them, without a teacher editing them, but they were honest and my teachers say I’m a good writer.
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 8-9. I waived my right to see them, but they were from teachers who knew me very well, so I’m sure they were good.
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): Probably a 5 or 6. Don’t have a strong relationship with my counselor, but she likes me well enough.

Unweighted GPA: 3.97 out of 4.0
Weighted GPA: 97.4 out of 100.00
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 31 comp, 36 eng, 35 rding, 27 sci, 25 math (yikes)
Rank (numerical or percentile): 14 out of 343 (top 5%)
All AP test scores: 4 in eng (lit), 3’s in world history, us history, and eng (language and comp)
Senior Year Course Load: dual credit anatomy, dual credit english, pre-cal, college alg, visual art II, animal science, animal tech, phlebotomy technician, and some bogus filler classes like drama/stagecraft
Major Awards: Kentucky Governor’s Scholar, AP Scholar, Commonwealth Ambassador, Academic Achievement Award (from my state rep), All A’s Honor Roll, 30 Point Club

Extracurriculars: Student Y, Academic Team (captn), Beta Club (VP and treasurer), Kentucky Youth Assembly, Kentucky United Nations Assembly
Job/Work Experience: Unpaid phlebotomy intern
Volunteer/Community Service: Feeding America, Reading tutor, Teen Court juror, Hospital volunteer

State: KY
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: about 50k
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: parents currently paying off a 25k loan
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): none

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
I think my writing is pretty good, and my ACT comp score is a few points higher than the minimum they expect, and I’m in a decent collection of extracurriculars.

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Decision: Finalist/Non Finalist - Finalist
Schools Ranked: Princeton, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Northwestern, Duke, University of Chicago, and Darmouth.
Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): Maybe a 8-9
Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 10
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 8

Unweighted GPA: 3.829
Weighted GPA: 5.412
SAT I score (composite 2080, old SAT: 760R, 640W, 670M; new SAT: 800CR+W, 750M, total essay score if applicable - 18):
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): Not taken.
SAT II (subject, score): Just took Math2 and Literature - scores come out later this month.
Rank (numerical or percentile): 1/712 :slight_smile:
All AP test scores: WHAP - 5, US History - 5, Physics 1 - 3, Environmental Science - 5, Eng Lang&Comp - 5, Comp Gov - 4.
IB: None
Senior Year Course Load: PaP Spanish 3, AP Stats, AP BC Calc, AP English Lit, AP Macro, AP Government.
Major Awards: National Merit Commended Scholar.

Extracurriculars: Academic decathlon, math club, NHS, SNHS, SSHS, HOSA.
Job/Work Experience: Hollister
Volunteer/Community Service: About 50-60 hours as per various honor societies.

State: Texas
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: >$40,000
Assets: None
Extenuating Circumstances: Deceased father.
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student):

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist? Possibly my ethnicity, but also over-all quality as a student; granted, I am not nearly as strong as a lot of other finalists I’ve seen here, but ya know.

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Decision: Finalist
Schools Ranked: Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton

Rank of Questbridge Essays (1-10): Bio (8): Talked about how my grandma’s muscular dystrophy empowered me to be a scientist and actor and do research into her condition while passing along my knowledge to children. Achievement Essay (7): Talked about how I studied for the National Brain Bee and how I was given the confidence to compete with kids who had many resources.

Rank of teacher recommendations (1-10): 9
Rank of counselor recommendation (1-10): 9

Unweighted GPA: 3.98
Weighted GPA: 5.07
SAT I score (composite, old SAT: R, W, M; new SAT: CR+W, M, total essay score if applicable): n/a
ACT (composite, essay, english, math, science): 32 (I know)
SAT II (subject, score): 760 Bio M, 760 Chem
Rank (numerical or percentile): ~Top 10%
All AP test scores: Chem (4), US History (5), Psych (5), Language and Composition (4)
IB: n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Calc BC, AP Microeconomics, AP Biology, Honors World Lit, Honors Latin IV, Senior Project (science)
Major Awards: 2016 5th USA National Brain Bee, 2016 Winner of Chicago/IL Brain Bee, STEP-UP All-Star Award, HOBY scholar, NHRP scholar, NHS, NEHS, NLHS, UIUC Junior Book Award, AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Extracurriculars: President of Brain Club, President of Table Tennis Club, Muscular Dystrophy Researcher at UIC, Science Olympiad, Varsity Tennis (2 yrs)
Job/Work Experience: Actor in Chicago Play, Raven Theatre Counselor and Intern, Assistant Stage Manager of Chicago Musical, STEP-UP Research program
Volunteer/Community Service: Museum of Science and Industry’s Science Achiever (am on TV for them), Justin Wynn Leadership Academy

State: IL
School Type (public, private, online, etc.): Selective enrollment public
Ethnicity: White, Native American, Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~14,000
Assets: none
Extenuating Circumstances: Live in a one-bedroom apartment with two sisters, take care of grandma with muscular dystrophy on weekends, father hit my mother and both got divorced
Stand Out Info (e.g. first gen college student): first gen, URM

Why do you think you were or were not selected as a finalist?
Talked about how I merged theater and science to escape the troubles at home. My story made up for low test scores. Good luck everyone!

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@rubisco22
Your test scores aren’t low. A 32 would put you around the 75th percentile for QB finalists.