<p>Hi all - we just received a letter from Questbridge for one of my girls encouraging her to apply through them. Does anyone happen to know if they only send letters out to people that will qualify financially? </p>
<p>I am confused, because I thought our income had to be below $60k and ours is not, although we will have 2 in college and a large family - maybe that changes the equation they use? Thanks for any input - I don't want her to waste her time with their app if she won't actually qualify.</p>
<p>My son received one yesterday too. We have a strange financial situation because we are divorced and I do ok, but his dad has had only sporadic employment for the last three years. If you combine us and split it between two households, we’re under $60K each, but I’m over that for my income. I do have another one in school too. </p>
<p>Part of me wants to say “Apply, what can it hurt” but the other part of me agrees with you- why waste the time with the app if he can’t really qualify?</p>
<p>Did you guys know that there is a Questbridge thread in the Financal Aid forum? Might get better advice there.</p>
<p>We got a letter for our daughter encouraging her to apply to Questbridge but we have an income over $60k. Did they make a mistake, or do they take into account family size & # in college at the same time?</p>
<p>Thanks - I just posted on the QB thread as well. I know what you mean BarnardMom about applying anyway, but she will be really annoyed if she goes through the whole process only to find out we make too much to qualify, lol.</p>
<p>I read most of that thread last night and didn’t see any similar kinds of questions. I don’t think I’ll bother having him apply. One thing nobody says is whether that’s $60K gross or $60K taxable or what…</p>
<p>I know they look at family size, not so sure about number of children in college. If you are not much above $60,000 and have a large family she has a realistic chance at becoming a finalist (based on financial information).</p>
<p>
A quick call to Questbridge should help you to decide …</p>
<p>My understanding of the way it works is that they use the census bureau info for your zip code. Therefore, if you are in a zip code where the average income is below $60k and your child has high enough test scores, your child will receive a letter. I was right at the limit last year. My guess is if you call, they are going to tell you to have your daughter apply. That is what they told my son to do. </p>
<p>I don’t think that it can hurt to apply. It is a little more work, but not much. You have three essays to write. One of which can be used for the common app essay. It is additional work, but I don’t see much of a downside in applying other than the time commitment. If you daughter starts before school, she will be in really good shape for applying to schools if she isn’t selected as a finalist.</p>
<p>My son applied to QB, wasn’t selected as a finalist. He then applied to Yale SCEA and was accepted. Having done the QB app, all he had to do was basically polish one of his QB essays. His Yale essay was already written before he heard whether or not he was a finalist as the time frame between notification and the application due dates is VERY short.</p>
<p>Just an FYI, even though my son was not selected as a finalist, he had multiple QB schools contact him asking him to apply. They all offered to waive the application fee. If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to pm me.</p>
<p>How would any organization know your financial situation? We get mail from questbridge. We are definitely not low income. Do not take the letters to mean you are qualified financially.</p>
<p>Their mailing list must be a little skewed as we live in one of the higher income census zip codes and still got a letter.</p>
<p>What does SCEA stand for?</p>
<p>^^ Did your son/daughter score on the high end of ACT/SAT? I know for our zip code in our city, about half of the homes are low to very low income and the other half are middle to high. I just remember that when I was researching the program, that was one of the reasons given for why you would receive a letter.</p>
<p>Single choice early action. Here is the information for Yale’s SCEA [Single-Choice</a> Early Action for Freshman Applicants | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/scea]Single-Choice”>Single Choice Early Action for First-Year Applicants | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>[2012</a> National College Match Finalist Profile](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-finalist-profile]2012”>http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-finalist-profile) 7% of finalists had income greater than 60000 last year</p>
<p>thanks all - maybe she will</p>
<p>I don’t think my son is going to apply. We had a chat about it and he really, really wants his Eagle Scout on his college application and he might not have the paperwork back by the end of September. Also, his dad just did get a permanent job (starts monday!) after 4 years of a combination of unemployed (mostly unemployed) and some short term contracts here and there. We kind of feel like- we’ll be able to make college happen for him and Questbridge is more for kids whose families wouldn’t be able to make it happen no matter what.</p>
<p>I received one and my parents definitely do not make less than 60k.</p>
<p>Barnardmom - congrats on your Husband’s job! You must be thrilled. :)</p>
<p>Oops. Just read that you are divorced. Still, congrats on the new job for your ex. I am sure from a financial perspective, there is a huge sigh of relief all around.</p>