Questbridge Match Chances?

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

I was wondering if anyone, particularly anyone who was matched to these schools in the previous years, could give me any ideas on my chances of being accepted to one of these schools for the Match in December or RD.

Schools: Princeton, Yale, MIT, Columbia

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown) Super Score : 2280 (710 CR, 800 M, 770 W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: World History (790) Math 2 (800) Physics (740)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not reported
Weighted GPA: 103 (out of 100 point scale)
Rank: 1 out of ~110 people
AP : World History (5) US History (5) Euro (5) Calc AB (5) English Lang (5) Physics 1 (4) Bio (5)

Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Environmental, AP Psychology, AP Calc BC (Online Community College Course), College Academic Writing, College Economics, Govnt Honors

Subjective:

Math and Science Achievements:

-Math Club (Captain) (9th-current grade)
-Moody’s Mega Math Challenge
-Math Honor Society (Event Coordinator) coordinated Math Honor Society Ibduction and Pi Day event.
-Bronze Award for Top 30 % in County Competition
-All Star Math Team member 2016 and 2017
-Participated in NYSML 2016 and 2017 (regional math competition)
-Qualify for ARML 2016 and 2017

  • Top 10 placement in 2 Science Olympiad events (12th grade)

Robotics:
-Senior Mechanic of Robotics (9th - current grade)
-Participated in FRC 9th 10th and 11th grade

Volunteer:
-SPARC community service [Soup kitchen] [Habitats for Humanity] Helping poor
-Environmental Action Club volunteer (Treasurer) [10th grade - current]
-Tutored students in Physics, Chemistry, and math during after school extra help (9th-current)

Awards:

  • The Rensselear Medal Award (Scholarship)
  • A Honor Roll
  • Plaques in Chemistry, Physics, Calculus
  • AP Scholar with Distinction
  • Science Teacher’s Association of NYS Award

Job Experience
-Paid Summer job cleaning school desks, furniture, and equipment at school
-Fast food service job (Sep-March)

State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Public suburban
Ethnicity: African
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~$32k
Hooks: URM, first generation college student, poor economic conditions, English second language, immigrant, family issues.

2

Although matching this past December, I didn’t rank any of the schools you listed. That being said, I know of others who have lesser stats than you and matched to Yale. Just be sure to pour everything you’ve got into essays/letters of rec.; the rest of your application is golden.

3

@kingofderp69 Oh you think so? I did apply to one of those schools this year RD and was waitlisted (didn’t apply through Questbridge). However I do plan on taking a gap year next year so I’ll apply through Questbridge. Do you think being waitlisted previously will be detrimental to my chances next year?

4

Bump…

5

@SAT4Breakfast Once you pass a certain threshold of ACT/SAT/GPA/etc., the only thing that can truly set you apart is your story. Allow me to quote myself from a previous thread: “The Ivies could fill every class with nothing but applicants attaining 4.0 GPAs and 36 ACTs, but they don’t. Elite schools don’t want robots. They want their classes to be filled with future Nobel Prize winners, Academy Award recipients, and Rhodes scholars. Creatively and socially dead people are far less likely to achieve any of these goals.”

Let’s lay a few words of encouragement on the table. You have stats within the ballpark of Princeton, Yale, MIT, and Columbia; this indicates that these schools are within reach. You were recently waitlisted; this indicates that these schools are at least somewhat interested in having you attend. You plan on taking a gap year; this gives you an edge, for you now have an abundance of a resource typically deficient in high school seniors: time.

You have between now and next Fall to write a couple of essays. Start now and get all the help you can. If you’re diligent, your essays will be polished to a pearly shine by the time most applicants even begin their app. So, no. I can’t say that being waitlisted hurts your chances of applying next year. If anything, it’s given you the opportunity to craft a QB application so fundamentally brilliant that any school unintuitive enough to defer you will now regret that they cannot list you on their page of “notable alumni.”