Hi,
My question is simple… do you think it’s worth it to apply to Questbridge, forfeiting my chance of applying ED to certain schools, or apply ED and forego Questbridge?
If I was to drop Questbridge, I’d apply ED to either NYU or GWU.
If you are a high achieving student with an EFC of $0, or close to it, Questbridge could be the way to go as it allows finalists to in effect apply ED to 12 schools at once. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/how-it-works
In 2018, 6,507 of 16,248 (40%) applicants were finalists. Of the 6,507 finalists, 1,044 (16% of finalists, 6.4% of total applicants) were matched to a school, receiving a 4 year full COA scholarship.
QB estimates another 2,000 or so QB applicants were accepted to partner schools (all meet full need) in the RD round. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/opportunities
If you do become a QB finalist, you are correct that you can’t apply to any other schools early (ED, EA, SCEA, REA). But if you don’t become a finalist (Decisions due Oct 16) you still have enough time to get in an ED app to NYU or GWU.
Your chances of getting into GW or NYU Ed are far far higher than getting a Questbridge Match. However your chances of getting a full ride at either of those schools, which the Match Scholarship pretty much is, is zilch. Neither GWU nor NYU guarantee to meet full need, and they rarely do.
The QB schools all meet full need. If you do not get matched, you have the possibility of being invited to apply special ED or you can apply RD as a QB participant and get a bit of an edge in getting into one of these top schools. I don’t think QB makes any such claims, as it does not control the process, but from what Ive observed, being a QB Finalist is a nice thing to put on your application. Not to mention the support you get in putting together the applications
If you are not picked as a Finalist, you can apply ED wherever you please. You may get some fee waivers and some leeway in app process at QB partner schools, but no guarantee of it. Varies by school
So i suggest going through QB at least to see if you make Finalist status. If you don’t make it, you can revisit the idea of applying Early to either of those schools. Outside of the program and RD within the program. Though if you get an ED offer from those schools that you can afford, you are done with the process.
We don’t even know OP’s stats or profile, there is no basis for this statement.
QB states the 2,000 number accepted in RD several times on their website, but they do say that number is estimated.
https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/opportunities
Some stats:
GPA: 3.8 weighted
APs: Human Geo (3); English Lang (5); Enviro (1… lmao)
ECs: Varsity debate, varsity marching band (section leader), GSA club, intern for a local congressman, NHS
Work/volunteerism: I work 2 jobs and volunteer extensively because of marching band/NHS
ACT: 28 (recently retook, trying to hit 30)
Senior courseload: AP US Gov, AP Lit, Spanish 3, Financial Alg, Marching/symphonic band, criminal justice
Anticipated major: Int’l Relations/poli sci/poli comm
White female non-first gen. Income ~30k or less. Parents married, together. Only child.
I basically tried to summarize everything but I’m sure there’s some stuff I’ve forgotten. I’ll edit this if that’s the case. Hoping to do my EFC tonight
@Mwfan1921 , yes, I guess you are right. I was assuming that the OP was a viable candidate for those two schools
It’s less than a 1% chance to get a Match.
I figured that OP had a bit more than that to get into NYU and GW ED
The 2000 accepted ED are finalists?
No idea how many accepted as non Finalists. It seems to me those schools that partnered with QB welcome even non Finalists. They make it a bit easier to apply to them, and some don’t charge additional fees, and don’t have supplements. It also looks like there is a bit extra room in the apps to “show oneself” when continuing with the QB app and process.
That is not correct. In 2018, 6,507 of 16,248 (40%) applicants were finalists. Of the 6,507 finalists, 1,044 (16% of finalists, 6.4% of total applicants) were matched to a school, receiving a 4 year full COA scholarship. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/opportunities
Yes, that’s what they say on this webpage:
https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/opportunities
To get back to OP, you can estimate your EFC here, click on fafsa4caster: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/estimate
Agree with cpt that NYU and GWU may not be affordable, run their NPCs to get an estimate of your costs. Do not apply ED anywhere that looks like it will be unaffordable. NYU will be a reach for you as it is for everyone (sub 20% acceptance rate), GWU probably a high match/low reach (ACT below 25%ile).
I would go thru the QB process if your EFC is near or at $0. Your 28 ACT is at the 25% of last year’s finalists…it would be good to increase that score though. https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/national-college-match/finalist-profile
Give the application your best effort (it’s due 9/26) and definitely highlight in your application that you work two jobs. Good luck.
Thank you!
Back in freshman year my family ran an EFC calculator and the result was $1,088. I assume that hasn’t changed much now that I’m a senior, how does that match up against other applicants?
QB doesn’t publish match acceptances by EFC level, but anecdotally it does seem like most matched students have $0 to very low EFCs.
Definitely run the fafsa4caster now as well but based on limited information, QB seems like a better route for you then an NYU or GWU ED app. Have you run NPCs for those schools yet? Run NPCs at all schools you are considering applying to, including the 12 QB schools you would rank. Even though all QB schools meet full need, results can vary.