Hi, so I am struggling between applying to UPenn through QB or ED. I know Penn does not typically match with students whose EFC is more than $500. Mine is roughly 2 grand. For Questbridge I have two good recs from my Spanish teacher and history teacher. However, my interest is in Science. On the Common App, I’d have a rec from my neuroscience/biology teacher and an English Teacher. Plus, I feel like my common app essay is stronger. On Questbridge, I also ranked Princeton and Yale but my main goal is to be accepted into Penn. My main fear is that I’d not get matched and have to go the RD pool. Any advice??
Hi there Emily! I’m also a senior using QB to try to get to Penn. I contemplated ranking Yale and Princeton as backups but only ranked Penn. (whoops) In your case, if you firmly believe that you have a better chance at ED instead of NCM, I would definitely shoot for Finalist status and then opt out of the Match. I think as long as your Penn supplement is great, you should be fine, but do what’s best for your application. Go with whichever teacher recommendations you feel are stronger. Good luck! Hope to see you at Penn!
It doesnt hurt to put stanford, mit, yale and princeton at the bottom of your list. They are all non-binding.