Questbridge Scholar here to Answer Questions and Give Help!

So I remember a questbridge scholar helping me on college confidential so I thought I would do the same! You guys can pm me if you don’t feel comfortable asking the questions out here and I’m willing to help as much as I can (Emphasis, as much as I can!) I know the application has not opened yet but when it does feel free to ask questions! I also have a youtube channel that I can share with you guys if you want an in-depth response. NOTE: I got into my school via regular decision and I definitely did not have the best stats lol but I am going to the University of Notre Dame in the fall!

MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.

First of all, congrats–Notre Dame is a great school!! I was wondering if you were a College Prep Scholar as a junior and/or a NCM finalist. Also, concerning applications, if you apply through NCM, are you still allowed to apply to other schools early (non-binding) before results come out?

I looked at QB’s flowchart for the NCM but I’m still a little confused… If you’re not a finalist what does “QuestBridge regular decision” mean? Is it different from normal RD? Thanks!!

@aatd2 I was not a college prep scholar as a junior but I was a NCM finalist. You kind of are allowed to apply to other schools…bc the results for the national college match come out before early decision, if you don’t get the scholarship then those schools you signed up for will give you the opportunity to do early decision. So yes you can…sorry for the long winded answer. If you were not a finalist, some schools allow you to apply still using the questbridge application. Questbridge regular decision applies solely to those who were finalists, but did not get the scholarship so you may apply using the qb application and the schools know that you are a finalist. It is and it is not different from regular decision. It’s different bc some schools may require you to write less essays and only submit stuff thru their website. At the same time, it is the same as normal regular decision bc it has the same due dates etc…but that’s pretty much it. If I’m not making sense I apologize lol I have my IB exams rn so my brain is mush

@Salmerks Lol hope your IB exams went well. Thanks for the detailed answer! Yes, it did make sense, especially the difference between QB RD and normal RD. That’s neat that you could just send in your QB app instead, let’s hope most schools allow that so there’s less writing involved!!

@aatd2 thx! When you apply for the NCM scholarship and if you decide to rank schools, you will definitely end up writing less essays. Once regular decision hits, then schools start asking for you to write more essays, way less schools will allow you to just use your qb application.

Hi Salmerks!
Congratulations for your match!
I m a college prep scholar, and am looking forward to apply to the NCM. However, I doubt that my application is competitive enough. Could give me your opinion about my academic profile:

Unweighted Gpa: 3.88
Weighted Gpa: 4.03
Sat score: 1300 RW 650 M 650
Ethnicity: African American(Haitian)
Income bracket: 12000$
First Generation College student
Less than 2 years in the Us
Award: First place in World languages Academic competition
Status: Permanent Resident

Thanks already for your answer!

@Flofou Although I haven’t gone through the NCM process yet, I’m a fellow Prep Scholar and hope to answer your question to an extent. Based on your SAT score and GPA, you are a bit on the low end. QB posted the middle 50% SAT scores from the 2017 NCM finalists (1320-1450) and unweighted GPA of 3.89.

You’re only a junior and still have time to perhaps retake the SAT and use superscore to your advantage and try to get within the 50% to have a better chance. You could also try the ACT if you haven’t already and see if thatsore suitable for you. As for your GPA, you seem to be pretty on par with finalists’ profiles, so just keep up the good work!

I wouldn’t say you’re not competitive; you’re only slightly below the average SAT score, but keep in mind that QB reviews each applicant holistically, so your essays, personal circumstances, grades, and recommendation letter may compensate for that lower score. Nevertheless, you should still apply! You’re already a CPS so you might have a little benefit when applying for NCM.

Best of luck!

@Flofou I personally think you are still very competitive. You have to go into applying to the NCM and questbridge with a positive mental attitude. My mentor who is also a qb scholar and goes to uva had a 3.7ish gpa and a 1270 when she applied. QB really is holistic!!! You have to sell yourself thru your essays. Whether it be talking about being Haitian etc, your experiences and perspective that you share thru your essays is what will allow you to get qb trust me!! Just make sure you spend looooots of time writing your essays and short answers etc. When that time comes, you can share with me your essays etc and I can give you pointers and ask other people! The essays are what make or break you trust me. So keep on pushing and do try and get a better score because you open your chances to even schools. I do believe other qb schools would want you based on your stats rn. I believe you could get qb because you are clearly putting in enough initiative by seeking outside help!

I am wondering how likely it is that you will receive a full ride or as great of a scholarship RD opposing to NCM. I will be applying to questbridge but I don’t know how certain I am that I feel comfortable applying to schools with a binding decision. I want options, but I also want a full ride more. Was your situation like this?

The NCM scholarship is not necessarily a full ride but it’s pretty darn close! Yes this was my situation, so I looked at the qb website and looked at what each school’s full ride scholarship actually entailed. All in all, I just applied to the Ivy Leagues binding because I didn’t want to be bound to a school if I didn’t know it was top notch. However, I would just say do your research on the schools. Look on youtube for campus tours, contact people, look at what each school offers in terms of your major or possible major and interests and above all, DON’T FEEL PRESSURED TO APPLY UP TO 12 SCHOOLS. It’s not worth it if you don’t really love it. I loved the Ivies so I did but obviously it didn’t work out lol but that’s ok. So put schools on your list that you know you love full heartedly then wait for the rest.

@malaalenase Sorry I forgot to tag you but my response is above.

Hi! congrats on matching with UND!! I was just wondering if you think I would be competitive

Unweighted Gpa: 3.56 (its kinda low bc I’ve been to 4 high schools and I’m just a junior lololol)
Weighted Gpa: same as my uw bc my old schools didnt have ap/honors (im Nigerian)
Sat score: 1450 RW 690 M 760
Ethnicity: Nigerian
Location: Texas
Income bracket: <$20000
Awards: SAMO state finalist, many in-school awards, UIL Academics competitions
Status: Permanent Resident
My second year here
Many extracurriculars but none are too focused bc my schools have all had different extracurriculars but I’ve had several leadership roles

@pandaboy123 Thx and side note I did not match with und, unfortunately, I got in through questbridge regular decision. And I do think you are competitive bc although your gpa is on the lower end (not really tho lol) questbridge allows you to explain why your gpa is low so it isn’t like “Oh I just got kinda lazy and these are my grades.” Your SAT score is very good and you are overall involved in school so you have a great shot!!! Also remember that questbridge isn’t solely focused on stats so even while I think you have a great shot, that isn’t all they look at AT ALL! I would say the key to getting questbridge is writing AMAZING essays. By writing good essays that are unique and true to you, questbridge will definitely be more inclined to choosing you.

@Salmerks Hi there! If I send you my essays, would you be willing to skim over them quickly and give me your thoughts? ^^

@Salmerks Congratulations on your match! That is honestly amazing.

I planning to apply for questbridge and I have a couple of questions:

chances:
sat:1410
weighted:4.8
aps: 14 at the end of the year
ec: many bioengineering internships, involved heavily in environmental orgs

I’m a bit confused on some parts of the app. First off, is it true that you only get matched to the partner schools if you have an EFC of 0?

I’m trying to get hold of my EFC through FAFSA but the site keeps crashing.

My family’s adjusted gross income is 30,000 while before all the taxes it’s around 40,000. We don’t have any assets, we’re still paying off our mortgage for our house. We have a total of 4 family members at our house: mother, father, my sister who is starting high school and me. I’m just unsure of what the quest bridge is asking for on the assets page. Also, do they just directly calculate the EFC from finalist app? Or do we need to send in other documents?

Also, I heard that there’s people who don’t get match to their ranked schools but then gets an email to apply early decision and gets accepted. Is that true? Does all of your rank colleges offer that or is it only your #1 ranked college send that to you? thanks. sorry for all the questions.

@stats87 I’m the parent of a different finalist from last year. Some people who were matched and also some who were chosen during RD had an EFC higher than zero. I remember reading that one person had a $2000 EFC. Each school you list for the match will have its own requirements as to what you need send in. My son listed 12 colleges and it was a lot of work to get everything in on time. Some schools have their own forms, all wanted transcripts, test scores, copies of tax forms, etc. Some wanted these items uploaded, others wanted a fax and some wanted things mailed in. I believe if you go to each school on the QB site there is a page that shows what you will need to send in during the match. This didn’t apply to us, but some people who had a non-custodial parent had a hard time since there is a form for that parent to fill out and some people did not know how to reach that parent.

As far as an email to get apply ED, I’m not sure. I do know some people who weren’t matched were contacted by some schools on their list encouraging them to apply RD. I don’t know how many of them were eventually accepted through RD, though.

Just a reminder…if the stats are like last year, about 15% of the finalists are chosen during the match and 35% are chosen during RD. Half of the people are not selected during either round. My son fell into the second half group. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. He had the grades and test scores, but our income was a little high and his ECs were lacking. I also noticed on posts that showed who was accepted and rejected that it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense as far as who got in and who didn’t. There was a super poor person with great grades, tons of ECs and a 36 on the ACT who wasn’t chosen. There was another person who had mediocre grades, a little bit higher income and an ACT of 25 who was chosen. So, if you decide to go the QB route make sure you also apply to some other colleges too. My son ended up at a non-QB college that he loves, so it all worked out. Best of luck to you!!

@BubbaP thank you so much! that helped a lot. I’ll be applying this year haha

@BubbaP I agree that who gets accepted/matched and who doesn’t can sometimes be a mystery, but you can’t just look at the applicant’s stats. QB places a great emphasis on essays and understanding the applicants beyond the numbers. So the “mediocre” applicant likely had a great story to tell that adcoms liked.

Since you were a finalist, do you remember if the QB supplements for the schools you ranked were the same as the supplements you found on the Common App? I want to get a head start on those so I don’t cram in 2 weeks before Nov 1 since I don’t know if I’m a finalist of not until Oct 18. Thanks!