<p>itsonmars is amazing <3
You are the definition of amazing.
Many of my friends look at me like I’m fine, and not low-income and that I have a large house but they don’t know my parents are 20 years apart, bought the house 40 years ago when it was like 80k, retired and not working, unhealthy, and my family is basically living off of my dad’s retirement income.
It’s horrible. </p>
<p>And I’m sick of people judging me and saying I can’t do QB because I look rich, whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.</p>
<p>And I agree with the whole mentality of someone who is poor, but is active and smart. It’s hard. It definitely is. I refuse to show it. But we get through right?</p>
<p>This is my first post on College Confidential. I have been following the Questbridge threads since September.
My daughter is a Questbridge finalist. She was not matched to any of the four schools she listed. The truly puzzling thing is that she was NOT accepted to any of the Questbridge schools, including the four she added after the match announcements. She was wait-listed at one of those schools. She was accepted at three non-Questbridge schools, none of which were among her top choices. Two made excellent offers of academic scholarships without even considering the FAFSA yet.
Her stats are good, not fantastic, but pretty good. She is a US citizen yet has an interesting address that you might guess by my screen name. I am Monday night quarterbacking the entire application process to come up with some explanation for her many rejections, including one from a Big 10 school for which her stats are near the top of their middle 50% and from which her grandmother graduated! One of the most logical explanations is that her obvious financial needs shut her out of some of these schools. I suspect that the Questbridge finalist status backfired for her. I would love any feed back. Glad to say that she is pretty much OK. We are just puzzled. Any comments?</p>
<p>BBrasil, I experienced a similar situation. I applied to seven Questbridge schools and was only accepted by one. Another was a waitlist, and the rest were rejections. Granted, the one I was accepted by is a fantastic school (unfortunately, I’d rather go to other schools), but it makes me wonder what went wrong. I can tell you, however, that Questbridge only aids an applicant. I’ve seen many decisions threads where Questbridge finalists have reported acceptances to top schools. These schools are always looking to expand their socioeconomic diversity, and while they are need-blind, being a Questbridge finalist actually gives you a hook. I’m sure your daughter is a great applicant, but perhaps there was some other factor that led to her rejections. Keep in mind though that the admissions process can be random and unpredictable. She should check over her applications and see if there were any errors or information she failed to report, and then, if she wants to, stay on the waitlist and draft a letter stating her interest in the school and updating them with new information.</p>
<p>First of all, there are so many applicants, so any one of them is certainly not guaranteed to receive any QB benefit.</p>
<p>Theoretically, the QB students that did receive aid likely had better stats and greater need.</p>
<p>You mention that her grandmother went to college, and I believe QB very much focuses their gifts on students who are the first in their families to go to college.</p>
<p>QB’s mission may want to address inequalities within U.S. society, and if your daughter is based in Brazil, that may not jibe.</p>
<p>College admissions are more competitive than many of us can wrap our heads around these days.</p>
<p>She is a finalist. Questbridge accepted her as a finalist despite having several generations of college grads in the family. My question is not regarding the college match aspect. My concern is that she wasn’t even accepted at any of the Questbridge schools (eight) to which she applied through Questbridge. She was even turned down by a Big Ten school which has nothing to do with the Questbridge program. This is the university from which her grandmother graduated (legacy hook). She listed Questbridge finalist on all of her applications. I wonder if this evidence of need was a drawback.</p>
<p>Her academics and extracurriculars are very strong. We are very low income. One school said that the parents´ expected contribution would be $500!</p>
<p>Well, I can’t quite remember what a “finalist” is, but in any case, the main point is, you just can’t count on anything. </p>
<p>There are a great many students who have excellent stats and high need. </p>
<p>The relative easiness of applying to 20 schools, due to the Common Application system, seems to be throwing things out of whack. Many more students, percentage-wise, are denied.</p>
<p>Also, many schools only consider a student a legacy when the parent is the alum.</p>
<p>You’re right that evidence of need can be a drawback in being accepted, but if there’s need, there’s need - you gotta bring it up.</p>
<p>Finalists are disproportionately minorities (relative to the US population) because low-income students are disproportionately minorities. ;)</p>
<p>The cutoff of $60k is such because students from families making up to that amount are severely underrepresented at the top universities; this is the same cutoff for getting a full scholarship at most top privates. Those making between that and $90k or so are accurately represented at the top universities, relative to the US population. Those making more than $100k are very overrepresented.</p>
<p>Oh man, I can’t believe I just read through all of that. Very nice posts, you guys. </p>
<p>Beahonest, I don’t think you should worry too much about Questbridge. If you are an amazing student with a wonderful work ethic and a great personality, you’ll find success regardless if you get accepted or not. </p>
<p>(From your posts, though, it doesn’t really look like you are that type of person.)</p>
<p>I don’t have time right now to write down an entire post, but perhaps I will do it someday soon. </p>
<p>Cheers. </p>
<ul>
<li>A College Prep Scholarship recipient</li>
</ul>