<p>Say I was named QB Finalist but decided not to do the NCM (due to its ridculously low match chance)..</p>
<p>I am most likely to apply ED i to one of the partner colleges (I've opted out of NCM). So would the financial aid package be better than those pooled in the regular ED/RD non-finalist applicants? -- considering they should see QB applicants as low income</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>bump10char</p>
<p>I’m not totally clear on your question but let me give it a shot and then you can clarify your original post if I missed the point :). Your financial aid package at most of the QB partner schools will likely be very similar whether you are matched, or accepted ED or RD. The QB colleges include many of the group which are needs blind and meet full need (meaning they don’t consider your ability to pay when they read your application and if accepted, they guarantee to meet your full demonstrated need based on your CSS profile and FAFSA). The other QB partner schools offer extremely robust financial aid for low income students, many covering full COA (cost of attendance = tuition, R&B, books, travel, health insurance, personal expenses) for families with incomes under 60K, and no loan packages for families under 100K or so - obviously every school is different and you can use the NPC on each website, although I find the NPC tends to OVERestimate costs for low income families. </p>
<p>Anyway, if you are a QB finalist, it is almost certain that you are in the income bracket which would guarantee you a FA package similar to what is offered to the students who are matched through QB. Your FA will not be better because you are a QB finalist, it will be better because you are in the income category which receives full COA coverage from the college.
If you are interested, you can compare QB match packages from the different schools here: <a href=“QuestBridge | Scholarship Details”>http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/ncm-scholarship-details</a>. Click on the college name to see details of the package.
You’ll notice that they really vary: e.g. Rice and UVA offer incredible packages where they meet the full cost of attendance with no work/study and no summer earnings expectation. So, Rice will actually give you $3K to pay for your travel and personal expenses, and UVA will give you up to $4800 for books and expenses. (Some Questies call it getting paid to go to college :)!) The other colleges require on average between 2K and 4K from the student between campus work-study and summer earnings, and a few want you to contribute a portion of your savings if you have such a thing! These packages should be fairly accurate predictors of what FA you can expect from colleges if your income is in the pell grant range (or even up to 60K). Before you decide not to do match you might want to look at the packages offered by the colleges you’re interested in. Another thing to note is that if you rank a school and are not matched, the college usually offers to bump your application into an ED II round with no further submissions necessary. Many Questies who aren’t matched are accepted to partner schools this way. </p>
<p>Two of my four kids have been matched via QB and the other one received FA from her college that was similar to the QB match packages - actually better than one of the QB match colleges. My last is a rising senior and will apply for NCM this fall. Being a finalist is a great award, regardless of whether you choose to do NCM. Good luck to you!!!
(I know this is a long post to wade through, but there are always so many questions and so much confusion about QB at this time of year, I thought it better to give TMI rather than too little!) </p>
<p>@nynightowl Wow. thank you so much for that in-depth background of QB and financial packages, etc…</p>
<p>I have a question about the “being bumped into ED ii if not accepted in the match”:
How would the financial aid package differ then? (it shouldn’t be full if not matched, of course)… and certainly must have a better financial package then non-finalists or just regular common app applicants</p>
<p>“certainly must have a better financial package then non-finalists or just regular common app applicants”</p>
<p>Nope. Both are based on the same forms: FAFSA & CSS Profile, which contain the same info whether you apply through QB or not. The reason partner colleges say match packages are “guaranteed for 4 years” is because there’s a 99% chance that the match recipients’ income level won’t change. However, if you look closely, all schools require you to file financial aid applications (FAFSA & CSS) every year -even if matched.</p>
<p>These schools don’t just meet need for QB finalists -they do it for all their admits. 
Sooo don’t stress about whether you become a finalist or not, financial-wise. There are many non-QB, low income kids at these places & I bet their packages are quite the same.</p>
<p>Yes, Lillian is exactly right and that’s part of what I was trying to say in my very long winded post! It is your family’s financial status that determines your FA package NOT your Questbridge status. So you will get basically the SAME FA at partner schools regardless of when/how you are accepted. The NCM match packages are guaranteed so even if your family’s financial situation changes, you will still receive full COA; that’s the one primary difference. </p>
<p>@Lillliana, every student has to fill out FAFSA every year if they receive FA, but the match awards are absolutely guaranteed for four years, even if the family finances change. There are only 5 Questbridge schools that are the exception and do re-evaluate and adjust your award if necessary. I think they are Brown, Haverford, Columbia, Stanford, Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>@nynightowl, I noticed we have a few things in common :)! sent you a PM…</p>