<p>I'm a current junior that got rejected from CPS and I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed. I thought I had a really good chance.
36 ACT, 800 on Math II and Chemistry, 3.98/4.5 gpa with 11 APs by end of junior year.
Income is 35k, Asian male.
I had another CCer (an adult) review my essay and I was told apart from a few things (which I fixed) it was good. So what went wrong? I see kids with sub 30s get accepted, and I know scores aren't everything but I don't think my essay was awful either. Is it because I'm an Asian male and an ORM?</p>
<p>Nothing is wrong with you exactly. It’s just that they have limited amount of space and they have to fill a status quo. For example say that this year they gave most of the awards to African American Females w/ high gpas and test scores. You have to think how that looks to everyone else. It makes it seem like they favor a specific demographic over the others. It will also discourage other demographics from applying. Do well to remember you are not competing w/ everyone applying, you’re competing w/ the rest of the Asian males w/ or around your same stats. There is also the idea of admission officers rejecting people because they KNOW the kid can get in somewhere else. Compared to a student that probably will never get a break in life, that they did give the award to. So don’t feel to mad dude, I still STRONGLY encourage you to shoot for the NCM. Even if you make finalist and don’t get in, a lot of students they ask to apply EA and they do get in. You will get in somewhere don’t worry.</p>
<p>I refuse to believe it’s arbitrary, especially Questbridge which does not have a 5% acceptance rate or anything like that. According to the QB website, they accept around 50% of applicants, and since their mid-50 range of ACT scores is 26-30, I just can’t understand how I did not make the cut. There’s got to be a reason, and I want to know what I should have done in case I decide to apply for NCM.</p>
<p>I was one of those people who got CPS last year with good but not great scores, a high income under QB standards, was not first-gen and was not a racial minority (to say the least I was a bit surprised). I ultimately got finalist as well and have since been asked by juniors I know why I think I got it when on paper I didn’t have a great chance. Looking back at my old applications I think one major thing was that my passions really came through (they were also cohesive when you looked at what classes I was taking/ECs I was doing and my essays). I also think that my passions set me apart on paper, some of my ECs didn’t seem to be common among QB applicants. Yes, QB cares about scores and grades, but based on the people I have seen apply, I think it is safe to say they are not the defining characteristics. It seems like QB has a certain threshold for being able to make it at a selective college and after that it becomes a lot more about you. I hope this helps, feel free to message me if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>It has nothing to do with you being Asian, an ORM, or your stats. QB’s selection for CPS and NCM is based on more than just test scores and out of the thousands of qualified kids that apply, they can’t accept everyone. Each year there has been one or two students on CC who do not get accepted in NCM when they have PERFECT stats and have been through a GREAT deal of struggle. These students become devastated that they did not get into NCM but they end up applying to the top schools anyways and get into schools like Yale and Harvard. </p>
<p>Moral of the story? Just because you don’t get CPS or NCM does NOT mean you will not get a great financial aid package from the top school of your dreams. Personally, I think QB rejects those “over-qualified” applicants because they are more-or-less very confidant that those students do not need the extra help or push to get into selective colleges (not to say that QB NCM or finalists aren’t, but I’m sure you get what I mean).</p>
<p>You should still apply to NCM regardless, after all, you could end up making NCM even if you didn’t get CPS. And besides, you won’t have to regret not applying and wondering what would have happened if you did apply. You have a great chance to get NCM and into a top school even if you don’t. Just do NOT give up and just apply. You’ve worked hard throughout your years of high school so you shouldn’t just throw it all away because you get one rejection from CPS. Besides, the worst you could happen is you don’t get NCM and already have essays that you can reuse for college apps (GASP).</p>
<p>I never knew about CPS and applied to NCM at the last minute (P.S. I’m also Asian so being Asian in no way hinders your chances of getting a chance at NCM). I ended up becoming a finalist but not getting matched, however, QB gave me the opportunity to apply to top colleges that I would have never done so otherwise. I am extremely grateful for their opportunity and I’m trying to get more kids to apply from where I live. Many stuents at my school didn’t apply because they didn’t think they would make it at a top school. I think QB wants to give the opportunity of NCM/CPS to students who have good enough stats to apply to top schools but would have never done so because of misconceptions or worry about monetary issues. I think the give the award this way so that these students at least attempt to apply to see how far they can go. </p>
<p>It seems as if you already have your mind set on a top college even before you heard of NCM (I may be wrong but I’m assuming?).So perhaps that is another reason why?</p>
<p>This is all speculation, however. Nonetheless, yes, you should still apply for NCM.</p>
<p>@college38283 so do you think the fact that I’m not as “disadvantaged” as other may be (regardless of income) may have played a role? To be fair, I do live in a more “middle class-y” community and I am aware of the college admissions process and such (I’ve met with college counselors in the past). I do realize now that QB is less about finding the valedictorian but more about the hidden gem kind of thing. I was just initially shocked and disappointed cause I honestly thought it was a shoo-in for me. Call me arrogant but just by the numbers I was easily in the 99th percentile of applicants. I think I understand now though why I might have been rejected but I think I will still apply to NCM regardless.</p>
<p>A very close friend whose DD applied didn’t get it either. She is AA, from NYC. A few kids from her school did. They are Asian. I believe mom makes too much $$$ and mom also has a degree. </p>
<p>Okay, please don’t go into this college process thinking that because you are Asian that you are behind that 8 ball. On the other side of that coin, don’t assume that you are a shoe in because of your stats. If I have learned nothing else it’s this, adcoms are human beings and it’s your job to connect with them through your application. Show them that you are more than just high stats. Consider who will write your LORs, consider your essays very carefully!!! What do your ECs say about you? </p>
<p>Take a close hard look at your QB app and see what was missing. You can print it, hand it to someone that you trust and have them read it, ask them honestly, what does that application say about you? You may actually learn some great insight.</p>
<p>@kei04086 - I can only tell you my son’s experience. He never applied for the CPS, but did apply for the NCM and was rejected as a finalist. He and I were both very stymied at the time because you read about shoo-ins as a high scoring AA male. Do NOT believe any of this shoo-in nonsense. My son is an AA male, 3.96 UW GPA, 5.0 W GPA, all AP/honors classes, 32 ACT (33 R, 33W, 34M and 29S), had local, state and national music awards for composition, piano and vocals, experienced a very traumatic family event in HS, is an exceptional writer and seemed to fit the mold for QB. My son’s father only had a high school education; however, I have a Master’s degree. I also own my own house (okay, the bank owns it), but I pay the mortgage and have some equity. I also have a decent 401k from when I put money away when I was single. We are definitely on the lower end of the SES, well within the QB parameters. My son’s father and I are divorced and he hasn’t contributed a penny to support my son in years. </p>
<p>Just wanted to give you a framework for his rejection. Having said that, even after his rejection, quite a few of the QB school’s contacted my son encouraging him to apply. This is just to let you know that all QB schools have access to all QB applicants whether they are NCM finalists or not. If they see something in your application that they want, they will contact you. When my son was rejected, he took an evening to process the rejection. He then polished his essays, changed his status on the Common App to EA, applied to Yale and was accepted. He just finished up a very successful first year at Yale. I guess my point is no one can answer why you weren’t accepted. I tend to agree with NewHavenCTmom that QB may reject students whom they think can get into QB schools without the boost of QB. However, since we aren’t in the room with the people reading the apps and making the decisions, we are only hazarding a guess as to whether or not this is true. </p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in the application process. If for no other reason than to be ahead of the game in the application process, I would do the QB application. Once completed, you can then decide what to do based on your NCM finalist status. My only caution would be that unless your EFC is 0, I would think long and hard about doing the match process. You my be better advised to go the EA route if an Ivy League school is your first choice. I would read the thread in QB about no acceptances and applying EA/ED versus the NCM process. </p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom yes I understand, thank you for the comments. I think I definitely have learned I shouldn’t take anything for granted. To be honest though, I don’t think my ECs were abysmal either so who knows.</p>
<p>@momofmusician17 thank you, that’s very encouraging. Congrats you must be so happy for your son! I will apply to NCM for sure and regardless of results I won’t be held down by that or CPS. All this stuff is making me so nervous haha I can’t believe college is so close.</p>
<p>I just received an invitation to apply to the Window on Williams program, which I’m assuming is because I applied to QB. It’s my understanding that the application is open to all, so was my invitation just advertisement, or does it mean they have genuine interest in me?</p>
<p>@kei04086 Perhaps, I mean QB does seem to want to target students who have less knowledge about top colleges. I can’t really say so for sure though. When I was applying things were starting to turn around for my family, however, we were still making half the 60K limit for QB. Everything considered, my stats are pretty much the same as yours though my ACT was not a perfect 36 so don’t fret too much, you still have as good as shot as anybody else at NCM! I agree with NewHavenCTmom about getting someone else to look through your app to see what someone would get from it. I know for my NCM application I wasn’t expecting much so I had fun with my application and it expresses my personality a lot better than any of my college apps.</p>
<p>Anyways, best of luck to you and do fill out and submit a NCM application! I don’t know anything about the Williams program so I can’t help there.</p>
<p>@streetcred Not sure if you are a ■■■■■, but OP was wondering if being Asian put him at a disadvantage for CPS/NCM. NewHavenCTMom was discrediting that belief by saying that there are many students who are Asian who do get CPS & NCM. Please calm down.</p>
<p>@college38283 No worries, @streetcred has only been on CC for a very brief time. She must learn to READ the posts and COMPREHEND them. Hopefully she will learn, if not, her time here will be very frustrating. Let’s be patient with her. </p>
<p>I should also add that on another thread where there was a discussion about acceptance shaming. How students put others down for being accepted to HSCs. DD was accepted to Yale, she is AA. A classmate told DD that the only reason she got in was because they were filling a black quota. The classmate was Asian.</p>
<p>As we long time members of CC know that Asians feel like they are being robbed of their precious spots and I felt that mentioning the girls race was germane to the discussion. Here again, @streetcred is new here and doesn’t understand all of the nuances pertaining to college admissions. And she got hot under the collar because I mentioned that the girl was Asian. </p>
<p>I am not a ■■■■■ - this is just insane that NewHavenCTmom is patted on the back for being racist. How you can make these comments “Asians feel like they are being robbed of their precious spots” and how anyone would back up that comment or you is beyond comprehension. The Asian Community stresses education, we all know that, that is why they succeed. Perhaps other minorities ought to do the same instead of living off the system. . </p>