<p>I'm not sure whether I should apply for Questbridge. Many of the finalists seem to be first generation / URM. Here's a list of info I'm considering:</p>
<p>1) My family (two parents, single child) makes around 10k a year. This is very low, but my parents do have some money saved, so we're not facing difficult financial hardship. The only hardships I recall off the top of my head is no heating, almost no insurance, and general saving. I don't know whether that stuff counts.</p>
<p>2) I'm Asian, and I live in Torrance, which is pretty much a suburb in SoCal. </p>
<p>3) I'd have to ask for recs when school starts on September 9th, giving my teachers about three weeks.</p>
<p>My stats are very high (2300+) and I'm a strong writer. My recs would be good. I really need financial aid, and I love the partner colleges. However, I feel like my chances of becoming a finalist are low, and I'd hate to rush my recommendations. Should I apply?</p>
<p>You should definitely apply; the application costs very little and gives you the oppurtunity to write many short answers and a few essays about your situation.</p>
<p>[National</a> College Match Program: 2008 College Match Recipient Profile](<a href=“QuestBridge”>QuestBridge)</p>
<p>That is the direct link that gives you the basic information about ethnicities and test scores. I will be applying for Questbridge as well because it gives me an ample amount of space to let the colleges know who I am.</p>
<p>In fact, the application is free. If you are chosen as a finalist, all the application fees to those partner colleges are waived.</p>
<p>You could potentially ask for a waiver for the CSS Profile and the FAFSA is free, so the initial cost can be pretty modest :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies :)</p>
<p>I’m not worried about the cost, but the time commitment and the potential risk of rushing my letters of rec.</p>
<p>I’d love to hear more advice, to get a better picture of whether QB is a good idea.</p>
<p>Yes you should. You’ll probably be a finalist, and though I can’t be sure I think a lot of determining finalists is QB deciding just based on stats alone. The matching is done by schools, and that’s where money comes in, I think. (I have reasons for thinking this, you can ask me if you like.) If you’re a finalist, then any applications to QB schools are free. (Usually, I’m pretty sure on this.) I only paid for one college app last year, and applied to four schools absolutely free, thanks to QB.</p>
<p>Recommendations…explain to your teachers/recommenders about QB and mine, at least, were more than understanding and got them done in time. Mine were, even my counselor stuff. </p>
<p>The application does suck, and it’s very very stressful for a few weeks, especially if you’re a finalist and have to do all your common app stuff in about three weeks. You have a lot to get done in a short time, and a lot of requirements to fill, and even though I wasn’t matched with QB, it was so so so worth it for me. Besides, even if you aren’t matched your apps are done by the beginning of November. Which is great, let me tell you.</p>
<p>Edit: Oh yeah…and you’re way ahead of me, even knowing about it. I found out about it in late August and applied then, and I made it okay. You know four weeks before I did, you should be fine in terms of time.</p>
<p>Luminouzz, if you decide to apply, you could call your High School and ask when the teachers report and call them then or go to the school to ask them about your rec’s. Usually staff reports a couple of weeks before school starts, so that would give them extra time to write your rec’s.</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful responses :)</p>