To Match or Not to Match

Paying for College Access Programs (Questbridge, Posse)
1

<p>Well...first of all, I'm a Questbridge applicant who is quietly apprehensive about whether or not he'll be selected as a finalist. I'll be gone at DiVOH (Amherst tour) during the 22nd, which makes it even more nerve-wracking :( <em>Fingers crossed</em></p>

<p>But, as you guys all know, we need to decide whether or not to match by the 15th, a full week before we find out who moves on as finalists. I'm having a lot of turmoil over this - I've already talked about it with my parents, but they're spiritual people (not that there's anything wrong with that) - which means they "believe there's a chance" :). They're saying to do the match process, in the slim event that I get accepted full-ride to a prestigious university.</p>

<p>Unfortunately for me, I'm a realist, which means I'm more of a hardlined stats kind-of-guy. I'm pondering over whether to go drop the match process and go ED to my #1 Amherst, or try my hand at the match process. Keep in mind, if I were to match, I would pick only schools I'm acquainted with -- and not necessarily pick 8 schools to match to. I'd definitely do some of the non-binding schools, not all however - not one like MIT.</p>

<p>The chance to apply to a large majority of the great Questbridge partner colleges is very tempting - but I know how astronomical the acceptance rates are. A school like Amherst only took 7 students last year via match, while 32% of ED Amherst students were admitted. However, there's always the risk of rejection from ED, which means I won't even get a 2nd chance to receive admission. If I were to get rejected from match, I could always try RD - that'd be a guaranteed option. </p>

<p>The unofficial EFC calculators put me slightly above 0, and I'm somewhere around 100-200. I hear that an EFC of 0 is highly prioritized in the match process, and some schools (like Yale) only take students with an EFC of 0. In terms of academics, my GPA isn't up-to-par, but my SAT well exceeds the averages of the schools. Would applying via the match process help me stand out among the applications? </p>

<p>I want to take full advantage of the opportunity if it arrives, and I was hoping for some peer advice. So, I end with the question - Are you matching?</p>

2

<p>If you made the application cut to be invited to Amherst’s DiVOH, they must have also sent you the letter than says 75% of those invited to DiVOH get accepted later? Maybe that’s in a follow-up letter? Unless you get caught drinking or spouting Nazi slogans while visiting there, you should be fine.</p>

<p>In any case, my son attended Amherst’s DiVOH and later applied via QB during regular decision. He was accepted there early-write, 3 weeks before the official announcements. He liked Amherst a great deal, but for two of his interests (physics and computer science) he didn’t think the course catalog was broad enough. He was also accepted at Williams (also early-write), Northwestern (in their elite integrated science program) and Brown. He ultimately decided on Brown, which had the best balance of size vs. courses available – and a tendency to mock itself, which he found refreshing.</p>

<p>If you made the DiVOH cut, your application will be given extra consideration. Don’t be afraid to consider other options and compare financial aid offers before finalizing your choice.</p>

3

<p>I think you might’ve misread the 75% stat - mine simply says 75% of all DiVOH applicants ended up applying to Amherst later that fall. In any case, I understand it’ll give me a leg up in the admissions process, as they’re willing to fly me out to their school to persuade me to apply. And btw, I don’t think I’ll end up drunk; if it only takes me 2 nights to lose self-control…I’ll be very worried about my college future looks like. </p>

<p>As for early-write, is that basically the same thing as a “likely letter?” I understand they simply notify RD applicants a few weeks in advance if they really like them and can guarantee them a spot in the school.</p>

4

<p>I managed to find my son’s letter from 2 years ago. It reads: “nearly 85% of the students who participated…choose to apply to Amherst and over 75% of those students were ultimately admitted.” That’s as close to a sure thing as one can hope for with this tier of school!</p>

<p>I guess an early-write is sometimes called a “likely letter” but there was no “likely” about it: it was a personalized offer of admission with brief comments about what aspects in particular impressed the admissions committee.</p>