There is no need to press an unprepared student to do a questbridge app last minute. She can simply apply to the few partners that have engineering and are in her geog area, she will still be evaluated and if accepted would in many cases get the same package. And sounds like she has too many other schools she is interested in to do the ‘match’ portion anyway, which is binding ED. RD questbridge students get regular generous meets need packages, just like anyone else applying RD.
Take a look at collgenavigator.
They break down the average financial aid numbers.
@BrownParent thank you, that’s exactly what I’m thinking too. And I am applying to Tufts, which is one of the schools that QB partners with. Their NPC gave me a very good number and I absolutely loved the campus. There’s no way my teachers can finish my recs for QB.
Did you miss the part that the reqs can come in late?
When people say NYU isn’t good about awarding financial aid, they are talking about middle class and upper middle class families. If your family income is $30k/year your best bet is going to be either an in-state public or a private university that gives a lot of financial aid. Generally speaking, the bigger the endowment/student and the more selective the college, the more generous the financial aid will be. For example if you were fortunate enough to be admitted to Harvard or Princeton, your EFC would be about $4,600/year which most can manage, getting admitted to these schools of course is another matter. A 32 ACT will be high enough for merit aid at many colleges but probably not a place like Carnegie Mellon. The percentage of students awarded merit aid varies a tremendous amount from one college to another. DePauw, Case Western, Oberlin, GW - these would be four schools who give out a lot of merit aid to a lot of students. If you would like send me a PM and I can send you a book that I’m publishing soon that gives you details on merit aid / financial aid
When I say it, I’m talking about all families.
I emailed (questions@questbridge.org) and they told me that it is my responsibility to make sure my recommenders get their letters of recommendation in on time. They won’t care if it’s a day late because they understand the overwhelming traffic the site gets on the deadline date, but they shouldn’t be late more than a day. Anyways I’m not even too upset about this because I’m applying to Tufts anyways.
I am with Bob Wallace. NYC need based financial aid is very unpredictable. The school does not meet full need for all. The school costs about $70,000 a year to attend.
NYC seems to use need based aid to lure highly desirable students. And even they get gapped.
It doesn’t matter what your income level is…NYU need based aid is lousy.
I’m not applying to NYU…
Considering the fact that Tufts is no longer need blind in their admissions process is exactly why you should be looking into applying to Questbridge forTufts. It does not matter what race you are, if you meet the income requirements, you will be eligible for Questbridge.
While no one can force you to do something that you don’t want to do, things will eventually come down to a question of worth. So far you are demonstrating that it is not worth it to take advantage of an opportunity that can provide you with a virtually free education.
So what you found out about the program late; this is where you grind it out put all of your free time in to getting the application done. This is also where you apologize for the short notice and explain to teachers that you just learned about the opportunity, explain your situation and the fact that it is one of the few options available for you to get an affordable education.
I would hope that you have garnered enough good will with 2 people who could write a recommendation for you (what they have to say about you, they don’t need 6 weeks to put together).
College Girl- let me give you a little context as to why folks here are urging you to burn the midnight oil and just get the Questbridge application done- and to push your teachers- politely- to finish on time.
You need a finger on the scale here in order to complete your education. Somehow, somewhere, someone in authority needs to realize your intellectual and academic potential, and decide to find enough money to help you get where you need to go.
The parents here are trying to tell you diplomatically that Questbridge may well be your best option for finding that person- i.e. your finger on the scale. There are zero guarantees that even if your NPC’s are showing that you’re going to get a boatload of money, that you’ll even get admitted. So the knowledge that you would have gotten a ton of money to a college which rejects you doesn’t get the job done- hence your need for a finger on the scale.
After all the formulas and the statistics and the numbers, admissions and funding (apart from a Pell grant and the other Federal entitlements) is about a human being who is going to realize your potential and have that resonate enough so that he/she can convince other people of your potential and get you the money you need.
Questbridge is by far your best bet for making that happen right now.
Got it? You are playing gin rummy while sitting a table with a bunch of people playing poker. You need to switch to poker- fast- in order to play the game.
If Questbridge doesn’t work for you, we can help you formulate Plan C. But right now it is Plan A and Plan B for you- so get cracking. And tell your teachers how much you appreciate them pulling an all-nighter tonight to get your recommendation in on time.
One too many idioms?
Maybe this will help:
If you put your finger on a weight scale, you try to influence the result of something in your favour.
Madison- huh? Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me???
I know arguing with a teenager is a generally pointless exercise, as my own (now grown) kids proved time and again…
I am agreeing with you. But I am not sure a 17 year old understands your finger on a scale or gin rummy versus poker idioms. Maybe something more current with video games or candy crush versus angry birds?
OP- I am out of idioms. You need to complete the Questbridge application, and you need to persuade your teachers to stay up late tonight to finish their recommendations, and then you need to thank them with all your heart for helping you achieve a college education (teachers never get thanked- this will mean a lot).
You may have decided that you’ve got a better plan but until you apply to Questbridge- you don’t have a better plan. You’ve just got a bunch of excuses as to why you are too busy and your teachers are too stressed to get your application in on time. This is not a plan.
Madison- how am I doing?
I appreciate all the help. Thank you to everyone who posted in this thread.
…and?
Did you go the extra mile, put your finger on the scale, light a fire, and play the right card game (decide to apply for Questbridge)?
You should read this:
@C0llegegirl Did you apply to Questbridge?