murkywater

Hamchuck, I'm trying to dig up information.. you saw my thread on the Stanford forum, right? I somehow can't find a lot of information on this, even though most people on CC are aware of this scholarship.

SATs: 2090
3.9 GPA, UW
My ECs aren't horrible, either.

Elchingon9, you can PM me for my stats. I'm really curious because I'm not a URM and I wonder whether that is going to affect me negatively when colleges are choosing students for the Match scholarship..

Hamchuck, what ethnicity are you? And are you first-generation? What is your income?

And Harvard isn't a partner school, but saying that you're a QuestBridge finalist may tip you over to gain admittance in the RD round.

Hamchuck

let's see, I'm Vietnamese American (a lot are on QB, I noticed.) My parents never went to college so I will be the first person in my family, grandparents never did either. My parents' income is below the 60K mark, sorry if I'm not being specific, this is a public thread so I don't want to throw too much info out the window, but let's just say it's not really close to 60K.

I'm not too intent in making it into harvard, I just want to get into a good school. I also applied to get into the college prep program this summer, not sure if I could make it but if it's based a lot on income, I'll have a good chance.

Btw, I have a question on the prep scholarship. I know that last year, winners got laptops and free princeton SAT prep. However, this year, the prizes seem to have changed a little bit, with counseling being the substitute. Can anyone confirm if it's true they're not longer handing out laptops and SAT prep sessions? I'd want to have one of those prep sessions but it's too expensive to pay for by myself.

x3rose

i was a college prep scholarship recipient.. but i didn't do college match and i kind of regret it b/c i might have gotten into stanford but i got into princeton anyway (first choice school!) so i guess it can't hurt you.. it's just one realllly long app that takes a really long time...

elchingon's right... great essays/recs are the key! but stats are pretty big with QB. i had an SAT of 2240 and two SAT IIs completed before end of junior year which i think was really helpful b/c at the end of junior year, most people had only taken the SAT once and not taken any SAT IIs. i'm chinese american, first generation (older sister does attend college, parent never did), single parent family, under 60K income if that's any help... you don't need to be URM. moreover, to get a holistic view, sometimes QB staff call you for a phone interview.. which is what they did.. they asked more about my family situation and also about my ECs and then at the end they told me i got a scholarship.. i was wondering why he was grilling me with questions for almost 30 minutes.. but yeah, good luck to those that applied.. it's a great program and i really do think you should take advantage of it if you can PM me with any questions you have since i'm still in correspondence with one of the QB staff about their programs

murkywater

Hamchuck, you're Asian! Just like me.

Ah, I know what you mean about keeping income private. I, however, don't really care. My parent's income is close to 22 to 24k, for a five-person family. It's relatively low, so I'm hoping that counts for something.

Personally, I don't really like Harvard. I am, however, fixated on Princeton. Princeton is the school of my dreams I applied to the College Prep Scholarship and noticed, just like you, that receiving a laptop was not one of the choices. Instead, there was some college counseling available.

x3rose, do you think that a 2200+ SAT is necessary to get chosen for a full-tuition scholarship? It seems like, at least for Princeton and Stanford, that most of the applicants had scores at this range. I'm worried because I won't be able to retake until October. However, I'm taking 3 SAT IIs.

By the way, how'd you get into Princeton if you only took 2 SAT IIs? I thought three were required.

collegehopeful78

What does first generation mean? On my dad's side of the family nobody has ever gone to college. However, on my mom's side they have. My mom has 2 years of college and 2 years of teacher training, my uncle is an engineer, and my aunt in India is an accountant. They all went to school in India and I will be the first one to go to a 4 year college in America?

I will be a senior next year and I am wondering If i can still apply for the scholarships?

I have a 34 act and 92 unweighted average with no a.p's. However, I will be taking 5 a.p's next year. I go to a top school so that might hurt me. However, my family income is under 24,000 and was on welfare (my mom due to losing her job) up until a year ago.

Intel2007

First generation basically means that neither of your parents have gone to college, thus making you the first to apply to college. However, you do not have to necessarily be first generation in order to participate in the Questbridge scholar or match program.

collegehopeful78

So I am not first generation since my mom has an asssoicate's degree?

collegehopeful78

Someone please respond on whether this increases one's chances of getting into Princeton.

famisheternity

I did the Questbridge College Match program and found it to be extremely helpful. I was accepted RD to Williams, Amherst, Stanford, Princeton, and Rice through Questbridge.

Murkywater--if you'd like any of my stats or any tips/opinions from me regarding the Questbridge process, feel free to PM me or to respond on this post. =)

collegehopeful78

Is 24,000 for 2 people also considered low?

collegehopeful78

Would questbridge help a lot? Those matched with and accepted to Princeton thorugh QB had equal stats as those admitted wthout QB? WOuld I be able to get in with slightly subpar stats if I am a QB applicant.

grtskt89

Probably not. Being low income isn't the greatest "hook" to have and QB is basically advertising that to all the schools you apply to that are normally need blind. I know a person who was a national merit award winner, great ECs, very low income (35K for a 5 person family). She wasn't matched but Williams showed interest. Well they strung her along, waitlisted then rejected her. I still don't see the value of QB and no one has ever addressed what I keep bringing up - why would you present yourself as poor to a need blind school?

collegehopeful78

Seriously? Why do so many people apply through QB? Didn't someone say it hurts in the early round but helps in the regular round which will be the only round next year? With the removal of EA Princeton will have to control its yield and QB could be one way to do that. Your doing more than presenting yourself as poor. Your showing what obstacled you have overcomed.

grtskt89

But that can be done in your essays and rec's. For me personally, I'm not a URM or first generation and my SATS are below 2200. Even though I was a college prep finalist I probably won't be doing the college match because the schools I'm interested in (ones I have a chance of getting into) aren't on their list and I'm realistic (thanks to TASP) about how far overcoming obstacles plays in the admissions process. Yep I'm jaded already and its not even officially my senior year in high school.

westcoastlove

you do make a point grtskt89, but a full ride for one of the top elite schools is nevertheless very tempting

congrats on TASP btw! that's a really good hook for colleges anyway.