MusicRodent

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 *Fingers crossed*

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

LoremIpsum

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.

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.

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.

MusicRodent

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.

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.

LoremIpsum

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!

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.