I’ve comprised a list of my top 11 colleges. I need one more and am unsure of what it should be, or where it would be among the list. Amherst? Dartmouth? Notre Dame? Duke? Something else? What do you think, in regards to my preferences?
Here’s the list:
If you don’t have a twelfth don’t put a twelfth. You aren’t required to fill the list, and you should only rank schools you’d be unabashedly excited to attend if matched. My D only ranked two schools. She wasn’t matched but our EFC wasn’t 0, so she wasn’t likely to match anyway.
The word “match” is confusing in the context of QB. QB calls it a match if the student is accepted by one of the schools. There’s really no reach, match (target?) and safe schools because all the QB partner schools are reaches for most people.
@KelseyM Great list. I wish you luck with it! You should work on getting your eligibility for free school lunch you so can get automatic zero EFC.
If you want to add a 12th college, look at Macalaster, Carleton, and Scripps. Scripps would be an interesting pick because it’s all women.
Based on what you were looking for, Duke could be a great option.
I’d put Amherst. You’ll get to be involved in research, the town is fantastic for college students, lots of opportunities, and hard to beat in terms of prestige.
Have you gotten into any fly ins yet? Participating in those might help you round out your list.
Ive completed one application (Haverford) and am nearing completion on three others (Rice, Hamilton, Davidson; need essay critiques and/or a recommendation letter). I am considering applying for Grinnell, Williams, Tufts, and Washington&Lee, but am unsure which ones to pick and continue with. I would do Emory, but Haverford’s fly in is on the same days.
I’ll do some research on Amherst. In one of the review books I have, Duke is stated as being sports heavy and that it is hard to have a social life if you’re not into sports or Greek life. That’s my only “concern”, though.
So Duke is sports heavy. Having one of the top basketball programs in the country can do that! And yes, there is more socializing around Greek life than I might like for myself, but I think there are reasonable other options. I’d look at the Duke forum here AND take a look at the school newspaper if you can access it online. You would have to be able to imagine yourself there without doing either of those things, but my sense is that there is a decent sized cohort in that "minority ". Academically, it looks like a fit, though. Tough call.
Amherst and Duke are both tough calls, given your initial concerns. Duke may be too sports oriented, but, Amherst may be too liberal for you. Unlike Hamilton, it is only about 50% white and my feeling is their recent debate over whether to change mascots (which they did) would have been just the kind of thng that would have irritated you about “the Ivies”.
I would try and apply to as many fly-ins as possible (don’t overstress yourself, though). Some fly-ins can be very selective, so it’s best to cast a wide net. Hopefully, you’ll have multiple options available when you get decisions back. And for some colleges, doing a fly-in is a big admissions boost. If you’re not sure which fly-in apps you should focus on, I’d suggest picking the ones that have the most sway with admissions.
Btw, I like your fly-in list. Really different schools so a great way to figure out what is resonating with you. (Hoping you like Haverford! One of my personal favorites.)
Thanks, all. I’ll look through the partner list again and glance over some info about them to see if I can find another that will hook me. How do I determine which fly ins have an admissions boost? Is it the ones that have boxes where you can check for optional interviews? Should I look on the college’s website for info, or is it just inside knowledge?
All fly-ins are inherently admissions boosts, especially if the college is footing the bill. It is an early investment in you, so naturally, they are going to be paying extra attention to your application as it makes its way thru the admissions cattle call.
If there’s an optional interview during the fly in, check the box.
I think your last choice should be a LAC, for balance. QB matches seem to work better for students whose list includes both.
After fly ins you’ll know better what you like and what you don’t, and you can adjust the list.
Cool, cool. I wish I knew how selective fly-ins were so I’d know who I’d be “up against”. One of you had said in another thread (I think) that they’re not as selective as the actual admissions, which is odd to me. How come not as many students apply for fly-ins if they get a bit of a boost? How is it the college manages to be less selective when it invests in someone who may not even be sure about their college?
(You don’t actually have to answer these questions; I ask them for the sake of my curiosity and/or other students who may glance over the thread)
I’ll look into solidifying my rankings soon. Right now I’m very focused on trying to make two decent essays, as that, I think, is the most important part of my app (other than rankings). It’s kind of stressing me out, as the app is due in September and I also haven’t come up with much Common App writing nor have I looked at ANY writing supplements basically all of the QB Partners would need had you not been a Finalist. Linda had critiqued the writing I had, in which neither essay was really popping, and after re-reading them, I get it. I can send one of them to whoever would like to read it (the other was advised to be scrapped because of some out-of-place dialogue)
Milgymfam brought up a good point that I had been considering regarding this list, as you can see above this post. Ranking the ones I’d be “unabashedly excited to attend” would include my top 7 as they are now. The others are just unfamiliar territory to me. I’ve done my “research” on each of their pages in my document, but I don’t really have a feel for them yet. I guess I’ll have to do some more.
I would guess the fly-ins get less applications because there are qualifications based on income or race (or both) to apply. They’re generally targeting diversity while not all of their applicants would fit that bill.
Alright, I’ve completed apps for Haverford, Grinnell, Rice, and Hamilton, and will be applying for Davidson and Tufts. Should I apply for those to cast a wide net, or should I hold off in case I get accepted to what I’ve applied for? I don’t want it to run my school schedule to the teeth and have me sacrificing grades or anything. I don’t know when enough is enough.
My dad wanted to know how the flights are handled, as he’s concerned about safety. Do any of you know how they pay for flights and where a student may board since people are accepted from across the country? A local airport like in Chattanooga, or a bigger airport, like in Atlanta or Nashville? Are the flights commercial?
I’ve also completed all QuestBridge essays and short responses (as well as the entire application save for rankings) and would like some critiquing. Is there anywhere I can look for someone to critique them, or can someone on here look at them? I’d appreciate it.
I’ll answer your question about the flights. You’d go on the most convenient and cost-effective flight. Assuming Chattanooga is your closest airport. There’s one direct flight a day, on American, from Chattanooga to Philadelphia (Haverford). No direct flights Chattanooga to Houston (Rice), Des Moines (Grinnell), or Syracuse (Hamilton). You’d have to make a connection, most likely in Charlotte or Chicago. The colleges would book the flight for you and send you the flight confirmations. You don’t travel as a group. The colleges arrange for transportation from their local airports to the college, and you meet up with the group on campus. Of course, there could be other students who happen to be on the same flights.
The flights are all going to be on commercial airlines. In my daughter’s case, the college had her book her flight with a travel agency the college had contracted. The agency did the booking and the college paid for the flights. The flights had to come within a certain budget. So they wouldn’t let her book anything that cost more than x amount of dollars. Assuming you get a fly in, I am guessing you’d have to be prompt about booking it.
Your dad’s safety concerns are in regard to what? If you visit a college, the college is going to arrange for you to be picked up. You’ll sleep in a dorm, on campus. You will probably have to bring a sleeping bag, though the college might be able to lend you one. I doubt there’s going to be a chaperone or anything like that, but you’ll probably be with other QB candidates. You’re a big girl now, so they aren’t going to be holding your hand. They are expecting a certain amount of maturity, because soon you’re going to college.
As was mentioned earlier in this thread, you realistically will not be able to manage more than three or four fly ins. They are really time consuming. Apply to them all. You can turn down the ones you are least interested in if you get offered them all.
In our case, the school booked the flights. This kept them in their budget and also made it easier for vans to meet the kids at the arrival airport. (It seemed like they routed lots of connections through one airport so that there were quite a few students arriving on those flights.) I recall that we were asked which airport was local for us and we were able to offer two. If you are accepted, the school will send details. And trust me, they want to help!
I understand why your dad is nervous. Our family had traveled a lot, yet I was a little jittery the first couple times my kid flew by himself because I had always handled things when a flight was canceled or delayed so was worried a little about that. But everything is well-signed, you will have a phone (so make sure it’s charged!), and, as my mom would say, “you speak the language.” ?