<p>@SammyxB I am not trying to undermine @twogirls she knows way more than me when it comes to this stuff. However, from my experience; take an ACT prep tutor class and get your ACT up to 28/29. From what I’ve read/heard - the ACT is easier to improve on (over the SAT) with prep. If you can get into that area? with your course load, EC’s and URM status? the schools on your list will fight over you!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>In regards to SammyxB’s question above; I have only a passing knowledge of Questbridge. I have had a few conversations with current college student’s who have gone through the program. But isn’t her question directed at exactly what Questbridge does? That is, recommend colleges with whom they have affiliations that would match a students record. And also, in regard to her concern about her school’s poor GC services, I thought that Questbridge ACTED as your GC once you were in the program. In that way they find URMs that are good candidates for success and do what is needed to get them there.</p>
<p>@DEfour </p>
<p>I have acquired the College Prep Scholarship this past school year with my statistics I have provided. I was one of the 2,704 people selected out of 7,565 applicants. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/cps-profile”>http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/cps-profile</a></p>
<p>When I saw the stats/profile…I was kinda surprised I even got it…</p>
<p>And in a way QB does kinda act as a GC…The reason why I listed school like MIT and vanderbilt is only cause of QB and IF I get accepted into National college match…if i dont get accepted,i’ll remove those schools and try to find others to replace them…</p>
<p>And QB is for those with low-income. I qualify since my income is severely low… </p>
<p>To be honest, I’m still new about the QuestBridge program and understanding how it works.</p>
<p>Giterdone I agree that getting the ACT up to a 28/29 will open up a lot of doors, especially given the URM status- however I also feel that an increase like that ( 6 points) may be difficult without intense prep- but of course it just depends on a bunch of factors. I also do not know much about Questbridge. That’s why I feel that talking to an adult at school or in her community is a good idea. In any event I think that this young lady will have a lot of options.</p>
<p>Ok after reading DEfour I have a little bit more understanding…just a little . </p>
<p>Thank you for the kind words…the words comfort me so much…and unfortunately the adults at school…some of them…know as much as I do and many seniors since freshman year warned me and told me about how the many adults in school aren’t so helpful and have messed up information with financial aids and waivers and sent wrong materials to their college choices along with sending things late…</p>
<p>And hate to say this but…my community doesn’t have much intelligence residing in it nor people that really care about education…all the really intelligent people make it by all means to leave this county as far and as soon as possible…the community I live in is said to be where one cannot truly grow or feel comfortable in…it’s very negative. </p>
<p>@SammyxB You sound like a mature, determined young lady. However, I agree with a lot of what twogirls said. I do think you have a lot of options, just not some of those major reach schools. In addition to looking at test optional schools, have you thought about women’s colleges? I think they would be more likely to see your potential.</p>
<p>Also, you might want to talk to your parents again about going farther away for school. There are schools who are looking to increase diversity, but tend to be outside the Northeast.</p>
<p>I also think you should start a thread of your own in the Parents Forum, a lot of parents would have useful advice, not just parents of the class of 2015.</p>
<p>Thank you Ma’am @Mom24boys . I thought about women’s colleges but in a way…lol I’m sorry but it made me cringe going to an all girl school…I don’t think I could handle that…I do like to be in a co-educational institution…I guess that’s just me being fed up with how some girls could be…</p>
<p>And my parents want me in a distance where if something happens, they can be there…also…they want to be able to commute without problems when I graduate from college…since I am their last child out of my older brother and sister, they are making it a very huge deal of me graduating…my sister just graduated from college and now I am the next one …and yeah…</p>
<p>And alright I will make my thread in parents forum 
</p>
<p>sammy</p>
<p>Go ahead and post your situation on the main parents forum page. You may find other parents that are more familiar with the questbridge program. My D has a friend that was not admitted to GT but is attending Cornell in the fall through the Questbridge program- i assume it is Questbridge since she knew she had a full scholarship there before financial aid decisions were released.She is a URM , first gen college.</p>
<p>I am familiar with UGA and at this point your test scores are too low to be admitted. UGA looks at numbers, GPA , test scores and rigor.
<a href=“https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html”>https://www.admissions.uga.edu/article/first-year-class-profile.html</a></p>
<p>Are you in GA? Maybe Ga College in Milledgeville would be a safety and then you can transfer to UGA??</p>
<p>I know this discussion is off thread and probably doesn’t belong here to begin with, but…
At 28/29 ACT and the likes of Vanderbilt and MIT fighting over Sammy? I am speechless. Honestly I don’t think they would give the application more than a cursory glance even IF the ACT went up that high which I think is doubtful this late in the game. </p>
<p>Yes Ma’am I am in Georgia. And yeah I am aware that GPA, rigor,and test scores are key in admissions. </p>
<p>@sammyxb - Congratulations on being a College Prep Scholar!! That is a great accomplishment.</p>
<p>It looks like you on the right track - if you could get your ACTs up some that would greatly increase your chances of being a College Match Finalist. Needless to say, if you are a College Match Finalist, than you should definitely consider the likes of MIT and Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>As many people have stated here, they are not really familiar with the Quest Bridge Program (and the benefit of applying through the Quest Bridge Program). You are already more familiar with the program than most, if not all, of us.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>some people don’t recognize and appreciate the “special treatment” URM’s from challenged socioeconomic backgrounds get in the Admin process. If I was betting? I’d bet my house on an under privileged URM with that rigorous of a course load and gpa WITH a 23 ACT getting in before any unhooked, middle class, 33’ish ACT with a 4.0 gpa (aka “dime a dozen” applicant)</p>
<p>You can google “below average act scores and acceptances” or some variant, and get hundreds of stories of exactly that happening. Especially at schools like Vandy and MIT.</p>
<p>And yes… I’m envious. Not of their circumstances, just their express lane in the Admin process.</p>
<p>I think we forget in CC land that scoring over a 24 puts kids in the high 70-80% on the ACT not to shabby by most people view. I’m always impressed by those on this forum how kind and thoughtful we are to others.<br>
We know her concerns about GC because a lot of these concerns are voiced by the parents on this forum. Can you image if you were 16-18yrs old going through this admission maze without any guidance. I’m glad about Questbridge for those who are strong candidates. Would not that be nice for all candidates.</p>
<p>@SammyxB - I commend you for all of your hard work to this point and I applaud you for trying to be proactive in this process. I’m just afraid that any advice you get here would be from those of us who are working at getting our children into these schools in let’s say the “regular pool”. My understanding is that Questbridge has agreements in place with these colleges who will take a certain number of students from the program and work with them to see them succeed. That would mean that as a College Prep Scholar the schools are not looking at your scores as much because you are not “competing” for spots. The spots are already there for you, its just a matter of how they will be distributed to those accepted in the program.</p>
<p>I would say that you should continue to work hard on getting the best grades you can and to give your time to those activities outside of school that you are passionate about. MY FEELING is that spending a lot of time trying to improve your test scores isn’t necessarily a great use of your time because I think that the whole point of Questbridge is to try to identify those students whose scores aren’t representative of their ability to succeed. So to compare your scores to those in the “regular pool” isn’t comparing “apples to apples”. Good luck to you! You sound like a student any school would be happy to have.</p>
<p>Yes this admission roller coaster thing is quite overwhelming…I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have my parents who love me and supported me to get this far.</p>
<p>I am only 18…turned 18 April 26…Though some have told me to figure it out myself, I am an “adult” now and I should n’t be so dependent on parents…</p>
<p>But in all honesty, I am not ashamed to say this:</p>
<p>I don’t have a degree
I don’t have a job
I don’t know much about economy or taxes or insurances or knowing how not to get ripped off by others.</p>
<p>I am still learning. Heck,I know I might be a little dependent on parents even AFTER I graduate from college because I need them badly. I am immature.Though I am now considered an adult because of my age,</p>
<p>I consider myself a child, regardless of what people say. And I will continue to call myself a child until I have a house of my own that I have bills that I am paying and everything is by my hand.</p>
<p>I am aware that with my age,I have a little bit more responsibilities and awareness that I am currently working on strengthening and getting a grasp of. </p>
<p>It’s hard for me and others in this society and the generation I am growing up with. I have a long way to go and I know I can’t do it alone.</p>
<p>However, I know my parents are getting old and there will be a day where I would want them to sit back and know that they are the ones getting spoiled instead of me and that they can rest knowing they did their job as parents well and now it’s their children’s turn to do the same for them and future generations to come.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your kind words and advice I appreciate it .Your children are very lucky ones to have parents/role models like you all.</p>
<p>It comforts me to know that there are adults that still care about this generation and wanting the generation to be led down the right path.</p>
<p>DEfour thank you for the post- it was well said and very informative. </p>
<p>Giterdone I just looked up Vanderbilt and it shows that 2% of students have an ACT score of 18-23 so yes, there are students who get in with those scores. </p>
<p>Sammy has been selected as a College Prep Scholar - that is the program for high school juniors.</p>
<p>For the college application process, she would need to be selected as a College Match Finalist. The applications for that do not open until August. If she is selected as a College Match Finalist in the Fall, then she can apply to colleges through the Quest Bridge college match program…</p>
<p>She should be working on getting her ACTs up for this Fall’s College Match Finalist application.</p>
<p>There is a Questbridge forum here at CC. <a href=“Questbridge Programs - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/</a> It is an awesome program.</p>
<p>Is there a particular time of day when ACT releases scores? Nothing here yet. Grrrr.</p>
<p>In the meantime, late last night D finally asked when SAT2 scores were coming out. Umm, today. As predicted, she was initially very pleased with her scores but then said, “I could have done better.” Well, duh. We could all do better and you didn’t study. But after reading @STEMfamily’s assessment I am back to thinking her 2 scores are good and great and living in Lake Wobegon. 
</p>
<p>Hi @LadyArwyn,! I keep thinking that the dual enrollment (classes at the CC) option rather than the High school, might be good for D. The High school IB program she is in hasn’t turned out to be quite the experience she thought it might be, for various reasons, but as you said, we just don’t seem to find information on how that might affect college acceptances. D is not keen on what she describes as ‘quitting’ the IB program…she’s comes this far.</p>
<p>@BunHeadMom, That essay help is a wonderful opportunity! </p>