@Corinthian I had heard of Questbridge only by seeing it mentioned on CC. Thanks for the explanation on how it works. Maybe the post is legit…
I have nothing wrong with low income kids receiving help getting into college. My issue is that kids like this and many others just seemingly apply to any school in the top 50 without even giving though to whether or not they’d even attend if accepted. So why apply???
So this kid who does not even know much about the school or cares so little to even research the place, submits an application and gets accepted vs another kid who would give their right arm to go there but gets waitlisted/rejected etc. That’s a dumb process.
That is one of the reasons I wish there was a way to contain the amount the amount of applications a kid can submit,
I actually think the majority of applicants would benefit from that. The schools would know the kids are serious contenders for their schools and wouldn’t have to defer/waitlist most kids like the do know to protect themselves from yield and financial aid/merit constraints. When you have kids submitting apps to every Ivy and then 15 random Top 50 schools just to see if they get in and what kind of merit/financial aid they might get it turns it into a lottery ticket scenario.
Maybe I’m jaded bit, but the process seems to due for a complete overhaul. Case in point, did you see the Stanford 4.3 acceptance thread? That’s totally dumb too.
I’ve seen Questbridge kids at some info sessions. I remember a few at Grinnell specifically. We ate lunch with a couple of those kids and I remember they really did seem clueless. The school had flown them in and they almost didn’t understand what they were doing there. One super friendly Questbridge candidate from Florida asked (in front of maybe 150 people in an info session) if it was hard to get into Grinnell. It was interesting to watch the kids on the panel try to answer that question.
I like the idea of our kids going to a school with some economic diversity. The schools with the highest percentage of pell grant recipients and Questbridge students are very difficult for the average excellent suburban kid to get in though.
@RightCoaster I agree with all of that. And it’s hard to explain to S19 why kids with scores and grades way lower than his would get the chance to go to a school where he will never get in. He understands that he’s been given every opportunity but it still stings when he’s working his butt off and he knows he could contribute to a top ranked school…and then he sees kids who maybe just aren’t ready. I know kids need to be given a chance and that system is broken as well. I think many Questbridge kids struggle once they get to some of these schools. There are extra sessions in the summers to help them but, even socially, it can be hard for them at certain schools. I don’t know what the deal is with Questbridge exactly but I thought the kids were somewhat limited in the number of schools they could apply to but I could be wrong.
I read a book about a Questbridge student who had a very difficult childhood and went to Penn. He struggled the whole way. He did graduate but ended up going back to his neighborhood and falling back into the ways of many of the young men there. Died in a gunfight in his 20s. Obviously, it’s a much bigger social issue than just college admits but it seems like the schools need to provide a support system for those kids. Ok I’m way off topic now but my point is that those kids need a chance too but, even when they get one, the schools may not be giving them the right kind of support to help them succeed.
@RightCoaster On our tour of Brown, a kid asked, and I kid you not, ‘Is this a hard school to get into?’. At least your S has an understanding of that!
Add to that the frustration of “applying widely” for certain majors (such as but not limited to the performing arts) with few admits. My student has a friend who applied to 17 schools and was rejected at all of them (not even a waitlist). Think of the total in application fees, never mind test scores.
Questbridge finalists rank their schools (up to 8) in the order of preference. The ranked schools then decide if they are interested in the applicant, starting at #1. If school #1 decides to pass on the applicant, then school #2 decides if they are interested, and so on.
Once a ranked school decides to accept (match) an applicant, the applicant has to attend and will not be considered for any other matches. This is a binding agreement all QB applicants sign off on. Since it’s a guaranteed full ride, there are no FA disputes that allow the applicant to change his mind. Of the 40 partner schools, I believe there are 4 or 5 that allow the applicant to decline (non-binding) - MIT, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale.
@romns116 The applicant in the link that was posted said he was accepted to both Williams and Amherst. As a Questbridge applicant, this would then not be possible? Is that correct?
I also find it strange that the poster was not familiar with the two colleges, yet did know about CC. I am leaning back towards thinking the poster is not legit.
I was following that thread for a bit and had to stop. I just couldn’t “buy” into that the poster had no idea about these schools. Even if the OP is in a very disadvantage situation, I’m sure they had the ability to do a little research about schools they were listing on Questbridge.
I read that, then (sorta) stopped reading. I don’t know the details of applicant’s situation, but isn’t typically how QB works.
There were other programs mentioned. I’m not familiar with how they work. I have heard of QB applicants removing their QB distinction from their app and applying RD, receiving multiple acceptances.
I think the poster is legit. A poster on that thread said they pm’d him and it is real.
I saw that too @wisteria100. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but something just seems odd to me. It really is not hard to do a little research- a computer at OP’s HS, public library, HS guidance counselor, a teacher, etc… but this poster seems almost oblivious of two of the schools.
Wow, I was terribly behind on posts. Welcome @Kona2012, and hi to @elena13. My junior son is also pursuing an IB diploma. Welcome to @coffeemomCO and @shuttlebus (impressive home schooling!).
@ninakaterina, your state probably establishes a minimum number of school days, so no matter how creative and unified your local school board is, they probably cannot just add 15 minutes to each school day. In regard to another post, @liska21, I like touring both MIT and Harvard. If you’re interested in history, definitely choose Harvard. And if you want the flavor of and general info about the schools, you might want to choose a regular tour rather than an admissions tour, especially since neither is a demonstrated interest school.
@infinitewaves, I agree with @dfbdfb: give feedback about this experience to WCU. I am surprised they kicked a ninth-grader out of an info session and embarrassed you as well.
S19 went on his first college visit this week (he has been on many with his two older sibs) at Georgetown. His assumed nonchalance turned into genuine enthusiasm and excitement by the end of the tour–he really connected with the tour guide. I’d guess there were 300+ people at the info session, and they brought out 7 or so tour guides and let families choose their tour guides. It’s a good strategy.
We had two nephews applying to college this year, one on my side and one on Mr. EastGrad’s side. Neither got the results they hoped for, though each has a few solid choices. It has left S19 shaking in his boots.
@EastGrad We were at G’town too. Certainly a lot to like, but what struck me this time (have been there before with kid1), was the lack of space. That’s an awful lot of students to jam into that campus, and almost no green space except for the front lawn. Maybe it’s because we had just come from some beautiful lac campus tours, but the claustrophobia and deafening sound of planes overhead were minuses, to a school with a lot of pluses.
^We were also at Gtown. It did not give me a warm and fuzzy vibe, but my junior seemed to like it.
Very true, @wisteria100. I guess I love the urban feel, and I really like the town of Georgetown too. And it’s nice to be on the banks of the Potomac. Big favorite for me. Getting in is another story though…good thing I’ve already gone to college! 
We are driving into D.C. as I write this. We weren’t planning on seeing any schools, just sightseeing. Thinking Georgetown isn’t a match for our tree loving S19 so I feel ok about skipping it! He’s always said he wants some nature. It’s one of the the “wants” that I don’t see changing.
The whole “but they’re not familiar with these schools like we are” vibe — well, yeah. That’s pretty much why Questbridge was invented, right? To introduce kids to opportunities they’d otherwise be unaware of.
If we think it’s hard for our bright and hard-working kids to get into these schools, I can’t even imagine the hurdles for the bright, hard-working kids for whom this whole process is utterly outside their realm of experience.
I guess I can relate because I was so clueless about college admissions myself as a kid. I wasn’t poor, but there was no one shepherding me through the process, and I cringe now to think of the questions I asked (or didn’t know to ask).
Since both of you have flora in your names, @wisteria100 and @evergreen5, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you wanted more nature at Georgetown. When were you there? We were went to the Thursday 2 p.m. session. It would be funny if we were all there at the same time. Our group was so big they moved us to the Multicultural building. Unlike WCU, Georgetown seems to understand how to manage big groups.
@EastGrad We were there on Wednesday - lunch at the “farmer’s” market was yummy! It was crowded - the room at the multicultural building was full. Funny, we felt the process was slightly less-organized than Villanova and BC (nova had >600 at the info session, 20+ guides) because those schools basically assign you to a tour guide.
Discovered that I don’t care for driving in DC. I kept missing turns due to vague and ambiguous signage and the re-route was irritating. I didn’t think there was a city worse to drive in than Boston, but I’ll take Boston any day, maybe because it’s more familiar.