QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship 2015 Decisions Thread

mzr1998
Thu, 30 Apr 2015 23:24:19 +0000

[size=4]Decision: ACCEPTED[/size=4]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): n/a --> taking it this Saturday (PSAT: 228 --> 70 CR, 80 M, 78 W)

ACT: n/a

SAT II: n/a

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Cumulative 4.0 (for now, at least lol)

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/468

AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): Taking 7 IB classes, and testing in 3 this year.

Award(s) Granted:

An invitation to a QuestBridge National College Admissions Conference, with a $350 travel grant (STANFORD)

Free, on-demand test prep from Kaplan

A nomination for expense-paid college visits to QuestBridge partner colleges

Subjective:

Extracurricular Activities (place leadership roles in parenthesis):
Math team, FBLA (webmaster), city youth council, district student superintendent committee

Volunteer/Community service:
Hospital volunteer, library tutor, fundraising for refugees, youth group

Various school/city awards, and an essay contest winner (one from those scholarship websites)

Essays:
Pretty compelling, although not extraordinary, in my opinion

Teacher Recommendation:
Idk, didn’t see it, but guessing it was good

Other:
State (if domestic applicant): WA

Country (if international applicant): -

School Type: Large public, suburban

Ethnicity: South Asian

Gender: M

Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): <20,000

Hooks (First Generation College, Minority,Learning Disability, etc.): First generation college

Reflection:
Strengths: I feel like I look really good on paper, like well-rounded and all. Also, my essays I feel like were strong. GPA is good, and PSAT was relatively high. Pretty low income as well.

Weaknesses: I rushed my personal statement on the very day it was due and submitted at 11:45. Also, I don’t demonstrate any passion for a particular academic discipline or career field, which is why I probably didn’t get into any summer programs. Finally, I wasn’t able to write the supplementary essays for the Quest for Excellence awards.

Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I feel like I was accepted because I’m relatively well-rounded and have an interesting background story. I tried to be as become as possible, while proudly highlighting what I have accomplished.

What other Scholarships will you be applying for: NCM definitely. Gates-Millenium if not Matched.

**General Comments: **
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from this is to never procrastinate on applications like this, and this is definitely transferrable to the college application process. Also, present yourself as a person, speak in your own voice, in your essays.

Congratulations to all who were selected as College Prep Scholars! To all others, there are a multitude of avenues that you could pursue as you are navigating this process and this is simply the beginning. Don’t stress too much, because it will do no good, because I’ve personally experienced failure, and I’ve made the mistake of over-contemplating thhe circumstances and questioning my self-work. Things did not turn out well thereafter and my grades started going down (which is why I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to maintain my 4.0). If you dont care about your mental health, then at least care about your grades.