<p>Here is the big thing about National Match- students who are not matched can still do ED or EA to ~70% of the partner colleges. Because you can not be rejected from National Match, it can be in many cases a free third chance to the college process. My friend, Endoftheworld, has created an excellent list of all the schools that let you do so, at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1422592-its-now-time-start-considering-your-options.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1422592-its-now-time-start-considering-your-options.html</a> His list is missing Colorado, Tufts, and Vanderbilt, which became partners last year. Wesleyan’s EDII rate is somewhere in the high 30’s (not 3%). </p>
<p>Furthermore, match assures a no-loan full ride. In regular or early process, this is never guaranteed. A substantial number of QB schools do package loans, and the work study and summer contributions for unmatched students tend to be higher. So there is a difference between a Matched financial aid package and an unmatched package. The exceptions tend to be schools which award meet full need and package no loans for anyone: as of now, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Davidson, Pomona, Yale, Haverford, Swarthmore, Amherst, Bowdoin, Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, some of the biggest names in QuestBridge, like the Ivy League, Stanford, and Caltech, don’t let students apply early if they do Match. So for those students who have those schools as their top choices, should they do Match or not? Here are some of the acceptance rates.</p>
<p>STANFORD SCEA- 12.8%
CALTECH EA- 14% (2010)
YALE SCEA- 14.4%
PRINCETON SCEA- 18.3%
BROWN ED- 18.5%
COLUMBIA ED- 19.2%
PENN ED- 24.9%
DARTMOUTH ED- 29.4%</p>
<p>Here’s my personal perspective. If Brown, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, or Dartmouth are the only schools you could see yourself being at, and you have favorable statistics like the rest of the applicant pool, I’d do the ED or SCEA. These acceptance rates show that there is most likely a statistical benefit of applying early. However, keep in mind that you can be rejected, unlike in National Match. </p>
<p>If Stanford, Caltech, or Yale are your only top choices, I’d, with hesitations, recommend EA. In Caltech’s case, it’s because the RD rate isn’t very different, so there isn’t a boost at all. In Stanford and Yale’s case, the pool is dominated by legacies, recruited athletes, and hooked applicants, so if you aren’t one of those, I’d say your chance of getting in would be the same as it would be in RD. </p>
<p>If a combination of many of these schools are your top choices, I’d, with hesitations, recommend Match. But keep in mind that most of these schools have a 1-3% match rate, so if you really want to get the most of it you should rank all 8 spots (of course, with schools that you’d be happy to go to, not just arbitrarily). </p>
<p>If a combination of many schools, including schools that allow ED or EA afterward, are your top choices, I’d do National Match. </p>
<p>As always, these are all reachy schools, so I highly recommend reading my first post of <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1537703-letter-your-fellow-quest-scholar-about-prestige.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/questbridge-programs/1537703-letter-your-fellow-quest-scholar-about-prestige.html</a> to understand the big picture with QuestBridge, the partner schools, being accepted, making the most of the process, and college in general.</p>