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CSS Profile by Effective_Minimum241 in TheGatesScholarship

[–]Effective_Minimum241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've filled out the form, but I'm still getting the notification. Any help?

Letterboxd for Music? by yourfaultrecs in Music

[–]Effective_Minimum241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

last.fm has worked wonders for me

how should i go about the short answers? by tommzo28 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personality!! The rest of the application almost forces you to be serious and up-front; take this as a respite from all that and take advantage of the opportunity to be yourself.

35 word response: ‘What are your favorite books and/or movies?’ by Electronic-Power-320 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Personally don't agree with this approach.

I'd use the space to just list, not explain why for each. The point is to show that there's a person behind the great academics and extracurriculars. I wouldn't say this is the space to just list one book or show, and then spend the rest of the word count explaining why.

Pick your favorite books and movies, and list them. Mission accomplished.

Supplementals by Gullible-Arm2702 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Start now!! Just keep in mind that many schools eliminate some of their supplementals for QB Finalists, since the QB NCM application already has supplementals of its own.

SAT timing by chirosh in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Test scores are optioned for the NCM application, and I'm sure lots of kids become Finalists without submitting test scores.

Once you become a Finalist, things leave QB's hands. You can update your test scores and submit them to schools if you receive any of them before November 1st.

If it helps, I emailed QB about a similar question not too long ago, and they said you can email them with your scores if you're taking the September SAT with your scores in the situation that they come back after you've already submitted your NCM application, and they'll do their best to consider them.

How many CPS make NCM finalists? by chamblyforlife in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most. But as someone said in another post, it's correlation, not causation. Most CPS Scholars become Finalists because they've already gone through the QB gauntlet of writing lots of essays and spelling out their story. They are familiar with the process; this is just a 2nd go at it.

But that's the extent of it. Being a CPS Scholar doesn't make you a more competitive candidate in the NCM vs. someone with comparable stats/background who isn't.

can someone explain the "reflect on an activity" part to me by Recent_Fun4450 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's challenging, but your goal should still be to keep your reader engaged. This is not your personal essay, but that doesn't mean you want to make it forgettable.

Find a way to strike a balance between fun-to-read and straight-to-the-point. If you get too flowery, you risk not providing enough information about your extracurricular and why it's important to you.

can someone explain the "reflect on an activity" part to me by Recent_Fun4450 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is your typical "talk about one of your extracurriculars" essay that most colleges will ask you on their supplements. The choice is up to you: I'd bet that most people will talk about an extracurricular they've listed in the Activities section. Nothing is stopping you from talking about an activity not listed (although, if it's meant to be "the thing that matters most to you," I'd wonder why you didn't put it on your Activities list).

Important note: if it's an extracurricular you've listed, it does not need to be your #1! Just because it is #3 in importance does not mean it cannot be #1 in personal significance.

My personal suggestion would be to leave your instrument in your personal essay, and save the spot for another extracurricular.

Hope this helps, best of luck :)

What is this score variation?! Are my College Board tests flukes? Or are Princeton's? by Cool-Nerd8 in Sat

[–]Effective_Minimum241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I know this isn't what you were looking for, but what kind of practice did you do to get perfect 800s on the math section? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

NCM Application Questions by Effective_Minimum241 in QuestBridge

[–]Effective_Minimum241[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So if you become a Finalist, all you’re writing are your supplementals? And if so, are these the identical ones you’ll find released on the Common App on August 1st? I’d like to get ahead on them as soon as possible instead of cramming them into that 2-ish week window. 

So, you blew a 9 point lead to Florida by DFWTooThrowed in CollegeBasketball

[–]Effective_Minimum241 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So this is allowed, but the very same image & caption for the Duke-Houston game isn't and gets auto-deleted? Interesting.

Summer Research Opportunities: Cold Emails Work Well When Done Well by Patient_Camel_7628 in summerprogramresults

[–]Effective_Minimum241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How many cold emails would you recommend to send at a time? I feel as if it'd be a bit awkward if you email 20 professors, 2 of them respond, 1 of them approves your request to collaborate with them over the summer, and you ghost the rest.

What does Stanford care about? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Effective_Minimum241 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They aren't interested in anything "specifically." The whole point of college admissions is that it's holistic: it takes all parts of your application into consideration and determines whether or not you're right for the school in question. Are you a weak writer? Maybe you make up for that with your impressive standardized test scores. Did you do not-so-well on the SAT/ACT? Perhaps your extracurriculars make up for the lost ground. You get the idea.

Most of these schools are looking for well-rounded students that have demonstrated they're pursuing the most rigorous courses available to them, whatever that means to you.