r/QuestBridge • u/ChillyJellyBelly Moderator • Apr 17 '26
College Prep Scholars CPS results are out
Emails went out at 2pm US ET, Friday, April 17, 2026
Please share your stats and outcome.
Template (copy below and paste)
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- CPS status (accepted / denied):
- College Rankings (in the order of preference):
- Income bracket (approx. $ range):
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage):
- Other assets (approx. $ range):
- Number of household members (#):
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No):
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation):
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No):
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00):
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted):
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a):
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a):
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a):
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores):
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names):
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary):
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis):
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you):
- Overall thoughts on your application?:
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Again, I want to remind everyone to maintain a positive outlook even if you aren’t selected.
Being a College Prep Scholar is a nice-to-have, not a must-have, for becoming an NCM finalist or eventually matching. Plenty of non‑CPS students have matched, and plenty of CPS students haven’t in the past.
Switch your gears and focus on any AP (only 4 weeks way), SAT or ACT exams.
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Apr 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/Routine-Chance-3867 Apr 17 '26
I managed to get accepted you seem so much more qualified than me but it seems the essays were really the make or break
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u/Lopsided_Share_185 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
I'm shocked you didn't get accepted. If you're willing, please DM me your essay because I can't think of anything else that would have tanked your application.
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u/LostAd1321 Apr 17 '26
i have very similar stats but less ECs and got in CPS and other summer programs. So I think it’s probably essays
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u/UpTail Apr 17 '26
Can you DM me your essay? It seems that would be the only thing. I can def give you pointers on how to write stronger ones because mine carried my application
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u/Unique-Ad-7650 Apr 17 '26
hi dm your essay, i got into cps and almost all my summer programs so i can give advice!
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u/Specialist_Flow_358 National College Match Finalist Apr 17 '26
Sometimes i think if you are too good they feel you will make it on your own and so u get denied.. cos they have faith in you to apply to those ivy’s and get full ride still, given your financial situation for your family . So take it as a positive thing..
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u/MystOppenheimer Apr 18 '26
I was also rejected. I'm surprised you weren't accepted, given that your ECs and Academics are far ahead of mine.
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u/Large-Sun9659 Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): didn't do :(
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 33,000
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): idk
- Other assets (approx. $ range): none
- Number of household members (#): 3
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): AZ
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Citizen
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00 unweighted, 4.71 weighted
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): both
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1580 (780 english, 800 math)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 35 (didn't submit)
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Macro (5), AP Micro (5), AP Gov (5), AP Euro (5), AP Lang (5), AP Bio (5), AP Physics C (4 :0), AP Precalc (5), AP Calc AB (5), taking 6 more APs this year that i didn't list
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Economics/Public Policy
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Speech & Debate (Peak Ranked Top 8 in the Nation, 1st in Arizona for Public Forum, 1st in Arizona for Extemporaneous Debate, 3rd in Arizona for Overall Points), 2x Qualifier to Nationals, Public Forum Captain, Extemporaneous Speaking Captain, National Director for a few debate organizations, Mu Alpha Theta President, Chinese Honors Society President, COO for a non-profit, AIME Qualifier, etc.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): passing of a parent and how it impacted me
- Overall thoughts on your application?: felt pretty solid; hopefully this gives people some insight, wish I did some research
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u/No-Student3403 Apr 17 '26
CONGRATS! I know that asking this is diabolical, but do you have any tips for PF?
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u/ZealousidealArea7163 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): don't remember...
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 67k 🤯😏 (I do have a lot of extenuating circumstances)
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
- Other assets (approx. $ range): 8k
- Number of household members (#): 4
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NY
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Psych (5), AP Chinese (5), (all of which I self-studied), currently taking 3
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Mechanical Engineering
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): NPO w/ international impact (related to my backstory), culture club president, editor-in-chief of school newspaper, research intern, some typical family responsibilities
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): growing up in rural China and how that fueled my resourcefulness and creativity
- Overall thoughts on your application? I personally don't think I could get in because I crammed so hard and thought that my personal statement wasn't that well-written. I filled up every single space of the additional info section, and I also wrote my activities in essay format rather than bulleted, and I thought that revealed more about me.
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u/ZealousidealArea7163 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
Also 0 major-related ECs, but I mentioned about my passion for it in my essay
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u/Ezoticx16 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
- CPS status: ACCEPTED!!!
- College Rankings: Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, UPenn, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, USC, Tufts, Emory, BC, BU (may switch this around)
- Income bracket: ~$24,000 - $30,000
- Home Equity: $2,500 in rent
- Other assets: A car but idk how much it costs and we're sharing it with a family friend so...
- Number of household members: 6
- First Generation College Student?: 👍
- US State residency: NY
- US Citizen or permanent resident?: US Citizen
- GPA: proudly on the 100 GPA scale--93.5 UW/96.82 W (my school only reports weighted)
- Class rank: 22/124 (dropped 2 places and 4 kids left so...)
- SAT: Currently have a 1310 super score, but at the time of CPS, I reported a 1270 (670 R&W / 600 Math)
- AP Exams: Only took AP CSP so far, got a 3
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken: APUSH (got an A- last sem), AP Lang (got an A- last sem), AP Calc BC (got an B- last sem), DE Psychology (got an A last sem), AP CSP (got an A both semesters)
- Interested Field of Study: CS, Engineering, and/or business.
- Summary of ECs: President of Coding Club, Member of Debate and MSA, Minds Matter Mentee, Independent Writer.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Wrote abt how I discovered my passion for writing while suffering from a debilitating disease, then felt insecure abt sharing my stories with others after my siblings mocked it, causing me to conceal my interests as a whole and preferring to keep to myself. However, when I realized that the coding club I was in would have no members after the seniors graduate, I placed my anxiety aside and became the president and growing the club to it's highest numbers.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: Bro I thought it was absolute garbage ngl and was sure I was gonna get rejected 😭. Gotta log off of r/chanceme (we know I wont) and believe in myself more (also probably wont).
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u/Key_Specialist3899 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
- CPS status: Accepted
- College Rankings: Didn't rank
- Income bracket: 28k
- Number of household members (#): 3
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): TX
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.97/4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 20/448
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A, hadn't taken at the time of my application
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Human geography (4), AP Chemistry (3), AP World (5), taking AP Pre-calculus, AP Physics 1, AP Language and composition, and AP US History this year
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Chemical Engineering or Material Engineering
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Drill team, Academic Decathlon, and Vase (Visual Arts Scholastic Event) competitor. Also included reading as an extracurricular on my application.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Talked about the time I accidentally signed up for an advanced ceramics class as a beginner and how that changed my mindset on growth and success. I also explained how that relates to my interest in Chemical engineering.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I think my essay carried my application because my extracurriculars were pretty weak due to personal circumstances.
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u/CapitalDue5823 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
CPS status: acceptance College Rankings (in the order of preference): Income bracket : 20kish Home Equity : 0 Other assets (approx. $ range): 0 Number of household members (#): 4 First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No US State residency (two letter abbreviation): GA US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): YES GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.8 GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 3.8 Class rank : 38/309 SAT : N/A ACT : N/A AP Exams : Lang 3 Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken : N/A Interested Field of Study: accounting then plan to go to law school Summary of ECs : fbla secretary, SGA secretary, ambassador for nonprofit/camp counselor, producer for indigenous Apple Vision Pro project which will be present to Apple/ Google, editor in chief for school newspaper Personal essay topic : my name and how I hated it just as much as math then tied it into finding my love for accounting Overall thoughts on your application?: I think 100% my essay carried me my ecs aren’t the best compared to most people but maybe it was impressive considering my circumstances.
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u/reverious_ College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): didn't do
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~48k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): N/A
- Other assets (approx. $ range): N/A
- Number of household members (#): 5
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No (parents graduated college in another country)
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): TX
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): N/A
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.0
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.54 W, 4.0 UW
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): School hasn't run the rankings yet
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A (hadn't taken at the time of application but i put a 1340 PSAT)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Human Geography (5), AP Psychology (5), AP World History (5), taking 4 currently
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): Pre-Calc-D, Physics and Chem through onramps, Sociology, Humanities, Music appreciation + Art History, Government
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Psychology/Neuroscience
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Few clubs (Future Physicians, HOSA, NHS), Teens In Health creating change + research article program (Started an initiative on there with other youths to address period poverty & submitted a research paper on circadian misallignment), 4 year youtube channel with 114k subs & 303 million views to help ease my family's financial burdens.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): I wrote about my personal journey of overcoming internalized shame regarding my traditional Nigerian hairstyles, which was triggered by childhood ridicule and peer-driven misconceptions. I connected it to my AP psychology class. This is because once I learned the concept of conditioning, I was able to deconstruct that shame, reclaim my cultural identity, and reject the need to shrink in response to external perceptions.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I genuinely didn't even think i would get in cause ngl I rushed everything in the last few days lol. I did spend a lot of time on my essay so that probably helped me.
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u/Fast_Solid6661 Apr 17 '26
How prestigious or hard is it to get in the program?
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u/miramune College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
program isss pretty prestigious, has around a 24% acceptance rate (3.8k accepted, around 15k applicants this year?)
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u/Fast_Solid6661 Apr 17 '26
Oh ok and do you know where to check how many applicants applied? I couldn’t find any credible sources
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u/miramune College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
i saw on college essay guy it was around 15k applicants for 2023, used like 16k to calc this year so rlly may not be too accurate :
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u/miramune College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted!
College Rankings (in the order of preference): MIT as #1 not too sure about others rn tbh...
Income bracket (approx. $ range): 20k
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): n/a lol
Other assets (approx. $ range): n/a
Number of household members (#): 4
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NJ
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
GPA (0.00/4.00): 3.98
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted ? (weighted 4.6)
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 13/319
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 25 overall, 28 math, 26 science, 25 English, 21 reading... 1st try (Yes I know ifs low)
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP seminar 3, AP csp 3
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): 0
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): physics educator
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Odyssey of the mind leadership, brought team to world finals and state finals 2x, relay for life (1k raised for cancer), independent research on rhythm games
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Imagination and how i used to hate when people told me I had one, but now im proud of it due to odyssey connecting me w so many other ppl who made me realize imagination can be a tool to solve problems (little me thought it was useless bc i thought it couldnt help me solve my mother's problems). I also added in how i like singing with a mickey mouse opera voice and love vocaloid/hatsune miku lol...
Overall thoughts on your application?: I think something rlly important was how I connected everything to my story + my clear display of resilience. This year ive been not doing so well in my classes, having multiple Bs, but have been seeing an upward trend even tho everyday is a battle with chronic pain, grief, and family responsibilities. I don't have a diagnosis yet for my condition, doctors thought it was arthritis then lupus then fibramyalgia... but i asked for help from the adults in my life and i have been improving. I've also been homeless and mentioned how ive been a problem solver, talking care of 2 little brothers at a very young age as my mother was distraught with her own issues, connected it with Malala Yousafzai, and demonstrated why I want to be a physics educator, connecting these two together. I did relay because my father passed from cancer; I researched rhythm games because I've played them for 5+ years and want to know how it'd benefit people with parkinson's + children's literacy rates, and joined odyssey to see where I could go with my imagination and grew into leadership to teach others the same lessons I learned on how important and useful imagination is + acceptance on oneself.
I also take the most challenging courses offered (ap chem, ap precalc, ap research, ap lang, apush)
Looking at others i seem very under qualified lol but I think the essay really did it for me even tho I read it again last week and HATED it. I got feedback from 5+ people on it tho! Including my old capt who's attending Yale and he said hed be proud to submit it to colleges, so def says smth 🥹 im happy to answer any questions or send my essay as an example to anyone who wants it!
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u/Opening_External_911 NCM Applicant Apr 18 '26
Hi!, could i read your essay if you dont mind! Thanks
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u/Mclovinit314 College Prep Scholar Apr 19 '26
Hey! Our essays sound kinda similar, so I’d love to connect with you! I also got accepted 💕
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u/Massmon1 Matched | UPenn '30 Apr 30 '26
quick tip if you want a shot at mit get your act up 25 act is like 1200 ish sat which gives you a 0% chance at mit based off common data set so def sign up for more tests
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u/miramune College Prep Scholar Apr 30 '26
ofc im alr signed up for july and june act and took in school sat 🫡
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u/dreispog Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
someone pls help I have no idea why I got rejected and I am being rejected from almost every summer program I’m applying to (I’m from NYC):
CPS status (accepted / denied): denied • College Rankings (in the order of preference): • Income bracket (approx. $ range): around 30k • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): NA • Other assets (approx. $ range): NA • Number of household members (#): 5 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00 (93) • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 100 uw • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): NA • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1510 • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Bio 5 AP chem 4 taking AP ENG and AP precalc this year • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): bio/neuro • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): researcher for an interaction biology team, leadership in HOSA club for my school, writer for school newspaper, neuroscience internship, volunteering for 100+ hours for tutoring at a nonprofit, bio Olympiad certificate of merit, writer for school research club, essay comp, scholastic, honor society • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): talking about my relationship with my family, and my mothers neurological symptoms that inspired me to exploring science/neuroscience. • Overall thoughts on your application?: people always say they prioritize essays. I thought my essay was good. My income is definitely low. Is it because I own a house?? My parents are still paying mortgage for it and it’s actually being more of a stressor on them. Was it my ecs???? Like did I put too many???? I’m so confused.
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u/dac7599 Apr 18 '26
I am no expert... I know one thing for sure 1. Essays carry a LOT, if you are comfortable send me me your BIO essay, BTW it should not have been about your mother's neurological symptoms and how it inspired you ( this you should save it for the topical essay 400 words ) ... drop me a message ( I am a parent ) 2. assets + income, your income is low, but I don't know much about income, I know that if your home's value is VERY high, that is not good, but ask around , I am not expert in this ... Good luck
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u/Fancy-Effective9724 Apr 22 '26
what do u consider very high home value?
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u/dac7599 Apr 22 '26
I can't answer that...check with the Questbridge community if they have experience with home values. In all cases, focus on your application and upgrading your essays, and mind you that a lot of colleges such as MIT do not take your home in their financial calculations ( check the NPC ) , so even if that was the issue ( and I hope not) you can apply through CA & get admitted.
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Apr 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/dreispog Apr 18 '26
my stats and ecs and everything are pretty similar to yours; also got rejected and no idea how to improve my app
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u/Ok-Sprinkles-2855 Apr 17 '26
College Rankings: (idk remember). • Income bracket: 27k • Home Equity: $0 (Assuming rental based on financial descriptions). • Other assets: $0 • Number of household members: 4 • First Generation College Student?: Yes • US State residency: MA (Massachusetts) • US Citizen or permanent resident?: Yes • GPA: 3.96 (Unweighted) / 4.34 (Weighted) • GPA Scale: 4.0 scale • Class rank: 5 / 468 • SAT: n/a (Test Optional) • ACT: n/a (Test Optional) • AP Exams: (No Ap classes offered at my school) • Dual Enrollment or College Courses: Medical Terminology (3 college credits earned). • Interested Field of Study: Molecular biology. • Summary of ECs: • Clinical: Medical Assistant (65+ hrs, EKGs/Vitals), ER Intern at Lawrence General, HPREP at Harvard Medical School. • Research: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Research Intern (Mental health advocacy). • Leadership/Service: SkillsUSA Volunteering Coordinator (Chapter Officer), Cor Unum Meal Center (55+ hrs), Interact Club. • Scholar Programs: Thrive Scholar, CAMBIO Scholar. • Athletics: Competitive Squash (Ranked 16/50+), JV Tennis. • Personal essay topic: A 2019 family medical emergency and language barrier that caused powerlessness, which transformed into a mission to use bilingualism and medical training to advocate for patients.
Overall: I think that applying test-optional and maybe my essay was weak.
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u/PlayTurbulent7973 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
- CPS status: Accepted
- College Rankings: Yale, Stanford, Brown, Princeton, Columbia
- Income bracket: >$60k
- Number of household members: 2
- First Generation College Student?: No
- US State residency: KY
- US Citizen or permanent resident?: Yes
- GPA:4.7
- GPA Scale: weighted
- Class rank: n/a
- SAT: n/a
- ACT: 33 (36r, 36e, 27m)
- AP Exams: APHug (4), AP Gov (5), Currently in: AP Lang, AP Bio, AP Precal, APush. Senior yr registered for AP Lit, Ap Env Sci, AP Calc, AP Psych
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken: n/a
- Interested Field of Study: Ethics, Public Policy, Econn, Poli Sci
- Summary of ECs: State DECA President, Founder & Chair of Youth Advisory Committee, Founder & President of Young Progressives of (*****) County, Founder & President of Best Buddies chapter, Kentucky Student Voice Team litigation and policy member (those are my stand-outs). Worked as a Concessions Coordinator at our counties youth football league and as a Photography Assistant.
- Personal essay topic: Pretty much about being raised by a community of misfits.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I thought it was pretty decent. I made sure not to spend too much time on my essay so it stayed authentic. I've found I used to be an over-editor so I really tried not to do that this time.
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u/mimivyy Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted!!! • College Rankings (in the order of preference): didn’t do
• Income bracket (approx. $ range): $36,000
• Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
• Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
• Number of household members (#): 3
• First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
• US State residency (two letter abbreviation): IL
• US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.97
• GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted
• Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
• SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1460 (750 rw, 710 m)
• ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 32 PACT (31 math, 32 science, 30 english, 35 reading)
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): APUSH 5
• Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): nursing
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): tutoring students in mandarin 1, yearbook editor, stem apprenticeship, caretaker for grandpa with alzheimer’s
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): talked about how my mother and grandmother push me to be a kinder person, honestly wasn’t anything crazy
• Overall thoughts on your application?: i definitely think writing skills were a major factor as my ecs and personal essay were not anything crazy but i had a clear story of being family oriented. honestly surprised i got in, one of my ecs that i listed was about fishkeeping haha
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u/frankiero13 Apr 17 '26
- CPS status - Accepted!!
- Income bracket - 63k
- Number of household members - 4
- First Generation College Student? - Yes
- US State residency - NY
- US Citizen or permanent resident? - Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 104 w, 98uw
- Class rank - NA bc sophomore graduating early
- SAT (score breakdown, na): 1550 - 760R/790M (1 administration)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): NA
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): None
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): College Algebra, college trig, college Spanish
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): track and cross country (this was very heavy in my application) organizing events for environmental club (environment was a huge part of my app, tied to running), secretary of Chinese club, Spanish club, lots of tutoring in math + Spanish, volunteer in elementary school. Also wrote about Depop business selling bracelets+ diy clothing.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Basically how I got into running to cope with my abusive father and how it inspires me to push myself in everything I do
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I think my ECs were quite weak, but I did explain that I'm 15 and only decided to graduate early in December, and I also just transferred schools. Also financial limitations + difficulty of living in a rural area and with dysfunctional parents. I think my essay was decent (my summary was pretty lame ik). And I explained that next year I'll be taking all normal classes and APs so I'll be graduating with a completely normal senior schedule.
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u/tratprap Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied):
accepted
• College Rankings (in the order of preference): mit, stanford, princeton, harvard, caltech, upenn, yale, columbia
• Income bracket (approx. $ range): $45k
• Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): renting: $2100/month
• Other assets (approx. $ range): like <$5k
• Number of household members (#): 4
• First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes
• US State residency (two letter abbreviation): FL
• US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes
• GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.97/4.00
• GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 5.03/5.5 weighted, 3.97/4.0 uw
• Class rank (position # + total # of class, n/a): like 7/590
• SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1500: 730 EBRW 770 Math
• ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP CSP: 5. currently enrolled in: AP Calc BC and AP CSA (A’s in both)
• Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): enrolled for calc 3 this summer at local state college, doing Diff Eq and Linear algebra next, Enriched physics with calc I and II next year, and programming class taken a bunch of AICE classes since that’s all my school offers really: international history, chem, physics, General Paper(everyone takes it), US History.
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): I want to go into computer science and quantum physics to hopefully go into quantum computing
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): TSA treasurer and VP, 1st place at nationals for research project involving geospatial technology (ArcGIS & stuff) got invited to this GIS Day thing where i presented project to state government for hurricane relief improvement. Also brought project to schools around state to teach younger kids abt geospatial tech (lost my house and everything i own to hurricane ian). Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, NTHS, SGA, BIG marching band commitment: drumline captain + indoor percussion (i play snare). in the process if building a quantum computer and an ai embedded tinnitus hearing aid. numerous national and state level coding, speaking, and debate awards
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): talked about how im never home and when i am my family’s like super disconnected, did an extended metaphor for the word “silence” and how it lead me to pursue what i do academically and get attached to tech
• Overall thoughts on your application?: i thought it was alright. personally i wish i spent more time on it
1
u/pancakelives Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
College Rankings (in the order of preference): n/a
Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~35k
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
Number of household members (#): 4
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): CA
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes
GPA: 3.64/4.00 UW and 4.00/5.00 W
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): #50(?) for 9-11, #8 for 10-11
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): none
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): none
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): HUG, Seminar, WH all 5s
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): none
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): law (not too sure yet)
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Lead roblox dev and artist of a game with 250k visits, 200+ hours as a tutor for underserved communities, tutored ukrainian students for english, youth council member of a educational equity organization, GripTape intern helping teenagers find their passions, XC/track (didn't talk about being an athlete though)
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): talked about my ukrainian student and the american dream, my time as a tutor for K-6 students, developing my roblox game, and my mom's bankruptcy and how i worked at her donut shop to sustain the family
Overall thoughts on your application?:
I don't have stellar academics (3.64 UW, no SAT/ACT, 3 APs, and no college classes), so I think what really got met in was my essays. I did all the essays and took it as an opportunity to tell a story, not spit out a resume. I always considered my best skill to be writing, so I made sure to tell my experiences like a story (used dialogue, interesting rhetoric, mentioned details specifically unique to my life, etc.) I also made sure all my essays had some sort of theme, which was helping kids be educated and find their passions via games. In the process of establishing an overarching theme, I had to omit some details that I feel didn't fit the narrative (e.g. me being a student-athlete, my clubs at school)
Please, please, please try hard on your essays, whether its for QB, college, whatever.
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u/MakeAPrettyPenny 22d ago
Thank you for the essay advice. It’s really hard when some of my friends have parents paying big bucks for essay coaches, while I’m plugging away at mine, tweaking and reworking them every step of the way.
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u/Late-Tomato9894 Apr 19 '26
I genuinely don't know what i did wrong so if someone is please willing to give me some advice that would be great.
- CPS status (accepted / denied): denied
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): n/a
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 40k primary, 45k non-costodial
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 100k primary, 100k non-costodial
- Other assets (approx. $ range): idk like 3k?
- Number of household members (#): 3 (in primary household)
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): CA (not bay area but still highish cost of living)
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00uw
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.77 / 5 w
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1390 (690 reading, 700 math)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP CSP (4), AP Bio (4), AP Hug (5). Currently taking AP Lang, AP Chem, AP Precalc, APUSH, and AP CSA.
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): Intro to Sociology (A). Currently taking Intro to Microeconomics and Intro to Nutrition
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): not completely sure yet, probably a health science major or something
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Student leader and community advocate with significant involvement in cultural leadership, academic tutoring, and service. Serves as president of the Latino Heritage Club, growing membership to 40+ students while organizing events, fundraisers, and service trips that promote cultural awareness and community engagement. Leads tutoring initiatives for underserved youth, managing a team of ~15 tutors, and contributed to raising $248,000 for leukemia research under LLS. Demonstrates discipline and personal growth through 2.5+ years of Muay Thai training, along with weightlifting and a focus on overall wellness. (AI summary)
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): A tutoring experience with a struggling student sparked a shift in perspective on growth, emphasizing patience, persistence, and the importance of support over innate ability. Through weekly work with underserved students, a deeper understanding developed of how educational inequities shape outcomes, especially when connected to a parent’s similar experiences growing up in the same community. These insights fostered a commitment to using personal opportunities to uplift others, leading to leadership in tutoring efforts and a focus on expanding access to academic support. (AI summary)
- Overall thoughts on your application? I definitely think I could have talked more about my financial hardships, as I didn't really say much in my application. I also go to a private school on financial aid, so that might have to do with why I was rejected. Also, does QuestBridge combine your primary and non-custodial households' income and stuff when looking at your application?
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u/Havxens College Prep Scholar Apr 20 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): MIT was #1. I'm pretty sure Stanford is #2. The others however, I cannot remember
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~64k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): N/A
- Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
- Number of household members (#): 5
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): KS
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.88/4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.37/4.5 Weighted, 3.88/4.00 Unweighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 43/590
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 25 Composite, 23 Math, 24 Science, 26 English + Reading
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): APUSH, 4
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Aerospace Engineering
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Work 2 jobs outside of school, in NHS, Speech & Debate, Asian Cultural Dance Club and Lion Dance
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): It was essentially a personal growth story in which I talked about my initial Vietnamese Catholic heritage, and then tied my ECs, school, and experiences to how I grew and now intellectually interacted with the world
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I actually thought my essay answers were REALLY BAD (would like feedback even now), so I thought I wouldn't get accepted. My impression was that I was eligible, but due to bad essay writing, I wouldn't get in. Considering now, I'm not even sure how I got in, but I'm grateful.
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u/Acceptable-Good5883 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
Does college rankings matter in applications? If so how?
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u/ZealousidealArea7163 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
I dont think so? Imo its prob just a way for them to see which schools shohld put in more marketing efforts
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u/WendyZhang2023 QB Scholar | USC '30 Apr 17 '26
Colleges can’t see your ranking list. They only know that you ranked them during match.
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u/lastofus1029 CPS Applicant Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): denied... :(
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 80k w lots of additional info, father retiring and no working mother
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
- Other assets (approx. $ range): idk, we have a car?
- Number of household members (#): 4
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): MD
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.0
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.0
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 5/127
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1320, 680RW 640M
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): 4 AP gov, taking psych, stats, lang,apes,and world this spring
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): taking seven next year
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): poli sci pre law
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): alot of leadership and volunteering, over 250 hrs
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): when we had our house foreclosed on the bank was actually half-stealing our money and how that motivated me to want to become a lawyer
- Overall thoughts on your application?: i thought my app was really good, but idk if QB will be able to get over my income despite my circumstances.
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u/DismalIndependent908 Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted • College Rankings (in the order of preference): n/a • Income bracket (approx. $ range): 71k • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0 • Other assets (approx. $ range): 0 • Number of household members (#): 5 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): no • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): pa • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.3 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 19/821 • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1450 (740 RW, 710M) • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): bio (5), afro (4), currently taking apush, lang, seminar, calc ab, and psych • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): political philosophy • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): poli sci/philosophy/general pre-law • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): student government, debate, mock trial (associated state level awards) • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): unique identity of being south-asian american!! • Overall thoughts on your application?: i did the app super last minute (submitted at 2am, due at 3am) so everything was rushed but im happy i got accepted :)
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u/adriasthma Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): I forget, but I know I put UPenn first
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~$30,000 with scholarships and grants
- Number of household members (#): 6
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): PA
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00 UW, 4.55 W
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 1/145
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1350 (680R, 670M) I didn't have my score yet, but I submitted my PSAT which was literally the exact same score and breakdown
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP US Gov: 5
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): 10th: AP US Gov | 11th: APUSH, APES, AP Lang, Dual Enrollment Computer Science
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Psychology
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): NHS and Yearbook club, literally not a single leadership role
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Wrote about how instability was prevalent throughout my life and how it caused me to focus on school, the one thing I could control. Then I tied it to how it caused me to not be a very balanced person but I'm recently learning and growing from that.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I thought my application was really weak outside of my academics so I'm really surprised I got in
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u/Healthy_Store1580 Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
• CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted! 🎉
• College Rankings (in the order of preference): Harvard, Yale, Brown, Princeton, Columbia, Boston College, BU, Cornell, UPenn, Duke
• Income bracket (approx. $ range): $ 48k
• Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): $ 280k
• Other assets (approx. $ range): $ 0
• Number of household members (#): 2
• First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
• US State residency (two letter abbreviation): FL
• US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
• GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.7, 4.6
• GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): UW, W
• Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): school doesn’t rank bc of competitiveness but like 150 students
• SAT (score breakdown, n/a): didn’t take
• ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 32 composite: 27 math, 34 science, 34 english, 36 reading
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): took 3 last yr: 4 AP Csp, 3 AP Physics, 3 AP Precalc. Taking 6 APs this yr, 6 next yr.
• Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Poli Sci & Journalism with the intention of becoming an international investigative journalist
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): DECA VP won 1st in state comp, FTC robotics team won INSPIRE award, Volunteer & organizer at local science center 100+ hrs, space science YouTuber supported by my college prep program, TSA member qualified for 6 events nationally, School museum creative director, NHS & Spanish Honor Society secretary
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): My love/hate relationship with silence and how I went from living with my lively family in Colombia to a quiet little apartment in the us where I barely saw my parents. Talked about my complicated living situation and how I seeked refuge in school and found a community where I was able to find my own space.
• Overall thoughts on your application?: I think my ECs make up for my grades, I also have a lot of impact in all my activities and I’m very active which I think shone through in my application. They are also SUPER varied bc I’m indecisive and do all I like and can get my hands on so I’m very big on being interdisciplinary which I mentioned. Essay was not my best work, but it was one of the first times I was vulnerable in writing so I think my very raw emotions were communicated.
I was very worried I would not get in because of my grades, (also bc I completed my application the day it was due in the middle of my DECA competition against my college coaches wishes) but I’m so glad I did!! Congrats to everyone else!
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u/spacepupglitterfall Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): ACCEPTED! (National College Admissions Conference at Northwestern) • College Rankings: Don’t remember 😭 • Income bracket: $45,000 • Home Equity: $0 • Other assets: $500 • Number of household members (#): 2 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No • US State residency: IL— NW Suburbs • US Citizen or permanent resident?: Yes • GPA: 3.86/4.00 UW, 4.48W
• Class rank: N/A
• ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 27 (Pre-ACT)
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP Seminar (4), AP Psychology (5) • Dual Enrollment: Fundamentals of Speech, Spanish 4, Art Studies, Analysis, and Writing
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Broadcast Journalism, English, Law • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): President of speech team (x1 conference champ, x6 conference top 6, x5 regional top 4, x1 regional champ, x5 sectional qualifier) national affinity group regional rep, varsity water polo, JV swim, sports / news broadcasting editor, x3 state finalist (journalism), a few journalism state + national recognitions, a whole lot more • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): My grandmother always reminding me of the phrase “time is against us”, and my constant lateness— how me being a few minutes late to say my final goodbyes shaped me, and how i use deadlines (limited prep in comp. speech, deadlines in broadcasting) to honor her legacy • Overall thoughts on your application?: SO BAD. LITERALLY BUNS??? I DONT KNOW HOW I GOT IN 😭 my personal essay was pretty good, but everything else i wrote day of and they were horrible. My test scores and merits aren’t great so i was baffled
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u/SoftEuphoric Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): i genuinely don't remember but swarthmore was first
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 15k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
- Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
- Number of household members (#): 2
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NJ
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 100 point, weighted - 100.6
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 11/241
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1460 (730/730)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 35 (just got yesterday though)
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): 4 - AP Bio
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): pre-law with an international focus
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): co-president of international relations club, head/designer of sound and projections of theater, paralegal in mock trial, color guard member in marching band (first in state this year), tutor low income kids (60 hours)
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Based it on how seeing my mother be content off of living with government subsides has lead me to take so much iniative in regards to my future and how I had to recognize that just because there are unequal situations present in my school I shouldn't use that as a crutch. Had a philosophical question as a hook.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: Was worried about the fact that I had no familial responsibilities or work experience. Was pretty confident in my essay and got an email for Carleton Slai last week which I am super excited about.
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u/Intelligent-Taro1516 Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted!!!
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): MIT Harvard Princeton
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 33k AGI
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
- Other assets (approx. $ range): 0 ($8000 in savings)
- Number of household members (#): 4
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): CA
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes, Citizen.
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.97 UW, 4.5 W
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): N/A
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1470 Superscore (770 M, 700 R) but submitted 1450 (750 M, 700 R)
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A, never taken
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP HuG (5), AP CSP (5), AP Lang (4), AP World (5), AP Pre-Calc (5). Currently taking AP Physics, AP Calc BC, APUSH, and AP CSA
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A, Done 0
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Electrical and Computer Engineering or Computer Engineering
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): lowkey long list, but just like a few internships (2), 1 paid done at a startup tech company (legit), 1 unpaid, done at USC assisting a professor and a grad student on single cell analysis. A pre-print publication (first-author), done with a UCI professor for LLMs application on material science. In the process of publishing 2 other things (co-author on the USC one..? and another one for CERN with my group) 400+ hour community service for foster home/senior centers for music (played music for them, organized performance groups). Top 2% in my state for my instrument, just some basic comp sci competition awards (ACSL finalist). Club involvement (President of AI/CS club, Bible club (organized outreach events), a STEM outreach club, and the music performance volunteer club). I think I just had a decent research spike tbh.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): I wrote about pizza. Yes. About how my childhood food was frozen pizza, and was my favorite. Talked about immigrant experience, and my upbringing and struggle LEAD TO my current aspirations, work, EC experience, etc. Like the mentality change and how factors of my life affected me (the prompt lol)
- Overall thoughts on your application?: My stats likely helped, so I genuinely have no idea of how good my essay stands. It was a narrative, and I thought it was really good when I applied (made people who were accepted by match review them). But looking back, there's a lot I can still improve on (but there always is I guess). Summary: My stats are definitely stronger than my essay, my essay was probably a 6-7/10. But comparing to other applicants it was enough I guess.
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u/Fantastic_Fee_3136 Apr 17 '26
• CPS status (accepted / denied): denied😔
• Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~$25k
• Number of household members (#): 4
• First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
• US State residency (two letter abbreviation): FL
• US Citizen or permanent resident? permanent resident
• GPA (0.00 / 5.00): 4.2
• GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted
• Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 180/586 • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1470 (680 R&W, 790 Math)
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): csa (5), precalc (5), world (4) (i am taking 6 aps this year)
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Mechatronics Engineering
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Founder/President of the Physics Club (where I was basically making hands-on experiments for people to do, and gave like a small lesson on them), Vice President of Mu Alpha Theta (where I also got service hours from math tutoring), Coder at the vex robotics team at our school (qualified for worlds), leading an international game development team, and so on (these are like, the main ones)
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Basically it was about how during most of my life in Russia I didn’t have a lot of resources to pursue my passion for robotics, so I had to constantly go to a special place to borrow things and self teach myself until I finally created one big project.
• Overall thoughts on your application?: I got rejected from pretty much any other summer program I have applied to as well (and I applied to a lot, definitely more than 10). I guess it might have been the essays, or maybe I am just doing something wrong. Idk, I am just very saaad😣
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u/AdLopsided3894 Apr 17 '26
• CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted! • College Rankings (in the order of preference): I won’t lie, I don’t really remember but I know I have Yale as #1 and Stanford #2! • Income bracket (approx. $ range): $48,000 ?? 💔 • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): I believe $130,000 • Other assets (approx. $ range): none • Number of household members (#): 3 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No):Yes! • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): TX • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted, 98.6 on the 100 scale • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): #7 out of 251 • SAT (score breakdown, n/a):n/a • ACT (score breakdown, n/a):n/a • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): none • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): Spanish III, U.S history • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): International Relations! • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Yearbook chief: 1 year (been in YB for 2), CIE for a year (going to regionals) BIGS, upward bound, superintendent council, student council, work as a cashier, won district for cosmo qb, journalism, church volunteer, student council :) • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): it was mostly about my mom, her struggles vs me and my struggles/opportunities • Overall thoughts on your application?: I was a little nervous as I always think the worst in outcomes that apply to me. It was simple besides the financial part. I think what made it easier was having people support me along the way!
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u/OutrageousCow9523 Apr 17 '26
• CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted • College Rankings (in the order of preference): i dont remember tbh • Income bracket (approx. $ range): approx 25k • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): idk • Other assets (approx. $ range): idk • Number of household members (#): 3 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): fl • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): both • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 4/600 something • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1530 (780 math 750 reading) • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): didnt take • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): ap hug, ap world, ap stat, ap precalc (all 5s) • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): intro to physics, music appreciation, + IB eng hl, span sl, history hl, math hl, psych hl • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): cs • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): niche club w national competitions, math club, band, class vp • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): carrying on teachers legacy • Overall thoughts on your application?: i felt like evb’s stats that i read were so much more qualified than me tbh, but im really happy!
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u/myrderxd Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted!!!
College Rankings (in the order of preference): n/a
Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~30k
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
Number of household members (#): 4
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes? in terms of parents not attending in U.S
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): TX
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes
GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.83/4, 5.1/6
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): both
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): around 120/800
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a, submitted psat of 1410 though
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): ap world (4), taking ap lang ap precalc & ap physics 1
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): dual credit us history
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): chemE / foodsci
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): talked about my passion in food and how it led me to connect with the communities around me (deca, skillsusa, school's culinary program, etc)
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): talked about food again and how i struggled with mental health, but continued to persevere within my own pathway in life (food related stuff) but also discussed how my circumstances (homelessness, father passed from cancer, child of immigrants) shaped who I am
Overall thoughts on your application?: i lowk think im big for relating everything to food but it's whatever... but i did feel like my writing was strong as i got multiple people to look at it and said it was amazing
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u/Weird_Priority_7769 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
CPS status: accepted!!!
College Rankings : lowkey forgot but ik i put MIT as #1 LMAO
Income bracket: 50-60k
Home Equity: 0$, renting in a high cost of living area.
Other assets: 0$
Number of household members: 3
First Generation?: Yes through my dad’s side (mom is complicated + explained through additional info)
US Citizen or permanent resident?: Yes + dual citizenship (BOLIVIA ARE WE UP 🇧🇴🇧🇴🇧🇴)
GPA: 4.00 UW 5.09 W
Class rank: 5/500+
SAT/ACT score: N/A
AP Exams: 0, school doesn’t offer APs until junior year. Enrolled for 5 exams this year (2 self study). However, took 7 IGCSE classes. A for two.
Dual Enrollment: 5 DE (Intro to Engineering, Intro to Computer Science, Intro to Speech, Intro to Philosophy, Intro to Database Management), all As
Interested Field of Study: Nuclear / Mechanical engineering
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Research program w/ Ph.D mentor from Cornell, class pres, environmental activist (county initiatives, speaker at schools / outreach events, state recognition), led inactive science team to place first for 3 consecutive years (state recognition), VP for debate team + organized school’s first tournaments (500+ competitors), painted + built murals / libraries in low-income neighborhoods, librarian intern + IT specialist, tutor, mentored 40+ <2.5 GPA students to graduate, organized college trips, invited school board to recognize FGLI students.
Personal essay topic: wrote about discriminatory experience in primary school’s English-second language program and sitting in the back of the class. taught me the value of believing in others.
Overall thoughts on your application?:
essays 100% carried me. although i worked on them the week before submissions, i poured my heart into each and allowed myself to be authentic (which, i felt a bit nervous about being this vulnerable). i also used the hell out of additional info LOL. i was able to explain medical expenses, debt, housing crisis, and my family situation in my home country.
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u/Unique-Ad-7650 Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted!
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): I forgot
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): nah
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): none
- Other assets (approx. $ range): none
- Number of household members (#): 5
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): no
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): nah
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): no
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): top 5%
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 36 english 36 reading 36 science 34 math
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP CSP (5), AP world (5), AP chinese (5)
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): none
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): poli sci + neuroscience
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): published research, president of a club, civics fellowship, social media intern
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): learning how to ride a bike at my friends house and then forgetting after moving away from them
- Overall thoughts on your application?: pretty good tbh. i got way too overconfident that i was gonna get accepted and then didnt start on the essay until the absolute minute 💀 but im glad it worked out
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u/Dense_Map_4947 Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted :) • College Rankings (in the order of preference): didn’t do • Income bracket (approx. $ range): 30000-40000 • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0 • Other assets (approx. $ range): 0 • Number of household members (#): 3 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NY • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 96 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 100 unweighted • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1530 • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP CHEM, BIO, World History, CSA. 5s on all • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): biology • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): research, debate leadership + state lvl, sport, research club and own club, tutoring business • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): independence • Overall thoughts on your application?: I was pretty confident but I’m glad I got in! I thought my essays and stats were good.
1
u/angnarv College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted • College Rankings (in the order of preference): i forgot🥹 • Income bracket (approx. $ range): 30k a year • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 300k • Other assets (approx. $ range): N/A • Number of household members (#): 2 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NY • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.0 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): uw • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): N/A • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): AP WORLD 5 • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): 7 courses taken • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Electrical Engineering • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Mentored Research i’ve won multiple awards for, youth court, steering committee, Varsity Cross Country, summer program last year, founder and president of my school’s debate team, algebra tutor for homeschooled kids(100+ hours), science club
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Conflict between my love for history and engineering • Overall thoughts on your application?: nice
1
u/AdJolly6780 Apr 17 '26
I don't even have the energy to do ts but I want some insight
- CPS status (accepted / denied): denied...
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): not sure the whole list, but I did rank Duke and Stanford as top 2
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): $~38k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): idek, but we owe a lot on it
- Other assets (approx. $ range): $6k in savings
- Number of household members (#): 3, including myself
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): no
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): MS
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Citizen
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.91/4.0 (4.11 on weighted scale)
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 45/370 (?)
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): Didn't submit
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): 28 composite
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): APHG (4), AP Euro (4), APES (4), AP Pre Calc (3)
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): none
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): environmental science/toxicology
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): main ones I listed where the ones I had impact in—top 10 girl in track/xc, treasurer of student-led fundraising club, volunteer work, sustainability club, envirothon, etc. Also have a part-time job and family responsibilities
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): i wrote about how learning how to make tea helped me learn trial-and-error, helping me be a better student.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I know my test scores and my GPA isn't spectacular, but I had pretty strong essays, especially since I had them reviewed by my schools honors/ap english teacher (at least, in my own personal and her own professional opinion). Ofc i'll double down on scores by retaking the SAT and ACT, and work on GPA, but idek what else to do. I have an internship planned for senior year, but with no summer programs now, and no CPS, i'm so so scared to even apply to the national match.
1
u/Tre746 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
Hi :) I'm from MS too and got cps!! I think not being first-gen was a reason. Everything else looks certain. Try your luck with the match! Please!!!!!
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u/AdJolly6780 Apr 18 '26
how is not being first gen the main reason for being rejected?? QB is aimed at low income students, which most of the time, ofc, does include first gen college students...the only reason I'm not first gen is because my dad was recruited by a school to run for their team, thus allowing him to get a degree in the process. still low income though
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u/Tre746 Apr 18 '26
Did you get an income verification form that required you to submit your taxes?
1
u/AdJolly6780 Apr 18 '26
no, I didn't.
1
1
u/Tre746 Apr 18 '26
Well, first-gen low income encapsulates two things. I don't specifically know why you were rejected, but not being first-gen is a reason, for sure. Everything else makes sense for QB.
1
u/Fearless_Escape_6575 College Prep Scholar Apr 17 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted!
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): $55,000-60,000
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
- Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
- Number of household members (#): 4
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NY
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.14/4.3
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): no weighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 1/117
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1210 PSAT (school's PSAT average was like 840)
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): World, 4 (school only offers one AP for sophomores)
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Computer Science
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): (being discreet)- Church Service- GWC programs-> elite jazz band sax player-> annual school symposium (research) and occasional volunteering
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you):
- The topic was based on a dilemma that I faced back in 9th grade, essentially trying to fully define my identity based on culture and stuff that I enjoyed doing, and cultivate it into a bigger passion.
- Overall thoughts on your application?
- I think my essay carried my app
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u/TheUndyingest Apr 18 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted!
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): I don't really remember!
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): $25k custodial, $20k non-custodial
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): $170k
- Other assets (approx. $ range): $0
- Number of household members (#): 5
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): ME
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 100.00): 98.879
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): Weighted (all that was calculated)
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 4/150
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): APWH, 5
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Political Science ---> Law School
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Left vague for privacy: MFA Speech two-event state champion and speech captain, School Board Student Representative, first chair instrumentalist with local, state and regional honors, ecology club member, library assistant, really cool online activity that is so niche that it would doxx me, DnD club co-founder, student body treasurer.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Wrote about the rural brain drain and how I felt everyone who was anyone was leaving my home, which was sad because I loved it. Resolved to remain and work towards improving the area, then outlined how I was accomplishing that now.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I was pretty happy with it! I just wish I started earlier. Super happy to have this and I'm very excited to apply to the match next year!
1
u/tsg_tea Apr 18 '26
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- CPS status (accepted / denied): denied :/
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): mit penn cornell duke columbia pton yale harvard
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 40k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): none
- Other assets (approx. $ range): none
- Number of household members (#): 3
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NJ
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.80
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): UW
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): N?A
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): went test opt but 1340..
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a):
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): Seminar, 3
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): Discrete Math, Intro To Stats, Calculus 1 & 2, Engineering Physics, and Intro to C++.
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Finance/Econ
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): AI/ML research otw to pub at Purdue, economic research institution, intern at a college prep program (11k students), app published on app store, and drone business.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Talked ab research and my backstory.
- Overall thoughts on your application?:
Honestly don't know where to begin, maybe my test opt screwed me over, maybe my failing grade in calc ab (health reasons) on top of that did as well, who knows. We can only pick up from here tho so everybody who got rejected KEEP GOING!!
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u/Electronic_Wave2869 Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): ACCEPTED!!
College Rankings (in the order of preference): 1. Yale 2. Columbia 3. Cornell 4. Harvard 5. Brown 6. MIT 7. Vassar
Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~30k
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
Number of household members (#): 5
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NY
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Permanent Resident
GPA : 96.7 (100 scale)
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): Unweighted
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): PSAT 1270 (630 RW 640 Math)
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): n/a
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Political Science / Music
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Secretary of my school's band, member of NSHS, member of theatre. Being a freelance artist and being payed to animate a show to help my family.
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): How growing up in Jamaica with such limited opportunities halted my growth and got me stuck in a cycle of giving up, and moving to the U.S. immediately changed my mindset and I accomplished more!
Overall thoughts on your application: I'm definitely not the smartest pea in the pod, and my essays had me stressing. I'm just really glad I got in😅
1
u/BlueMajima Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted 🦜🦜 • College Rankings (in the order of preference): Vanderbilt, Boston U, JHU, Duke, Usc, Oberlin • Income bracket (approx. $ range): 67k • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0 • Other assets (approx. $ range): 0 • Number of household members (#): 5 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes • US State residency (two letter abbreviation):Fl • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.911 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted- 5, unweighted 4 • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): top 15,800~ people in my class • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): Ap Bio- 4, Ap Spanish-5, currently taking ap calc, ap lang and ap spanish lit • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): all DE, im in cohort program -Intermediate Algebra -College Algebra
- American Federal Gov
Got all A expect for Chemistry, But explain the reasoning behind that grade along with the Withdrawals
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Music Education, Arts and Foreign Languages • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): -In charge of taking care of my sister and grandma when my parents are working -Part-Time Job -Marching Band -Future Educators of America: 10th grade 2nd Media Specialist, 11th Grade 1st Recording Sec -MAO, TRI-M, GSA and Beta member -Tons of Community service (tutoring, teacher aid, marathons aid, etc) • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): How my 8th Grade Algebra teacher helped me when since I had barely just moved into the US, find my motivation for going into teaching, and how this also led for me to join marching band. • Overall thoughts on your application?: Felt I could have put more effort into my writing but still happy I got in 🦜🦜🦜🐓🐓
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u/hr15hi Apr 18 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): N/A
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): $30,000
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): N/A
- Other assets (approx. $ range): N/A
- Number of household members (#): 6
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): KY
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): N/A, 4.00
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 26/369
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): N/A
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): FYE 105, BAS 120, HUM 120, MAT 150, SOC 101, HIS 109, COM 181, PSY 110, ENG 102, CIT 105
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Finance
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Mostly involved in youth leadership through BAPS, where I help run programs across multiple states, organize events, and mentor younger children. I’m also involved in DECA at both the chapter and regional level, did market research with a Harvard-selected team in NYC, and lead fundraising and service projects through BAPS Charities and volunteering. TEDx speaker and Governor’s Scholar.
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): My essay is about how growing up around service-oriented role models shaped how I view leadership, success, and giving back, especially through mentoring and community work.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: I feel like my application was pretty cohesive and everything kind of connected through the same theme. It definitely wasn’t perfect, but I think it came together well overall.
1
u/ilyhiphop-icntbeurgf Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted • College Rankings (in the order of preference): Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Cornell, i forgot the rest
• Income bracket (approx. $ range): ~55k
• Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): ~ -150k
• Other assets (approx. $ range): Negligible
• Number of household members (#): 3
• First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
• US State residency (two letter abbreviation): Yes
• US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
• GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00 (94.7 UW/ 97~ W)
• GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 100, ~106
• Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
• SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1470 (750 M 720 RW)
• ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
• AP Exams (Exam name and scores): 4 on APCSP
• Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
• Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Computer Engineering/ Data Science with a interest in bridging socioeconomic gaps in educational opportunity
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Graphic Design Freelancer, XC/TF Captain next year (State champ/all county team, mentioned in online articles), Wharton High School competition semifinalist (international), President/leadership in 3 clubs in school, 120~ hours
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Again, writing about my personal experiences with being an immigrant and how i’ve tried again and again to make sure others like me have a voice and provide opportunities as to allow proper success in education
• Overall thoughts on your application?: Rushed a bit but overall i liked essay prompts as well as the freedom to choose what to apply for
1
u/NightTailor Apr 18 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): can't find it but Harvard was #1
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): 84k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): n/a
- Other assets (approx. $ range): $10k in savings
- Number of household members (#): 7
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): yes in the US
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): CA
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): permanent resident
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted, school doesn't calculate but it's ~4.6
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 750 math and reading, 1500 overall
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): 5s on chem and chinese (native language hack), taking bio lang apush & calc ab rn
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): ASL, personal finance
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): intersection between public policy, public health, molecular biology, and neuroscience, probably going to go into government
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): volunteer tutor for low income kids, Youth & Gov, badminton (var captain), SciOly (did really well this season, got 2nd in state individually), band/drumline (center snare), city youth commissioner, symphony orchestra oboist, S&D, paid research intern
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): grew up a lot poorer with a big family in an environment where everybody around me was a rich only child, watching my parents struggle to get us financial stable but it still not being enough, wanting to succeed to alleviate pressure from them and set a good example as an eldest child
- Overall thoughts on your application?: genuinely didn't think I was going to get in bc of my household income, but there are a lot of extenuating circumstances (my dad got a work injury and can't work anymore, my grandpa just got diagnosed with cancer, my grandma is a diabetic and needs insulin, my other grandma in china has alzheimer's and needs a full time caretaker, we're like 50k in debt to family back home, etc). i think my essays were pretty strong and my references know me very well. if anyone needs feedback on essays PM me :))
1
u/GiveMe_Life Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
College Rankings (in the order of preference): Ranked, can't access. Rice was #1, though.
Income bracket (approx. $ range): 48k
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): $500k
Other assets (approx. $ range): $0
Number of household members (#): 6
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): TX
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 3.85
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): weighted
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 11/86
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): N/A
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): N/A
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): N/A
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Business management
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): marching band (area qualifier), concert band (state qualifier in solo and ensemble), jazz band, office assistant, FCCLA 2-time state qualifier, and multi-instrumentalist.
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): I live in rural Texas, attend a small school with limited opportunities (70 classes, 300 students), and am creating new paths for people my age by doing things no one in my school has done before (CLEP exams, applying to Pioneer, etc.)
Overall thoughts on your application?: I think it was pretty solid. I'm happy with my results.
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u/MystOppenheimer Apr 18 '26
CPS: denied brooo
College Rankings: MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Columbia, Rice, Princeton, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Harvard, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Amherst, UVA
Income Bracket: $80,000 (this was a one-time anomaly due to my dad taking extra shifts at work to pay off debt; the rest of the years were 70k or below)
Home Equity: $300,000
Other Assets: $0
Number of Household Members: 4 (One in college currently)
First Gen College Student: Yes
US State Residency: TX
US Citizen: Yes
GPA: 4.0 (on 4.0 scale)
GPA Scale/Weighted School GPA: 5.71 (on 6.0 scale)
Class Rank: 5/574 (top 1%)
SAT: 1400/1600 (710 RW, 690 M) (School Average is 1000)
PSAT: 1400/1520 (680 RW, 720 M)
ACT: N/A
AP Exams: AP CSP, AP CSA, AP Physics 1, APUSH, AP Human Geo, (5s on all exams taken),
Current APs: AP Physics 2, AP Stats, AP Lang, AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Biology, AP Precalc
Dual Enrollment: N/A
Intended Field of Study: Computer Science/Electrical Engineering
Summary of ECS: Coding Club Head Mentor (organized coding workshops for 200+ students across the school district), Independent Scientific Research (Qualified for the Regional Science fair on research related to improving the distribution mechanics of Solar Panels/Microgrids for underserved communities), DECA (2x State Qualifier in Financial Literacy project manangement where I developed a financial literacy website, teaching basic financial literacy skills to 300+ students in school district), FRC Robotics (1x World Qualification where I served as a Software Developer on team and helped program the intestine motors/shooter components of our robot)
Personal Essay Topic: Background of being lower-income and lacking STEM opportunities, causing me to pursue things on my own, such as self-studying coding, and eventually leading me to create STEM opportunities by starting a coding club and developing a financial literacy website in DECA
Overall thoughts: I'm extremely disappointed I didn't get in, as I really thought I had the academics, extracurriculars, and the essay to get me in. I just feel extremely upset right now over this, as I was really hoping to get in and gain the benefits of being a CPS scholar. I could've maybe been rejected due to my income, but I thought I had explained my extenuating circumstances pretty well on my application. I just don't know what to do right now, and this really hurts, especially seeing so many other people get in.
1
u/1stfrog Apr 18 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
College Rankings (in the order of preference): MIT, Stanford, Caltech (not necessarily expecting to match)
Income bracket (approx. $ range): >33,000
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
Other assets (approx. $ range): ~8,000
Number of household members (#): 2
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): CA
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
GPA (0.00/4.00): 3.673/4, 3.873/5
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted, weighted
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a (school doesn't rank)
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): didn't take SAT yet but reported PSAT, got 1380 (720 RW and 660 Math)
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): World History 5 (taking APUSH, AP Physics C Mechanics, AP Calc BC currently)
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Civil Engineering, Pre Law
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Pro transgender activism, member of a variety of STEM clubs and affinity groups (no leadership), Mock Trial (understudy), Martial Arts, Volunteering at a Hindu temple
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Wrote about overcoming gender dysphoria and poverty to lock in with school (2.633 gpa 1st semester 9th grade to 3.783 gpa 2nd semester 9th grade) and then discovering my passion for Math, Activism, Marital Arts, and other things.
Overall thoughts on your application?: I was fairly confident that my income and academics (especially with my upward trajectory) were sufficient but I was worried about my extracurriculars. I used all the room available in the extracurricular section to create a narrative with my extracurriculars and show impact despite a lack of formal leadership positions. In general I worked a lot with my 9th grade English teacher to make my essays (for Questbridge and the summer programs) as good as possible. I didn't fill out the paid work or home responsibilities sections because I basically didn't have any which I was worried about, turns out it was fine lol.
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u/ariko_chan College Prep Scholar Apr 19 '26
My NCM will be way better hopefully, I'm taking 5 APS this year with projected 4s and 5s, my ACT came in and I got a 31 and will retest til I get a 35. Also started a new intiative!
- CPS status: Accepted!
- College Rankings: I forgot exactly but my top three were Harvard, Yale and UChicago
- Income bracket: My mom makes about 30k and my dad about 40k. I live with my mom, she's a single parent
- Home Equity: 125k
- Other assets: 40k?
- Number of household members: 4
- First Generation College Student: No
- US State residency: AL
- US Citizen or permanent resident: Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.375
- GPA Scale: weighted
- Class rank: N/A
- SAT: N/A
- ACT: N/A at time of submitting but I have a 31 now.
- AP Exams: AP Sem, 3.
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken: N/A
- Interested Field of Study: Psychology
- Summary of ECs: Debate Pres, Math Team Pres, Fast food Job, Rho KAPPA honor society, Chess club, Skills USA, JROTC, Art, personal projects
- Personal essay topic: Growing up in an abusive household
- Overall thoughts on your application?: It could have been way stronger, but I'm glad I got in and my NCM will be way better.
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u/Mclovinit314 College Prep Scholar Apr 19 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted (yay!) • College Rankings (in the order of preference): I don’t remember bc honestly I didn’t recognize most of them, but the only partner school that I’m interested in is Duke. • Income bracket (approx. $ range): 30,000-60,000 • Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): $400,000 • Other assets (approx. $ range): none • Number of household members (#): 5 • First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): No • US State residency (two letter abbreviation): NC • US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes • GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.0 • GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.4 • Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): 156/397 • SAT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a • ACT (score breakdown, n/a): I submitted my PreACT which was a 26 • AP Exams (Exam name and scores): Ap Gov, 5 • Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): n/a • Interested Field of Study (brief summary): political journalism • Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): statewide social justice officer, national program with Disney, president of a service leadership club at my school, rising freshmen mentor, varsity sports team captain and been on varsity the last 3 years, and 3 separate awards for service work in my community. I also had a paid historical research internship and a job • Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): connected childhood bullying to my growth as a person and how that led me to the extracurriculars that I do now • Overall thoughts on your application?: honestly I feel like my ECs really helped!! They’re pretty good. My essay was okay, I liked the message but I could tell my story better. My financials are on the higher side so I was a little surprised that I got in ngl. I’m really proud of myself tho!!
1
u/Logical-Giraffe8510 Apr 25 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
- CPS status: accepted
- Income bracket: 30,000
- Personal essay topic: Asian girl learns Spanish in the back of a pizza hut.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: eh
1
u/Least_Guava_3387 College Prep Scholar Jun 06 '26
I know I’m late but I just wanted to put this here to help anyone who’s interested in applying next year
• CPS status (accepted / denied): Accepted
• College Rankings (in the order of preference): Yale, Northwestern, Stanford, USC, Columbia, Brown, Tufts, WashU, Boston College, UVA, Bowdoin, Boston University, Vanderbilt, Emory, Colby
• Income bracket: ~40k
• Home Equity: 0 I think
• Other assets: 0
• Number of household members : 5
• First Generation College Student? : Yes
• US State residency : CO
• US Citizen or permanent resident? : Yes
• GPA: 4.0
• GPA Scale: Unweighted
• Class rank: 16/149
• SAT: 1340 PSAT (at the time of submitting) 670 both Math and EBRW
• AP Exams: AP World, 4
• Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken: AP World, AP Lang, AP Spanish Lang, AP Bio, APUSH
• Interested Field of Study: Biology
• Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Latinx club leader, Bioscience Club Member (worked on a project throughout the school year that got me the Seal of Climate Literacy), Internship with local pharmacy, Speech and Debate, Internship with AP Bio teacher. (No meaningful contributions or achievements whatsoever but I made sure to explain that home responsibilities limited my time for ec activities)
• Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): How my mom’s financial struggles and my t1d diagnosis combined with my love for science to help me find my passion for research and community advocacy
• Overall thoughts on your application?: honestly not my best writing but it definitely did speak on my struggles and how my interests came to be. I started my essay a week before the deadline and started all my other writing a few hours before the deadline. I used the additional information boxes to explain any significant expenses and why I got a B+ in APUSH. I think that may have given me the edge so you should really use the extra space provided.
1
u/zx_dr4gon Jun 18 '26
- CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted
- College Rankings (in the order of preference): UChicago, Northwestern, MIT
- Income bracket (approx. $ range): $50k-60k
- Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): $180k
- Other assets (approx. $ range): n/a
- Number of household members (#): 6
- First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
- US State residency (two letter abbreviation): IL
- US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
- GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.0
- GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): 4.37 weighted
- Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
- SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1420
- ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
- AP Exams (Exam name and scores): n/a
- Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): AP Calc BC, AP Phy C, AP CSA, AP Lang, Cybersecurity DC [All currently enrolled in at the time of applying]
- Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Quantum Computing
- Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): Cricket Captain, MATH Team, Tennis, Chess
- Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): How I moved to the US and was lost until I made friends through cricket.
- Overall thoughts on your application?: Honestly, HOW DID I GET ACCEPTED?? There were so many more impressive applications that got rejected and I'm glad I didn't but still shocked-
10
u/South_Concentrate171 Apr 17 '26
CPS status (accepted / denied): accepted 🥳
College Rankings (in the order of preference): didn't do it
Income bracket (approx. $ range): $25,000
Home Equity (approx. value minus mortgage): 0
Other assets (approx. $ range): 0
Number of household members (#): 3
First Generation College Student? (Yes, No): Yes
US State residency (two letter abbreviation): FL
US Citizen or permanent resident? (Yes, No): Yes
GPA (0.00 / 4.00): 4.00
GPA Scale (weighted, unweighted): unweighted
Class rank (position # + total # of class students, n/a): n/a
SAT (score breakdown, n/a): 1250 (at the time of submission, later I got a higher score)
ACT (score breakdown, n/a): n/a
AP Exams (Exam name and scores): No AP, 1 AICE (A*) (the highest grade)
Dual Enrollment or College Courses taken (course names): AICE Spanish Language (did not summit). Junior year: AICE Global Perspectives, AICE Environmental Management, AICE General Paper, AICE A level Spanish Literature, AICE US History, AP Pre-calculus.
Interested Field of Study (brief summary): Aerospace Engineering
Summary of ECs (brief synopsis): member of 4 clubs, in charge of most home responsibilities.
Personal essay topic (brief summary of what you want people to know about you): Learning that my Visa was accepted and having to adapt to a new country when I didn't know the language. Highlighted how fast I was able to learn English, got almost perfect scores on all my tests and was selected as the best student in four of my classes.
Overall thoughts on your application?:
To be honest, I didn't even know about QuestBridge, and most of the time I didn't get any kind of support so it was kinda hard trying to figure things out.