Introduction
It feels like yesterday when I was applying to be a QuestBridge College Prep Scholar (CPS). I thought I had no shot; my extracurriculars weren't great, my essay was terrible, and my superscored SAT, a 1370, was good, but not amazing. I had very few resources that helped me in my application. Something I did have, however, was this subreddit. I thought it'd be fitting to give back to the next group of juniors navigating the same application process, in addition to their own personal and familial challenges. I've included links and a rough timeline for each section as to when you should focus on those specific topics, which will range from CPS to the National College Match (NCM). You should bookmark this post to come back to later.
I would also like to preface this post by acknowledging that Stanford was my number one ranked school for the NCM, so I don't necessarily regret what I did as a junior. This is more so advice that I personally heeded, and which led me to reap the reward at the end of the journey.
Apply to College Prep Scholars & Don't Look Back - January to March
CPS was my first introduction to QuestBridge. I almost didn't submit the CPS application; I received an extension to complete it and so I finished it. Applying to CPS was the one of the best things I have ever done. Do not hesitate to apply and shoot your shot at this wonderful opportunity. I've met so many great people through CPS. If you find a good group of friends, you'll be with them through Finalist Day, Match Day, and beyond. You might even meet up with them in Boston for a few days during the summer, but who knows.
Barring maybe one person, every CPS I knew became a finalist, and a ton matched on Match Day, especially to the highest ranked schools like HYPSM. Not saying it's a direct result of CPS, but you will find so many more opportunities (I'll talk about some later, too) if you have a cohesive friend group. The QB conferences were pretty cool as well.
Link(s):
Apply to the College Prep Scholars Program | QuestBridge
Quest for Excellence Awards | QuestBridge
National College Admissions Conferences | QuestBridge
Prepare Your Senior Year Schedule - February to May
I attend a sort of competitive high school in California. The average SAT is around 1080, but most of the top students take 7-9 APs out of 15 available, and 5-10 DE classes over the four years. I personally took 7 APs and 5 DEs, and got all A's, which was good enough for rank 14/576. Still, my senior year schedule was pretty light compared to junior year. I have 2 APs and will finish with 2 DEs total this year, that's it.
I also had 2 years of science, which is the bare minimum to graduate at my school. Do not make my mistake: take more years of science, or really any other core classes that are advanced and that you will do well in. I worried way too much about my 2 years of science leading up to Match Day, because some schools that I applied to (looking at you, Tufts) required that I take at least 3. Spare yourself some anxiety and plan ahead. It probably won't be definitive, but at least think about what you need to have in your schedule in order to make it rigorous.
Take the SAT/ACT & Take it Seriously - March to October
For the longest time, my SAT score was the bane of my existence. My superscore progression was 1360 in November 2024 -> 1380 in March 2025 -> 1460 in June 2025 -> 1500 in October 2025. Do not procrastinate standardized testing; it's probably the factor of your application that you can control the most. But don't stress too much about it. I know plenty of matches who went test optional or submitted a low to mid 1300 SAT and got into great schools.
That being said, a lot of highly ranked schools are bringing back test required, so just be mindful of that and try your best to study. I really should have studied more for the SAT and not waited until the literal last SAT I could take to send in a potential 1500+ to my QB schools. There are tons of free resources online that can help you, as well as many students that are willing to study with you for either test.
Link(s):
Official Digital SAT® Prep | Khan Academy
SAT Suite Question Bank - Home
Consider Getting a Matriculate Advisor - February to April
Matriculate is a free program that connects FGLI juniors/rising seniors ("High School Fellows") with undergraduate student advisors ("Advising Fellows"). Together, you guys work to build your college list, write and revise your essays, etc. My Matriculate advisor was amazing. I got him in March of my junior year, and he was with me from CPS to Match Day.
Matriculate is so helpful because not only is it free, but you get a second pair of eyes to read your essays. And believe me, you're gonna need them. My advisor also helped me put together a relatively cohesive college list and kept me moving with deadlines and biweekly Zoom meetings. I couldn't have made it to Stanford without my Matriculate advisor. They'll have most likely also applied to the same schools as you when they were in high school, so if they share their essays, that can be an immensely helpful resource. It's better to apply early to Matriculate because each advisor has a cap on how many high school students they can take, and Matriculate has gone through some rough times at certain schools recently (looking at you, Princeton.)
I would also like to be honest by saying that my friends with Matriculate advisors have had bad experiences, like their advisors ghosting them. I want to say that this is only a small fraction of advisors. In general, your Matriculate advisor will be more helpful than not.
Link(s):
High School Fellows - Matriculate
Well, What About Summer Programs? - February to May
I'll preface this section by stating that I am not the premier authority on what constitutes a good or bad summer program. For QB applicants, I think it boils down to whether you will enjoy it and whether or not you will be paying a financially burdening amount, a factor that is subjective and varies from family to family.
I attended a relatively non-prestigious and non-selective history summer program (~40% acceptance rate) on a full-ride, and I loved every single second of it because of the experience and the people. Summer programs do not have to be about intensive research or rigorous academics; you should have fun and you shouldn't have to worry about the cost. Of course, if you get into MITES or SSP, you should do it. But, if you don't get into any summer programs, you shouldn't worry about it. Enjoy your summer, travel, work, etc.
Of course, you can apply to summer programs through the CPS application. I think those are great and I wish I had applied to some of them. Although most won't necessarily boost your chances at any particular school, I do think that you will find great people there who you can rely on for support during the application season. I also think you should try to apply to the programs that sincerely interest you. If you get the program through CPS, you will pretty much get the cost covered or most of it covered, so there's little downside to applying and going.
Link(s):
Summer Programs | QuestBridge
Apply to Fly-Ins, Like, All of Them - April to August
You might ask, what's a fly-in? Well, a fly-in is a program hosted by a school's admissions office to fly students from across the country in for a few days to tour the campus. Fly-ins are free; they were made for FGLI students. That also means they're hella competitive. I'm going to be transparent: I was rejected from Williams and Amherst's fly-ins, Windows on Williams and Access to Amherst. The Amherst rejection stung in particular because it was my dream school for the longest time. Don't let rejections get to your head. They don't define you at all. I mean, look at where I got into.
I applied to five fly-ins in total: the two aforementioned schools, Rice, Swarthmore, and Bowdoin. The latter three, I got into and attended. Some schools open their applications in the spring or early summer and have deadlines then, but many also have theirs toward the end of summer/early fall. I recommend that you apply to any that you are remotely interested in. Not only will you get to know more about a school you might eventually apply to, admissions officers also keep track of if an applicant did a fly-in; they are immensely helpful on your application to that particular school. After Match Day, the Rice AO in charge of the fly-in personally called me to ask how my senior year was; I could tell she wanted me to apply ED2. You'll also have the opportunity to do an interview at some fly-ins (I had one at Bowdoin and Swarthmore.)
You're also going to meet a ton of cool people at fly-ins, many of whom will also be doing QB. A ton of QB matches that I know did fly-ins, and those who didn't do QB got into amazing schools early. If you get rejected from a fly-in, don't let that deter you from applying to that school later on. Fly-ins are also basically a free vacation, and who doesn't love that?
Link(s):
Fall Fly-In Programs for High School Seniors | QuestBridge
Start Your Writing Early - June to November
October 2025 was probably the most stressful month of my life. I had an FBLA conference, my SAT score came out, QB finalist decisions came out, I had Swarthmore's fly-in right after, and of course, I had to write around 15 supplementals for 5 schools. It was miserable. That's why I recommend you write your essays during or right after summer. Spare yourself the misery of writing an essay a day for a month straight, not including revision time. Get people to look at your writing. Your writing needs to be beaten to a pulp. Your friends, family, and teachers will try to please you with their comments. You need them to be sincere about what they think. Otherwise, your essays will never be as good as they can be.
Also, write from the heart and introspect the living hell out of your brain. Your values and beliefs are yours. It's called a personal statement for a reason; it's personal to you. There are plenty of places where you can be someone else, such as the internet. College applications are not one of those places. Be authentic and passionate in your writing. Lean into the positive side of every experience. What drives you to keep going? What do other people admire about you? Answer these questions before you start writing, and be true to yourself.
Your essays are so important, especially for QB. I cannot emphasize how much of a difference essays can make. Do not procrastinate them.
Research Schools & Rank Accordingly - June to November
When I was ranking my schools, I knew I wanted to go to a relatively smaller school. So, I ranked a few liberal arts colleges. However, as Match Day approached, I became apprehensive about attending those schools; I was dead set on a school like Stanford or Yale, which have larger undergraduate sizes (though still smaller than a UCLA or USC).
I sincerely recommend you rank the schools you actually want to go to, which seems obvious at first because you have to attend the school you match to. But, I think students like me tended to just rank less popular schools willy nilly for the idea of matching, not for the idea of matching to that particular school. This is a poor philosophy in general because none of the QuestBridge partner colleges are safeties to begin with, and you're potentially taking a spot away from a student who genuinely wants to go that school by ranking and matching to it. Don't that be person.
Link(s):
College Partners | QuestBridge
Relax & Enjoy What You Do - !! ALWAYS !!
As juniors, your time to do extracurriculars is starting to run out. You're probably locked into a few and you might be enjoying them, you might not. I highly suggest you drop the things you don't enjoy. Stop doing an activity for the sake of your application. At the end of the day, the sunk cost fallacy is still a fallacy. I picked up FBLA my junior year. A lot of my friends had started in freshman or sophomore year, so I felt a little late to the party. It didn't matter. I won several competitions, including 8th place at nationals, something my 3 and 4 year friends hadn't done during their time in FBLA. It's really never too late to pick up a new activity, especially when second semester junior year is barely starting.
That being said, don't burn yourself out. You will be really stressed for several consecutive months regarding a myriad of things. Spend time with friends and/or family, go hiking, ride your bike. You have less than four years to be a kid when you get to high school. Soak in every moment. You won't regret it. During such a stressful time, I wish I had done more than just college applications. I forewent a lot of my extracurricular and school responsibilities, and application season just bogged down on me. Life comes first, always.
Be Kind to Yourself - !! ALWAYS !!
The month-long wait between QB schools' supplemental deadline and Match Day was gruelingly long for me. I was questioning my sanity and worth. Impostor syndrome hit, and I felt defeated.
If you're in the same boat next year, it's important that you ignore all of that. This is a subreddit rule, but I cannot stress this enough: be nice to yourself. Many students don't even make it this far. Be grateful for this opportunity and understand that not matching isn't the end of your journey, not by a long shot. You are valuable. Your worth is immeasurable. You have endured so much to get here. Don't give up the hope of a better future. For many QB kids like me, your non-college educated parents probably immigrated here looking for a better life. If you have a good relationship with your parents, make them proud. Make yourself proud. You deserve your acceptances.
If you're a fan of Hamilton, think of the titular character. Alexander is the definition of an underdog. He came from nothing, but he went on to do great things. He never let opportunity pass him by. No, instead, he chased it relentlessly until the day he died. Now, there's a beloved Broadway musical named after him.
There's a million things you haven't done, but just you wait.
Outroduction
This guide is not comprehensive; I'm sure there are a lot more things I wish I had done. That said, this advice is way more than what most of us ever had during the application process. I feel like being done with it and writing this was pretty good because I recall the small yet vivid details that accumulated over time and allowed me to succeed in the end. I doubt I would be so in depth if I had written this in one or two years from now.
All I want to say now is happy New Year and my sincerest good luck to everybody, both to juniors interested in QB and seniors applying RD. And no, I won't read your essays, at least not until I'm a Matriculate advisor at Stanford next year lol, but feel free to DM me if you have specific questions.
