Shocked at my Yale Admissions File | The Truth About Questbridge, Essays and Recommendations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZonuVsqPoy8

Hey everyone, my name is Kevin Zhen, a Yale grad and co-founder of the ElevatEd School, where we focus on critical thinking and storytelling. In 2020, I viewed my Yale admissions file for the very first time, and, well, there is a lotttt of information—regarding me being FGLI (first-generation, low-income), how the QuestBridge system or application works, and what factors colleges care most about. 

Let’s begin.

QB inc 41k. PS have degrees. E1: With his father injured, Kevin steps in to cook at the family restaurant and gives up summer free time. There’s a sweet moment at the end. He too describes his ESSO work with kids at the children’s center.

Okay, first of all, 41k—I thought this process was need-blind. Apparently not. (Note that this process has changed since I applied through Questbridge in 2016). “QB” stands for QuestBridge, “inc” is income, and “41k” is my parents’ combined income. So: it appears the admissions office doesn’t just look at whether you’re poor, but how poor you are too. 

Considering this is the very first thing that my admissions reader wrote, you would think it has some significance. He mentioned there's a sweet moment at the end of my Common App essay (which I totally agree with). By the way, ESSO is the Exeter Social Service Organization, which proves Yale really cares about volunteering and service. 

Strong T1 English: Hickey cites impressive intellect and insight, compelling thoughtfulness, humility, and eloquence... She sees Kevin as a leader in class. He radiated commitment to others. ..T2 PP2 Math says Kevin was a leader in one of the best classes he’s taught and notes a very original approach to a differential equation... Unfortunately, T2 spends too much time with quotes from Kevin. 

Something interesting about this comment is there are tons of ellipses… Jeff and I were talking about and wondered: was there potential editing? Did they remove a few things? 

Maybe, maybe not… anyways, one thing is for sure: there’s a lot of repetition of "leader," which evidently Yale places a ton of emphasis on. 

In fact, out of all the Ivies, I’d argue Yale is the one that cultivates leaders the most, whether that's leaders in the nonprofit space, the political sphere, or the business world. If you’re interested in more academic stuff, I think Princeton or UChicago are much better suited for research. 

But returning back to the Admissions File. Notice that Reader 1 spends a ton of time talking about my recommenders: my English teacher, my math teacher, and then later on, my college counselor. It’s worth pointing out that pretty much 50% of this comment is all about my recommenders! Recommendations are one of the top five factors when it comes to your college application! Spend some time strategizing who you’re going to ask, when, and how you’re going to ask them. Really think deeply about what attributes or qualities you want your teachers to highlight!

Here’s the last bit:

Reader 1: GC (Guidance Counselor) Sherry enthusiastically recommends, not their most urgent close. He’s evolved from quiet ninth grader to strong campus leader. She quotes from several teachers in his camp. Family has degrees, but he’s a high-achieving low-income kid with warm support. We should take a look. Chris notes the references to Pton and QB, but I’m assuming he was not admitted since Exeter doesn’t allow early admits to apply elsewhere.

“Not their most urgent close"—what does that mean? Well, at elite private schools like Exeter, the college counseling office has a ton of power. I’ve heard cases where the head of college counseling at Exeter can pick up the phone and get people off the waitlist and accepted to Harvard. 

The more interesting part about this section is this emphasis on the fact that "his family has degrees." Let me clear this up: during the Cultural Revolution, all the colleges in China were shut down for several years, so my dad couldn’t attend university. The Chinese government broadcasted lectures on electrical engineering and mechanical engineering to the nation, and you could end up taking a test. If you passed, you got this TV University degree. 

Technically, I’m not first-gen because my dad has this degree… but I don’t know if I’d call it a fully legit degree. What’s cracking me up about this is that what the Chinese government did back then is essentially the same as Zoom University during COVID. 

Moving on to Reader 2: See the piece touch. E1 highlights but make sure you see the last several lines. Then see box and CR. See the YY. We should send an email to the head of dining halls!

Okay, lots of acronyms here. “E1” is essay #1. To this day, I still have no idea what “CR” means. “YY” means the Yale essay. 

The takeaway here is that the beginning and ending of your Common App matter the most. Both of my admissions readers specifically wrote about the final lines of my Common App. I mentioned this in another article, but the ending is where you tie in your insights, reflections, key themes, and how you really want to portray yourself as a character. 

Regarding my Yale essay, I had this one line that said “Yale dining is spoken about in hushed tones of wonder”. And I meant it! My Exeter friends told me that Yale has one of the best dining services in the world (which it’s true!) 

Still, like all dining halls, Yale is still often criticized by students… but I went to Exeter, and the food there was decidedly not good. It was so subpar that sometimes we would eat cereal for dinner. Yale was just so delicious—they had Korean BBQ ribs, wonderful salads, just so much variety. 

His story is not unique in the QB pool, but his story is all too real. Unlike many QBs, he has had a chance to engage in a very strong academic program and has done well in it. I was going to give the plus, but then I hit page 10 of the QB where he says in no uncertain terms that Princeton is his number one choice. I’m neutral. Alright, let’s talk about one of the most important concepts in college admissions, which I’ve said many times on YouTube, but will repeat again here because it’s so crucial: context. 

Essentially, if you go to a public school in Montana and there are only five APs, but you take advantage of every single one and do really well on the AP exams, you look like a stellar student.

 Meanwhile, if you were presented with amazing academic opportunities like I was at Exeter and didn’t push yourself, this works doubly against you. It’s like you were given all the tools to succeed and failed to make something out of it. That really hurts your chances. Remember: context is king in college admissions.

Another major takeaway is don’t reveal your cards. I said Princeton was my #1 choice, and it literally changed this person's perspective from "please admit him" to "I’m neutral." 

Looking at my admissions file again, I thought it was strange that everything in my QuestBridge application was available to Yale… even though I only applied to Princeton early through QuestBridge and applied regular decision to Yale through the Common App Portal. I need to double-check that. That was sus. 

This is very important for students using Questbridge: I originally thought that Yale would only see the info in my Common App, but it turns out they saw everything, from my family’s financial information, to where my parents went to college, and everything else you write in your QB app. 

And that’s a wrap! I hope this was insightful and you learned a thing or two~ 

As always, we’re furiously rooting for you and wishing you nothing but the best during this admissions cycle!

Your virtual big brother,

Kevin Zhen